The Tour de France: Normandy

France has a rich history, and its past has shaped it, region by region.  Normandy’s history begins with the Vikings, and has most notably been recognized as the stage of many important battles of World War II.  Aiming to please the history buffs of the family, we left behind the seaside luxe of the South of France and made our way to the rustic and once-war-torn countryside, exploring the winding farmland and wave-crashed coast, traversing the paths of farmers, cyclists, pilgrims, and war heroes.

Itinerary

We flew from Nice (NCE) to Paris (CDG) on Air France.  Upon arrival in Paris we picked up a rental car from Budget, and made our way for Normandy.  We stayed for three nights at the Adagio Aparthotel Caen Centre, in the city of Caen.  On our first day in the region, we arrived in the late afternoon, so we stayed and explored the city of Caen.  On our second day, we drove out to Mont St. Michel before returning to Caen for the evening.  On our third day, we drove to the beaches of Normandy, visiting the American WWII museum, cemetery, and German cemetery, before returning to the Caen area for the evening.  We spent one last night in Caen before driving back to Paris for part three of the Tour.

Day 1: Arrival in Normandy

After an hour long flight and a wait for our rental car, we were on our way to Normandy.  It is about a three hour drive from Paris to Caen, the city in which we stayed.  We thought we were back in LA when we spent an hour on the road and barely traveled ten miles.  We decided to let the traffic pass and stop on the outskirts of Paris for lunch.  We chose Café Balthazar in the Saint Germain area of the city.  Refueling ourselves with salads and lots of bread, we hit the road again, finally passing the accident that held us up for so long.  After we got out of Paris, it was smooth sailing through the French countryside to Normandy.  

We continued our journey westward, driving through green pastures with grazing cows, cylindrical hay bales, and stone cottages. It was late afternoon when we arrived in Caen, later than we had expected to arrive because of the heavy traffic outside of Paris; nevertheless, we made the most of our evening in Caen.

Upon arriving in Caen, a small city in the Normandy region with rich WWII history, that served as a central location between all of our “must see” attractions, we checked into our apartment style hotel.  After settling into our "aparthotel", we walked around the city to get our bearings and to stretch out our stiff legs. We strolled along the narrow canal on Quai Eugène Meslin, eventually crossing one of the few bridges that displayed flags from hundreds of different countries to explore the other side of the canal. The streets, lined with somewhat modern boutiques and restaurants, were quiet, except for the occasional car that zoomed past us; it was probably quite the opposite about seventy years ago when bombs disrupted the tranquility of the city. We managed to see one original building, a cathedral splotched with ash and covered in aging stone, a reminder of the city's past.

Along with the change of region in France came the change in our means of eating dinner. We decided to put our aparthotel's kitchenette to work by cooking up some spaghetti and meat sauce that we purchased at the local Carrefour grocery store. It was a delicious way to end an eventful day and to fuel up for our next day’s adventure to Mont Saint-Michel.

Day 2: Mont St. Michel, the Real Tour de France, and the Caen WWII Museum

The next morning we were up at the crack of dawn, ready for a full day out.  We ate breakfast in our apartment, with food we bought from the Carrefour the evening before, and set out for a drive through the countryside, to Mont Saint-Michel, an abbey built onto an island surrounded by an ever-changing tide. What should've been a straight shot out to Mont St. Michel was actually a severely detoured route, and we soon learned we chose to visit the area on the same day that the Tour de France was scheduled to pass through it.  We made it to the Mont St. Michel visitor center, where we were forced to park, because the Tour de France’s finish line and media center had taken over the main parking lot. 

As we walked towards the abbey, we heard loud cheering and figured we were crossing the race course.  We stumbled upon the three-kilometers mark along this time trial leg's course, where we joined fans of all nationalities in anxious anticipation of the cyclists' speedy flybys. Everyone cheered as the first set of gendarmerie, or police, cars approached, but the next set of vehicles weren't cyclists. Trucks and floats bearing the names of tour sponsors drove by, the drivers and passengers tossing free samples and other knick-knacks to the crowds. The battle to catch these items was about as fierce a competition as the Tour de France itself: people shoved us out of the way just to get their hands on a pack of Bic pens or the more desirable package of Madeleine cookies.  It’s a surprise helmets aren’t a requirement for spectators!

After being bombarded with free swag from the sponsors, and watching the first few bicyclists sprint their way through the time trial course, we finished the walk over to the fortress that is Mont St. Michel.  By the time we finally reached it, it was lunch time. From our research, we discovered that the specialty in Mont St. Michel is their fluffy omelettes, which date back to when the now tourist attraction was a monastery.  We had heard about La Mère Poulard, the restaurant at the entrance of the peninsula, famous for the omelettes and crêpes that have been served since the late 1800s to pilgrims traveling through the area. Back in the day, the chefs would stuff filling food into the crêpes and eggs, so the pilgrims could carry and consume hearty meals with ease during their journeys. Just about as large as the crêpes and omelettes themselves were the prices and wait to be seated, so we chose a more economical alternative called La Confiance, just a few cobblestones down the street. The restaurant had those famous omelettes, which turned out to be a pillowy egg with meats and foam oozing out the sides, and crêpe "meals" that came with an entrée and a dessert crêpe. It was a charming restaurant with historical flair: stone walls, original paintings, a bar, and a kitchen where diners could watch the chefs whisking eggs and making crêpes. 

After lunch, we started our hike up to the entrance of the abbey. One would never realize this from a distance, but the peninsula has a bustling town nestled inside of its stone walls, with winding cobblestone streets, gift shops, and bed and breakfasts. The architecture seemed to combine Alpine village and French countryside in one area. 

