On Foot in France

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Trip start
August 28, 2017
On Foot in France Traveler
Packing challenge
August 28, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
We've started assembling documents, shoes, outer wear, hiking stuff, city stuff while wondering about the weather, and our companions on the hike. We have airline tickets, train tickets and trusty old Rick Steves on Paris. Biggest challenge so far is getting hiking poles through TSA. We've concluded that checking an extra bag is the only assured way to make sure they travel with us. They are too long for our usual carryon roller bags. And, thank goodness for compression bags.Read more
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En Route
September 1, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We are lucky. Our good friend Gordon chauffeurs us to the airport in his chariot and safely delivers us to RDU. He is also our photographer.
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The Layover
September 1, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
The airplane is outside the door and people are queueing up even though boarding won't start for 20 minutes and lining up doesn't get you to your seat any faster. Human nature I guess. If a line forms, stand in it. Meanwhile Bill is concentrating on the crossword puzzle off the day.Read more
TravelerHad a problem with your home alarm this PM...all is well now! Please contact Ellen re. details and alarm code. Also check email from me for details.
9/1/17Reply
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The French Connection
September 3, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
Arrived in Paris at 6am Saturday morning with the city just waking up. A taxi to the St. Lazare train station costs over 100 euros so we took the airport bus. Quite a bit of flapping on our part because the ticket machine would not accept our credit or debit card. We also try our 50 euro currency but it takes only bills up to 20. Nuts, we are both going crazy thinking we will MISS our train to Caen when a wonderful bus driver digs up change for us. Voila we are all set. It's an express bus so we zoom into early morning Paris which looks a bit seedy on the eastern side. Some homeless people sleeping in doorways and a lot of trash on the curbs. The area around Gare St. Lazare is deserted. The station is COLD but there's a Starbucks (!!) inside that's warm. Seems ironic that we are having coffee in an American chain instead of a charming cafe but we feel better when we observe that almost all of the clientele are French. Then to the train which is also an express and very nice even though we have 2nd class tickets. Departed and arrived EXACTLY on schedule. Public transportation is wonderful here we think!Read more
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The Rest of the Day
September 3, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
Somehow we manage to walk to our b&b even though we don't have a city nap and Google maps isn't working and my smartphone is out of battery power. We are very tired but determined to stay awake until it's at least 10pm. So we walk the village. It's a festival day here with lots of people out on the street and there's even a carousel. Turns out that Caen is the home and military base of William the Conqueror. The ruins of his castle and fortress are center city. Many elaborate churches in town with spires and fanciful facades from 11thC to the days before the revolution when all the religious properties were nationalized.Read more
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Our Abode in Caen
September 4, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Our room is on the second floor of This Old House. The stairway seems about two hundred years old. We meet the hostess and her dog, a golden retriever. Breakfast both days is dark coffee/fruit/several wonderful choices of bread or croissants from the boulangerie in the neighborhood. This is a small town of only 100,000 residents which was bombed by the allies in the assault after D-Day as the US, British and Canadian soldiers pushed the Germans to the East. The town has been restored but evidence of the bombs and the occupation haunt this place still.Read more
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Memorial de Caen
September 4, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Sunday morning we walk uphill to the Memorial de Caen, which was imagined by the Mayor of Caen and built in 1988 on the site of a German bunker. It's extraordinary and we spend the entire day there. Beautifully designed and executed to tell the story of Western Europe from the end of the first world war in 1918 through and including the German occupation of France and continuing on through the Cold War. It is also a plea for peace. It leads us to much discussion throughout the day. It's both exhausting and impossible to forget. We stagger home overwhelmed by the images and the feelings they provoke. It's Sunday so almost all serious restaurants are closed. We share a beer or two at a local pub filled with locals. The vast is managed by a Brit from Oxford!! It's becoming very evident that France and England are deeply intertwined still as they have been since the time of the Vikings.Read more
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Local Color
September 4, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Caen was bombed by the allies on June 7th. More than 20,000 citizens died as the allied troops chased the Germans toward the eastern frontier. Much has been rebuilt, so the streets are now a mix of old and new.Read more
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Meeting Annie
September 4, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Our guide meets us on Monday morning and the group gathers for introductions. Then we are off to Bayeau, a small village of about 10,000 which was NOT damaged in the war. It's the home of William the Conqueror (previously known as William the Bastard). But fate intervened and he became king of England and Duke of Normandy. The Bayeau Tapestry celebrates his victory over his cousin Harold in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The tapestry is extraordinary and a Unesco World Heritage artifact for good reasons. We see the town and the tapestry with a local guide and Annie arranges two wonderful meals in town at different restaurants where the food is overwhelmingly wonderful and the staff is very welcoming. Menus begin with foie gras and end with creme brulee. About one million calories every time you sit down. It looks like the biggest challenge on this trip is not the hiking but extraordinary the food of Normandy.Read more
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Bayeau
September 6, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
We arrived in Bayeau on Monday. It's closer to the beaches than Caen and will be our home for two nights. The hotel Villa Lara is lovely, right in the center of a very old village. The 11c Abbeye dee Bayeau is gorgeous and the few streets in town are charming. Bayeau was NOT bombed in the Allied assault in June since it contained no German troops or weapons. They consider themselves very lucky. Our guide says that the rest of the Norman peninsula was so heavily bombed that there were no leaves on the trees and no birds. It was silent after the trips moved eastward pursuing the tattered Nazi soldiers. She was born after the so has never seen a time when the trees did not have leaves. As with everyone we've met, the gratitude of the French people to the allied countries of the US, Canada and Britain is enormous.Read more
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Operation Overlord
September 6, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
This is a sobering day indeed and the primary reason most of us chose this trip. The morning is given over to walking Omaha Beach in the British sector. Our guide describes the massive military and planning preparations for the assault. The ingenuity of the planning and the difficulty of the assault on the beaches really cannot be grasped even though we are standing on the edge of the beach near a German bunker, part of the German defenses of the coast. This 'Atlantic Wall' of cannons stretched from Norway to the Spanish border. Every part is enormous. The munitions are protected from allied bomb runs in concrete underground shelters.

