Fi & Steve's Tour de France
Hey everyone.
Fiona and I just got back from a great week in France, finishing on the Saturday of Easter. We left last Saturday and after catching the Eurostar to Lille, we grabbed our rental car and headed to Boulogne Sur Mer, on the north-west coast. Our rental car, a small 1.2L Kia Picanto, we nick-named "the Jaffa" - as that was small, red and pretty much rolled up and down the hills. But it drove well enough and got us on our way.
Sunday morning dawned a nice day and after breakfast we had a walk around the town's ramparts, which included a viking ship at the foot of one of the ramparts. We then drove to Rouen, where unfortunately it was rather wet. We did have a very nice lunch and saw the impressive cathedral, but the rain had us on the road fairly quickly to Caen. Thankfully, with a bit of rain off and on, most of the rest of the trip was nice and sunny.
Monday we drove down the coast from Caen to the D-Day landing beaches of Normandy. We first stopped at Juno beach where Canada's troops came ashore and took control. We then moved onto Arromanches, where the British and some Commonwealth troops landed and faced a bitter battle with the Nazi's. We visited the Centre there and saw some quite remarkable footage of the landings and their aftermath. What I hadn't fully appreciated was that the allies built a floating port off the coast, buy building the necessary parts of a port in the UK and then towing them afloat across the channel. This then allowed them to roll out the necessary tanks and other hardware, as well as supplies, to support the troops advancing through the towns and cities of France. Some of the concrete structures of the port remain to be seen off the beach, providing a permanent reminder to the fierce battles that took place and the lives that were lost. We also visited Omaha Beach, where American troops landed - which was depicted in "Saving Private Ryan." It wasn't hard to picture and sacrifice that took place on those beaches, during those crucial days of the invasion.
In total contrast, after the beaches we drove to Bayeux to see the almost-1000 year old Bayeux tapestry, which tells the story of the Norman's invasion of England. For such a fragile relic, it is in fantastic condition and the audio guide explains the history very well. After a very busy and historical day, we drove onto Granville, with a brief stop in Coutances to see a very impressive cathedral.
Tuesday was a real highlight for me, starting the day by driving a short distance to Mont St Michel. If you haven't seen the Mont, it really is quite a stunning picture off the Normandy coast. It is dominated by an Abbey, which takes up most of the Mont and it was really enjoyable to walk around it and admire the views from the top. Sadly, the "town" was a real disappointment, not much more than the most tacky tourist shops you can imagine. But it didn't spoil the Mont itself, which is well worth the visit.
As we drove from the Mont towards Brittany, we ran over a small rock and got a puncture. We weren't impressed to see that the rental company had removed the spare tyre, so we had to call the help line and wait for a mechanic. To cut a long story short, we got towed to a mechanics and then onto a rental car hire...6 hours later, we finally got the tyre replaced and were back on the road. We did miss spending time in one or two places, but we did get to Cancale for a fantastic seafood dinner (I had a total of 5 courses, and enjoyed every minute!)
Wednesday we decided to get an early start and drove from Brittany south to the Loire Valley; "wine country." We started in the small town of Saumur, where we visited Chateau de Saumur and did some wine tasting. It was a really nice town and needless to say we very much enjoyed the wine, buying 3 bottles to take back to London. With a nice sunny day and having seen Saumur, we decided to drive on further into the valley to the small town of Amboise. The road wound it's way along the Loire river, which was a thoroughly enjoyable drive. All the way along, there are houses ("troglodytes") built into the caves and side of the hill that were very impressive.
We spent two nights in Amboise and had a nice, relaxing day in between. Thursday we looked around Amboise, its Chateau, shops and had a nice lunch. We also saw probably the best Chateau, Chenonseau, just a few km's away from Amboise. It is actually built over a river and was quite fantastic. We did more wine tasting in Amboise and bought another 3 bottles of really fantastic wine.
Friday we drove up to Chambord Chateau, the biggest in the region, and then drove onto Chartres, our last stop. After a five and a half hour drive from Chartres to Lille on Saturday, we were back on the Eurostar from Lille to London.
All in all, France was great. The week almost felt like a blur afterwards and I didn't really know where the week went. The history of the D-Day landing beaches and Bayeux tapestry, the stunning picture that is Mont St Michel, to the fantastic wine and Chateau's of the Loire Valley, we had a great time. Despite the negative impression that some people have of French people (particularly some Nzders and Brits), we have always found the French a friendly and welcoming people. France is one of our favourite places and we'll definitely be back again next year.
