France
Orne

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    • Day 48

      Lest We Forget.

      June 29, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      A very poignant few days visiting a museum in Falaise dedicated to the lives of the people in the town during the Nazi invasion and subsequent liberation. Turns out Falaise was also the birth place of William The Conqueror. Then onto Omaha beach and a visit to the Overlord Museum. The opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan probably goes a little way to showing what the forces endured on these beaches. Suzan had a couple of days relaxing 😉Read more

    • Day 6

      Caen day trip

      April 26 in France ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      We have to make an unexpected trip into Caen this morning. Our hire car is playing up and we need to get it sorted.
      It’s only an hour’s drive away, needed to get through a toll gate which was a bit challenging but we managed. Caen is quite a big city with a lovely 11th century castle in the centre. The castle was built by William the Conqueror and Caen is where he and his wife Matilde are buried.

      It’s a beautiful old city with so many churches and abbeys and of course the Castle which is one of the largest in Europe. We had a lovely walk around looking at the architecture of the older part of the city.

      Turns out they had to replace our car, shame cause the other one was very flash, this one not so much!

      With our new wheels we headed off to find a Cider and Calvados tasting. La Ferme De Billy. They have been making cider since 1651.
      The cider was lovely, the Calvados must be an acquired taste.

      Found a lovely restaurant for lunch near Pont-L’Eveque. Great food, cider and beer! We called into the farm where they buy their cheese and got some to take home. After that lunch all we’re going to need is some cheese.

      Made our way back to Camembert and visited their cheese museum and factory. Then a quick stop in Vimoutiers for some wine, beer and baguette to go with our cheese.
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    • Day 6

      Dairy visit.

      April 26 in France ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      After sampling all the cheeses yesterday we were keen to see where all the milk smokes from. It’s takes about 2 litres of milk to make one little Camembert. We found a farm nearby who were open to the public. They have about 60 cows to milk and all their milk goes to Graindorge Fromagerie where a lot of local cheeses are made.

      These cows are massive and produces 20 litres of milk per day. Even though they have an automatic milking machine, it still takes someone to herd the cows in, release them, clean up after them.
      Interesting to see though. Funny thing we went to the supermarket this afternoon and there is only one type of milk and only a couple of small bottles, no cream at all. Guess the cheese uses it all up.

      Some cute little calves there as well waiting for Mama to be finished milking. And a cage full of rabbits( pets or dinner) we weren’t sure.
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    • Day 7

      Pretty towns, Cider & a fabulous dinner

      April 27 in France ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      After the dairy visit we went on a little road trip through Cambremer and Beuvron-en-auge. Both very pretty villages, cute streets and lovely churches. Cambremer had a cidery and what a coincident so did Beuvron-en-auge. Villages are all so close together here so it’s easy to visit a few in a morning.
      We had lunch at the creperie in Beuvron-en-auge Raclette crepes, yes more melted cheeses. Crepes were so thin, they were so quick making them.

      Home for a bit of a rest and then we decided to try and find somewhere for dinner. My first option wasn’t any good, they only do meals at lunch time but he sent us off to look at a few other options. We picked Carte Bancaire. Oh my goodness what a gem. Wish we had another night here so we could go again.
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    • Day 36

      Saint Paul-le-Gaultier

      July 17, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      Dimanche, 17 juillet 2022
      Après cinq semaines de vacances avec des températures allant de 6° à 22°, il nous faut s'habituer à la canicule, qui est annoncée. Nous partons donc de bonne heure du bord de mer pour rouler notre étape de 2h20 jusque dans les alentours d'Alençon. Nous quittons la Bretagne pour traverser le département de la Mayenne et nous prenons nos quartiers en bordure de celui de la Sarthe, à St Paul-le-Gaultier. Une petite promenade autour du lac où nous sommes stationnés et c'est déjà l'heure pour notre apéro-dîner. C'est le ballet des moissonneuses par ici. A part nous, il y a cinq autres cc et qq vaches qui nous surveillent.
       
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    • Day 2

      Weiter geht’s!

      July 16, 2022 in France ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Heute fahren wir eine weite Strecke. Über 440 km. Wir sind fast 7 Stunden unterwegs.
      Ein schöner Camping mit Pool. Camping Levi Parc de Vaux. Hier bleiben wir 4 Übernachtungen, da es ein starke Hitzewelle gab mit bis zu 40 Grad. So waren wir froh, dass es einen Pool gab.Read more

    • Day 55

      Nogent-sur-Seine to Alençon

      August 19, 2022 in France ⋅ 🌧 19 °C

      300km today, racking up the miles to reach Cherbourg on Sunday and get the ferry home. We left our beautiful little apartment after some coffee (of course) and set out with bums of steel to crack through some miles and it wasn’t so bad.

      Our first stop was a beautiful little French village for a coffee next to the towns Mairie. The waiter was very sweet and it was lovely to watch the locals enjoy their mornings together in the sunshine. Their were young kids running around and playing whilst parents and friends watched on as they drank their coffees.

      Next stop was a small green next to a church in a nearby hamlet, to have some lunch and rest amongst the trees. We’re really starting to get into this French way of life and relax enough to decompress and gather some energy.

      Our final stop for the day was the centre of Alençon and what a night we were in store for! The apartment was astonishing, located right next to the cathedral, with huge windows overlooking the high street. Our host was the owner of a fantastic restaurant, Chez Fano, where he was able to squeeze us in. Our food was incredible! We were very lucky ladies. With just a couple of nights left, we then went in search of a few drinks, which is when we met Elvis and Christophe who took us to Le Toucan, a new bar full of locals where the barman drinks as much as the clientele. We played darts, met some wonderful characters, drank quite a lot and danced our way home in the quiet cobbled streets of Alençon.

      HIGHLIGHT - Alençon, the wonderful locals, the apartment, Chez Fano, coffee in the beautiful village, dozing under the trees
      LOW POINT - none
      ROADS - I can’t remember
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    • Day 13

      Bagnoles de L’Orne

      September 22, 2022 in France ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      This is a small spa town that reminds me a bit of Buxton. A bit tired and not a lot here. Site is lovely and a 10 minute walk into town. The spa is closed ! Not a spa you can just use though. Ok for the one night.Read more

    • Day 4–5

      Écouché-les-Vallées, Orne

      April 6 in France ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

      Continuing to head south we have driven a couple of hours to the Orne region of Normandy to the beautiful village of Écouché-les-Vallées a Petite Cité de Caractère.
      We had a picnic lunch here a couple of years ago en route to another destination with the intention to return to properly explore the village.
      There is a little library cupboard on the aire where we picked up a walking guide of the town.
      There is tons of evidence of the towns history and heritage curiosities here including a revolutionary altar, a place of ceremony, celebration and worship during the French Revolution and a Sherman Tank from WW2 given to the town in memory of its liberation.
      The origins of the commune go back to at least as far as the Middle Ages .
      The absolute maze of streets here are full of historic notes. We had a great time exploring. We had nice weather today for being out and about.
      Our very pretty motorhome aire is provided free, it's very peaceful here.
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    • Day 1

      Tours

      July 10, 2023 in France

      ..another early morning Ryanair flight...to get to Tours..to get onto French train system...as Eurostar is now outrageously expensive.....Tours is on the mighty Loire..but it was hot carrying around my luggage..and got sunstroke..afternoon trains to Limoges..to get further South on this travelling day..Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Département de l'Orne, Departement de l'Orne, Orne

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