Later in the day we visit the American Cemetery at Point du Hoc. They are playing taps at the moment we arrive. No one speaks. There are no words for what we see.Read more
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Calvados
September 6, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Regrettably we leave Bayeau this morning. We would come back to this charming historic village in a heartbeat. It's been the site of our two top dining experiences. Annie, our guide, it's quite the international foodie. Each small restaurant has been charming, intimate, no more than ten or twelve tables. Family owned but truly extraordinary menus. We all order individually. We drink lots of wine. Everything is perfect start to finish. We are living the dream with every meal. Later in the day on the way to a coastal hike, we pass fields filled with cows, sheep, pigs, horses and ripening corn which will become winter food for the livestock. We pass acres of apple orchards. Everything in the region of upper Normandy revolves around apples! Of course we are in the 'department' called Calvados. No wonder! Family farms produce everything apple - cider that is dry or sweet, cider that sparkles in the glass and the local brandy that you may know as Calvados. We visit a cider farm that has been operating for six generations. They use only heirloom apples to create a sophisticated line of products sold to restaurants and locals. There will be no seventh generation the owner says. Young people are leaving the farms and this man's son chooses not to continue the tradition. The owner is philosophical about this. He says that if you do not have the passion for it, then you must choose another path. The owner clearly has that passion. It sparkles in his eyes.Read more
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Mont St. Michel
September 7, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
At the end of our hike yesterday, heading eastward toward Mt. St. Michel, the ancient abbey's outline rose steadily on the horizon in a fog of mist and haze. Later in the evening the lights came on for the vespers services in the Abbey and it was magical indeed. Not even Disney could create this lovely, mysterious vignette.Read more
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A Typical Lunch
September 8, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
At a charming auberge in a very small village. Of course lunch was ordered in advance by our guide Annie who happens to be both French and a foodie. Lucky us. It turns out that the very young chef has served in French embassies all over the world so today's lunch features a gorgeous chuck of fresh, fresh hake overRead more
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The Bay of St. Michel
September 8, 2017 in France ⋅ 🌧 15 °C
This morning we hike the coastal trail of Normandy and Brittany. It's lovely and we are thrilled to be walking outdoors. The weather is cloudy, foggy and misty but it's not actually raining. Later, with the undulating ups and downs of the trail, we realize we are pretty warm and the layers begin coming off.