Fiona and I just got back from a great week in France, finishing on the Saturday of Easter. We left last Saturday and after catching the Eurostar to Lille, we grabbed our rental car and headed to Boulogne Sur Mer, on the north-west coast. Our rental car, a small 1.2L Kia Picanto, we nick-named "the Jaffa" - as that was small, red and pretty much rolled up and down the hills. But it drove well enough and got us on our way.
Sunday morning dawned a nice day and after breakfast we had a walk around the town's ramparts, which included a viking ship at the foot of one of the ramparts. We then drove to Rouen, where unfortunately it was rather wet. We did have a very nice lunch and saw the impressive cathedral, but the rain had us on the road fairly quickly to Caen. Thankfully, with a bit of rain off and on, most of the rest of the trip was nice and sunny.
Monday we drove down the coast from Caen to the D-Day landing beaches of Normandy. We first stopped at Juno beach where Canada's troops came ashore and took control. We then moved onto Arromanches, where the British and some Commonwealth troops landed and faced a bitter battle with the Nazi's. We visited the Centre there and saw some quite remarkable footage of the landings and their aftermath. What I hadn't fully appreciated was that the allies built a floating port off the coast, buy building the necessary parts of a port in the UK and then towing them afloat across the channel. This then allowed them to roll out the necessary tanks and other hardware, as well as supplies, to support the troops advancing through the towns and cities of France. Some of the concrete structures of the port remain to be seen off the beach, providing a permanent reminder to the fierce battles that took place and the lives that were lost. We also visited Omaha Beach, where American troops landed - which was depicted in "Saving Private Ryan." It wasn't hard to picture and sacrifice that took place on those beaches, during those crucial days of the invasion.
In total contrast, after the beaches we drove to Bayeux to see the almost-1000 year old Bayeux tapestry, which tells the story of the Norman's invasion of England. For such a fragile relic, it is in fantastic condition and the audio guide explains the history very well. After a very busy and historical day, we drove onto Granville, with a brief stop in Coutances to see a very impressive cathedral.
Tuesday was a real highlight for me, starting the day by driving a short distance to Mont St Michel. If you haven't seen the Mont, it really is quite a stunning picture off the Normandy coast. It is dominated by an Abbey, which takes up most of the Mont and it was really enjoyable to walk around it and admire the views from the top. Sadly, the "town" was a real disappointment, not much more than the most tacky tourist shops you can imagine. But it didn't spoil the Mont itself, which is well worth the visit.
As we drove from the Mont towards Brittany, we ran over a small rock and got a puncture. We weren't impressed to see that the rental company had removed the spare tyre, so we had to call the help line and wait for a mechanic. To cut a long story short, we got towed to a mechanics and then onto a rental car hire...6 hours later, we finally got the tyre replaced and were back on the road. We did miss spending time in one or two places, but we did get to Cancale for a fantastic seafood dinner (I had a total of 5 courses, and enjoyed every minute!)
Wednesday we decided to get an early start and drove from Brittany south to the Loire Valley; "wine country." We started in the small town of Saumur, where we visited Chateau de Saumur and did some wine tasting. It was a really nice town and needless to say we very much enjoyed the wine, buying 3 bottles to take back to London. With a nice sunny day and having seen Saumur, we decided to drive on further into the valley to the small town of Amboise. The road wound it's way along the Loire river, which was a thoroughly enjoyable drive. All the way along, there are houses ("troglodytes") built into the caves and side of the hill that were very impressive.
We spent two nights in Amboise and had a nice, relaxing day in between. Thursday we looked around Amboise, its Chateau, shops and had a nice lunch. We also saw probably the best Chateau, Chenonseau, just a few km's away from Amboise. It is actually built over a river and was quite fantastic. We did more wine tasting in Amboise and bought another 3 bottles of really fantastic wine.
Friday we drove up to Chambord Chateau, the biggest in the region, and then drove onto Chartres, our last stop. After a five and a half hour drive from Chartres to Lille on Saturday, we were back on the Eurostar from Lille to London.
All in all, France was great. The week almost felt like a blur afterwards and I didn't really know where the week went. The history of the D-Day landing beaches and Bayeux tapestry, the stunning picture that is Mont St Michel, to the fantastic wine and Chateau's of the Loire Valley, we had a great time. Despite the negative impression that some people have of French people (particularly some Nzders and Brits), we have always found the French a friendly and welcoming people. France is one of our favourite places and we'll definitely be back again next year.
posted by Steve at 9:35 AM
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