We reached the entrance to the abbey, and to our dismay, we found out that it was closed due to a worker's strike. Our disappointment was short-lived when we caught a glance of the spectacular views from the top. We could see the English Channel stretching for miles, an unusually beautiful gray, silt-covered sea, as well as small marshes that hugged the peninsula. Later on in the day, these marshes would be covered in water when the high tide would roll in. With our cameras full of photos, we returned to the bottom, bidding the tiny town adieu and wandering into the finish area of the bike course where we were again bombarded with freebies, saw the awards pedestal, and watched interviews with the exhausted cyclists.

After an eventful day along the coast, we drove back to Caen to visit the Mémorial de Caen, a World War II museum, to give ourselves a preview of what we would be seeing the next day: the D-Day Beaches.  This museum is fantastic for any history buff: the exhibits focus on the war as a whole, including information about pre-war economics, the rise of fascism, the Holocaust, each Allied nation's role in the war, and battles of the war not exclusive to just D-Day.

We concluded our day with dinner in a large plaza in Caen, stopping at Au Vélocipède, a pub style restaurant with ample indoor and outdoor seating.  We gobbled up our pizzas and salads (and the obvious basket of bread), and even managed enough room for a chocolatey dessert (we’re not sure what it was, but it was delicious).  With that it was back to our apartment for another good night’s rest; we had another early morning ahead of us.

Day 3: World War II Sites, Chocolate, and Apples

This day started much like the one before had: up early, breakfast in our little kitchen, and on the road through the countryside headed west.  This time we were headed for the Beaches of Normandy, with our first stop at the American WWII museum and cemetery.  A somber place, though a beautiful display honoring the American soldiers of the war.  We spent the morning in the museum, where we were transported to the day of the battle with vivid descriptions of the battles, audio clips of soldiers and gunfire, and an emotional film that pays tribute to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in such crucial invasions to recapture France from Nazi occupation. After brushing up on our history, we wandered out to the white cross-covered cemetery grounds high on the cliffs before driving down to the rough water where history was made years ago.  

We made it to Omaha Beach and Utah Beach, where the Americans first hit French soil on that historic day.  There are smaller monuments at both beaches, but are relatively empty compared to the museum.  We ate lunch at L’Omaha, a converted cottage in Omaha Beach, escaping the cold weather outside.  Enjoying our bread, salad, and fish, we overlooked the exact spot where brave troops sacrificed all they had for their country.  

After lunch we braved the relentless winds and collected sand from Omaha Beach and explored Utah Beach, where we checked out a real war bunker, some tanks, and some planes that weren't available at Omaha Beach.  We then stumbled upon some dense farm country and had a little too much fun with the giant hay bales. 

For our final World War II exploration stop in the Normandy region, we made our way to La Cambe German War Cemetery; we were interested in seeing a memorial that honored an "Axis Power" nation. Located in the city of Bayeux, it is a cemetery covered with dark brown crosses that mark the final resting place of many Nazi soldiers. In the center of the cemetery was a statue of a cross flanked by a man and a woman that was elevated on a grassy hill. The man and the woman watch over all of the graves, their faces clouded with loss and mourning.

When we had just enough history for one day, we ventured to a different kind of attraction- a chocolate factory in Bayeux. At Chocolaterie Drakkar, we took a short tour of their chocolate museum, learned about how chocolate is made, and even enjoyed a few samples of their specialties. 

Afterward we went into Bayeux’s city center, in the middle of an area of the Normandy region famous for its apple cider. Bayeux itself is a quaint, traditional French town. Unlike Caen, most of the original buildings are still standing, and they offer the same services that have kept them in business for decades, such as shoe repair and horse-drawn carriage services. The town's streets were made of cobblestone, and the old, stone buildings decorated with brightly colored flowers below the window sills stood alongside small canals, the original water wheels still turning. Perhaps one of the most prominent sights in Bayeux is its cathedral, boasting stunning, Romanesque and gothic architecture, and inside paintings and statues honoring some saints. 

For dinner we chose Le Marsala, a quaint, family-owned restaurant that served chicken cooked in an apple cider sauce with frites (french fries) on the side. We watched the owner and his son cook our meal in the visible kitchen, equipped with a traditional pizza oven, their passion for food shown through their smiles and enthusiasm. The waitresses, the wife and daughter of the owner, made us feel at home.  Maybe it was the food itself or even the love and passion put into its preparation that made it one of the best dinners we have ever eaten. After capping the delicious dinner off with gelato, we returned to Caen for the evening to rest up for our drive back Paris in the morning.

Tips

• Rent a car if you plan to spend a few days exploring the region.  This way, you are free to see whatever you wish; you won’t be bound to a tour company’s itinerary
• We'd recommend staying in the Normandy region if you want to explore this area of France. Many people designate one day to travel there on their vacation to Paris, but if you can swing it, stay in Normandy. There is so much to see and do, and you don't want to feel rushed on your journey
• Find a hotel in a city central to all the areas of the region you plan to visit
• Even if you visit in the summer, pack warm clothes, because the weather on the coast can get cold, wet, and windy very quickly
• Just like in the Riviera, splurge on dessert, you won’t regret it
• Get to the sites early, before the long lines of tour busses do.  No one ever liked a feisty crowd full of tourists!
• When you eat out in this region, try to find the places that serve up the local specialties (as goes for everywhere, but it seems that every town in Normandy has its own delicacy)
• If you drive out to Mont Saint-Michel, park your car accordingly. It depends on the time of day when you go. One of the parking lots is flooded over when the tide rolls in, so if you plan on spending the entire day there, make sure to park in a safe area. 
• Wear comfortable shoes to Mont Saint-Michel. It could be a long walk from the parking lot, and you'll be hiking a cobblestone walkway up to the abbey