We reach the lovely town of Cancale where the group stops for a second breakfast....of oysters!!!

People are gathering at the oyster market on the beach and so are we. Annie orders two dozen oysters which are opened as we watch. She has selected the medium size. Whoo - Bill and I watch with interest, but have no interest in trying these slimy, wet bivalves and surely not at 9am. They are judged fresh, briney, clean tasting and delicious. Two dozen disappear with much slurping. We march on.

This bay is famous as the heart of the oyster farming industry - along with other seafood like scallops, mussels and prawns. We will visit assign oyster growing co-op in the afternoon. But first, a stop for lunch at Cancale. We sit on the porch of this little restaurant and savor the view over the bay. Lunch is served. The most popular choice at the table is moules frites. To everyone's alarm, there are five dozen perfect mussels in a delicious sauce. The serving size is enormous! Only one person finished his allotment. Bill has ordered the whole fish. He expertly fillets it and finishes with a flourish. I've ordered cous-cous. The serving is ENORMOUS: 5 shrimp, four mussels, a chunk of sea beam, a chunk of salmon, four merguez sausages. On a huge bowl of warm cous-cous. Yikes. I give up about 1/3 of the way through. Everyone saves room for dessert of course! It's the French way...

Of then for more of the coastal walk above the sea. Then onward to a visit to the oyster growing co-op of the Bay of St. Michel. The managers are charming. They tell the story of oyster fishing in Brittany over the centuries. There is an excellent documentary in English about the movement to 'oyster farming.' It's low tide, so we can see the frames where the oysters are grown. We see the factory floor where the oysters are washed many times, sorted by size, packed for shipping and sent to Paris in refrigerated trucks. It's a fascinating story. And then they offer us -oysters.

No one wants more food...we just had lunch about an hour earlier. But everyone soldiers on, not wanting to offend our gracious hosts. It's 3 inn the afternoon. More Montrechat is poured. Plates of fresh oysters and seafood pate arrive; We are DONE FOR. Whew, we do best imitation of enthusiasm and ultimately stagger out for the trip to our hotel in Dinan. Burp.

Dinner later in Dinan in a very elegant 16th century building. Three courses, lots of wine, cream, garlic and laughter. It's the French way...Read more
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Dinan, Medieval City
September 9, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Completely charming, self-contained. Surrounded by the fortress walls, on a green hilltop, one of the prettiest and best preserved villages we've seen in France. Cobblestone streets lead down to the river Rance. Little shops line the narrow passageways of the ancient village. The towers stands watch. There are many intact 15c half timber houses in town. Many have survived or been restored even though fire has kept them constant company through the centuries.

Our delightful Breton city guide was married in one of these historic homes. It is now a restaurant where the restaurant owner and his family occupy the upper floors just as medieval merchants and craftsmen did.

And, oh dear, lunch was in a Breton creperie (delicious decadence) and certified organic (!!).

Perhaps it was the local beer...Duchesse Anne...that completely polished us off. Or the chocolate caramel pecan ice cream sundae??

Nap time!Read more
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Oysters for Breakfast
September 9, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Oyster market on the Baie de St. Michel.
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Dinan to Planguenoual
September 10, 2017 in France ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Regretably, we left Dinan after breakfast this morning. It's a town we would come back to because it is so charming and filled with history.

Saturday night was the only night that dinner was 'on your own.' It was a welcome interval for us. We ate more simply, just pizza and a small green salad. When we got to the pizza joint we were only the second of two tables. By the time we left, the place was really jumpin with young singles, families and children. We found lots of people on the streets of Dinan that evening around the local theater. Very nice..

