We awoke refreshed and ready for adventures in beautiful Honfleaur. Rick Steves recommended Honfleaur as it is the place where many impressionists were inspired and painted. Even now artists come here to be inspired, It is a small picturesque seaport town, it felt like walking in the movie set of Gigi, imagining the hustle and bustle of the fish markets on the docks. We had breakfast at a cute cafe overlooking the port. French omlettes, baguettes, and a light green salad hit the spot. We found an old world boat the kind that went to the new world while walking around the dock and then wandered through the town and found an actual French Catholic elementary school (the kind portrayed in the cartoon Madeline) and a yummy patisserie where I declared I would try a different pastry every day in France.
Next up was the beaches of Normandy. This was so special to walk on the beaches and imagine the D day invasion and brave sacrifice of so many young men and women. The steal boat on the beach is a memorial that this invasion was not to conquer but to liberate. We were surprised at how open the beaches and how easy a target for the German soldiers in the hills. We spent our time at Omaha beach and then went to explore the US cemetery and memorial. It was similar to the style and feeling of Arlington and a very sacred experience to pay tribute to the brave sacrifice for freedom.
We continued our journey through the Seine Valley to Mont Saint Michel. When it first appeared in the haze of farm fields and coast it looked like a castle floating in the sky. We took a tour of Mont Saint Michel and were impressed with the old world village that sprung up next to it with the taverns and shops with living quarters upstairs. There are lots of stairs to climb to get to the top of this "impenetrable fortress." It's named that because the monks were able to hold off the English from this Abbey during the 100 year war. We will never forget leaving the parking lot of Mont Saint Michel with 25 cars behind us and the toll booth not accepting our credit card. Ahhhh- the chip is such a pain!
After our tour of Mont Saint Michel we drove to Brittany to our hotel in Dinan for the night. It was just about sundown so we were able to explore the town for a bit. After the sunset we found a charming restaurant and had a very French meal- normandy chicken, and steak- while looking out at the city at night. Brad was completely exhausted after driving us around all day and could barely eat his dinner without falling asleep. I had napped in the car and was enjoying every second of the food and city view- too bad there wasn't a picture of me.
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