We head to the next hiking spot, which is a beautiful bay on this Emerald Coast of Brittany. The sun is shining and it's just a lovely walk. There are almost no people on the trail at this early hour on Sunday. We sit a nest of cormorants on the rocky slopes leading down to the sea.

Lunch is a picnic on the grounds at Fort de Latte overlooking the bay. The chateau and the fort are privately owned by a branch of the royal family of Monaco. The fort which dates from the days of the Viking raids was returned to the family after our was decommissioned as a military base. They were required to open it to the public. Entrance fees are used for maintenance. This private/public partnership seems to be working beautifully.

After lunch we depart to a sorry hike to an overlook and bird sanctuary. Puffins are reputed residents although we didn't see any. No matter, its lovely.Read more
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Fields and Farms
September 11, 2017, La Cotentin ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
On our drives in Normandy and Brittany we spot enormous agricultural fields along the roadsides. I think they have been farm to table for centuries. It's not a new phenomenon here!

The fields are being harvested. Hay bales are already wrapped tightly and standing sentinel. Newly planted cabbage are already growing in this cool weather.

Along with the crops, there are also livestock: dairy and beef cows, goats, black-legged sheep and quite a few pigs.
I think maybe French cuisine and Camembert are safe for now.Read more
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Ill de Brehat
September 11, 2017, La Cotentin ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
This morning we leave the hotel.grounds promptly after breakfast.for 'the isle of flowers and pink granite. It's raining - not for the first time on this coastal trip. Our indefatigable guide Annie Hawkins announces that there WILL be sun.

Nevertheless it is still raining when we arrive at the ferry. We decide that coffee and a stop at 'les toillettes' would be an excellent way to spend the fifteen minutes before the boat departs. A very surprised but welcoming cafe owner serves us promptly. Ahh!

Suddenly it's time to go. Hah! The sun is shining. Annie throws her arms in the air with a grin of satisfaction. We are off.Read more
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Vincent
September 11, 2017, La Cotentin ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Vincent is our bus driver and everything else helper. He and Annie have worked together for a long time. She requests his help for her tours.

He's a nice young man from the south of France, fluent in Spanish as well as French. We enjoy his company and he is gracious to each of us.

This morning, once we are all aboard after breakfast, Vincent does something surprising. He blows into a device that measures the alcohol in his system. Annie tells us that it is a requirement for commercial drivers to do this before every trip. Wow, I suddenly feel safer than ever.

Who knew?Read more
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Carnac
September 12, 2017 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Today's hotel is lovely, overlooking a gorgeous beach. This is quite a beautiful summer resort but it is utterly empty due to the rainy weather. Rumor has it that the hiking trips in the French Pyrenees have had so much snow that the passes are closed. They are adapting by building snowmen and snowshoeing.

At the beach here it's mild enough (in the low sixties) to keep on moving if you don't mind being damp.

As it turns out our itinerary has taken us to locations where there are few, if any, American tourists. We could never have done this on our that's certain. And it's wonderful. We credit our guide Annie Hawkins with these delightful and unusual sites. She is also a foodie who has booked extraordinary restaurants for us, fresh, fresh, local, everything you would want to experience in France.Read more
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La Météo en Bretagne
September 12, 2017, Port en Dro ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
I have to admit that the sun has been a rare companion. Most days have been cloudy or grey or misty or outright raining.

But today we head to the southern- most part of the coast. We are going canoeing which should be a nice change of pace.

We depart from Chateau de Val in clear skies and sunshine. The group is very upbeat as we pull out of the driveway. Once again we pass through small and mid-size villages with agricultural fields lining the sides of the road outside if the residential villages.

The head of the canoe operation is named Phillipe. He's a sturdy fellow wearing a wetsuit that ends at his knees. We are soon afloat, six canoes paddling down the xxx river. It's flat water, quiet and serene. The canoe launch is not far from the canal lock that carries our canoes around the dam to the river below. The locks are hand operated by a woman standing nearby. She makes sure we are all properly lined up and then opens the gates so that we slowly descend to the lower river level. We paddle downriver for a while. Everyone is enjoying the silence and sun. We spot two fairly large grey herons on the river banks. It's nice to have companions who are interested in birds and the natural aspects of this area.

Eventually we reverse course and paddle back toward the lock. As we approach, the mistress of the lock operation reverses the water flow and we are all magically raised to the upper level of the river.

There are some amusing moments as we try to exit the canoes gracefully. Some canoe partners have better results than others! Quite a nice morning we all agree. A check of the sky reveals incoming clouds. Before we leave the driveway, rain is starting on the windshield. No matter, its time for lunch.Read more
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The Alignment
September 13, 2017, Port en Dro ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
Following our canoe trip, we stop briefly at a restored Breton village circa 1906. It's a small village of farm families that was abandoned long ago because of the poverty of the residents.

The restoration is sweet, low buildings of the Breton countryside with stone walls and thatched roofs. Lunch is also early 20th century featuring cabbage soup, sausages, lots of potatoes and grains. We encounter really extraordinary Breton beurre de sel and country bread. It disappears from the table quickly. Then we are off to the dolmens and menheirs for which Carnac is famous.

We arrive in Carnac late in the afternoon and are taken to a rock field by our guide. The wind has picked up and blowing hard. The clouds whisk rapidly and menacingly across the sky. It's cold and damp and we are freezing. The guide soldiers on outdoors for about an hour. In spite of the difficult conditions, our guide manages to deliver a remarkably concise and coherent summary of the archeological aspects of these huge stones which may have been erected about the 5th century b.c.

We have not seen the entirety of the three separate paleolithic sites but no matter, it is getting late and dark. We are all hungry.

Luggage it's quickly unloaded at Hotel Diana. Everyone disperses and we meet up for dinner together at 7:30.

This hotel is family owned and provides not only the best views (directly overlooking the beach) but the best combination of food, service and elegant dining.

Dinner is truly extraordinary. I meet my first oeuf mollet in a first course. It's accompanied by smoked duck breast and an unidentifiable but rich sauce. Bill has tempura style fried sardines. A brave choice since sardines are not the usual fare in our house. They are pronounced 'délicieux.'

The main course is beef for both of us. Dessert is beautifully presented and also ' délicieux.' I have stopped photographing the plates. They are so beautiful that I fear the big pages are getting tedious. We are living in a dream world here with these meals.Read more
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Carnac Plage
September 13, 2017, Port en Dro ⋅ 🌧 17 °C
We wake up this morning to wind, rain and an angry ocean. Oh dear, the planned morning outside is a two and a half hour hike. We meet the group at the breakfast tables and watch the outside weather. There is much discussion about rain gear. In the end, only three people elect to skip the hike and hope for better conditions in the afternoon. Two of those people are Bill and me. We are fatiguee...

We enjoy a quiet morning in the hotel and take a walk through this charming beach town. Of course it would be more charming in better weather. Sigh.

The little shops are vacant and some are closed for the season. Many cafes and restaurants are shuttered.

The group returns after a wet, but not untenable hike among scattered dolmens and menhirs. Not all of these stones are enclosed within the museum's archeological grounds. Literally they are everywhere for miles around. No wonder people have used them to build their houses. In fact it was not until 1991 that these ancient stones were regarded as worthy of notice and research began.

We are off to lunch. Annie says it's the best fish in town. It looks like a dump. But my goodness, she knows her stuff!

There is a festive dinner scheduled for our last evening together, so most people order cautiously. The salad platters arrive and they are utterly astonishing. They are huge and fresh and beautiful.

I've ordered moules frites. The pot is the size that seems customary in this part of France. It contains five or six dozen small mussels in a fragrant white wine sauce with garlic and fresh parsley. I sincerely doubt that I will ever have sweeter, fresher mussels. It kind of ruins your appetite for the large green New Zealand mussels often served in the US. (inset heavy sigh here). I give up about three inches from the bottom of the pot. Mmmm.Read more
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