July 21 2011 France

July 21 – 2011 Dinard France

Bonjour! It has already been four days since we left Paris for our trip to Normandy and Brittany. We found, actually John found, that driving in Paris was quite simple. They don’t drive nearly as crazy here as in NYC or Rome. As luck would have it we were not far from the motorway so it was quick getting out of the city. It was a rainy day so a good time to be putting some miles behind us.

Our destination was outside of Caen in Normandy at the Chateau D’Andrieu. It happened we were late getting our reservations made and were unable to get a place right on the coast so this option, rated two star by Frommer, sounded quite plush and interesting. Folks, it was interesting for sure! We followed a little one lane road for several miles to our location and when it appeared around a corner my stomach dropped. It had obviously seen its glory days and they had passed some time ago. One expects gardens and plush flowers around a country chateau as the descriptions we had read indicated. Let me just say I think they laid off the gardener. And so, we found the little office and the sweet girl, who gratefully spoke English, proudly took us to our room. She carrying our one, but very heavy bag, up the stairs. I’m already alarmed by the rickety narrow dark hallways and the old musty smell but kept smiling. Bless her heart she opened that door and swept her arm through the room and proudly announced this was our deluxe accommodation. We both maintained our composure and pulled out every acting skill we could muster to show some level of excitement. Finally she went to one of the two windows and pulled back the curtains with a flourish and said “and here you have a spectacular view of the most lovely French garden!” Honestly, the view was a large courtyard which was gravel with a green space to one end which was bordered by a single row of Pansies. With that our host let us to our room.

Lesson learned on this is always think seriously when then describe the room as being filled with antiques. Made me feel like a kid for sure! The bed, although large, was soft and lumpy and the chairs may have been the ideal of comfort 100 years ago but not today. I will say, the bathroom was quite nice. So put this all together, being a good half hour from the sites we wanted to see, actually from anything including a restaurant, and we were paying much more than we would normally consider.

What could we do other than pull ourselves up by the boot straps and move on? We headed into the coast where we spent some time looking for something warm to wear the following day while touring the D Day memorials. It seems I had not down as much research as I might have when packing and we were not prepared for 50-60s degree and rainy weather on the coast. We found some things to make us more comfortable and then a small spot that specialized in Crepes and Fondues for an early dinner. When we arrived at the Chateau and tried once again to get our WiFi up it was totally unavailable. To this our sweet little girl explained that the chateau had old thick walls so sometimes it was a problem. Of course their ads did not mention the ‘thick walls’. I failed to mention that a group of 50 people from the USA arrived while we were in town. They had come across the channel from London and were headed to the beaches the following day. As luck would have it we had a couple of these folks in the room above us and we could practically hear them breath. It was well after midnight and they were marching up and down through their room. We could not imagine how anybody could walk that much while getting ready for bed. They did not settle down until after 12:30 and were back into their march by 6:00. John went to sleep and I thought I might lose my mind. While lying awake I began to consider how I would approach my sleeping husband about leaving the ‘chateau’ in the morning. We had reserved for two nights but there is no way this was going to work for me, but I know my husband well enough that a change in plans can mess with his head.

I’m happy to say that his only concern was that we could find another place for that evening. I quickly responded with the phone and the listing from Frommers for Bayeaux (another community very near the beaches). John made the call and got a room for so much less money it was ridiculous. He was convinced. I made the next call to the front desk to tell them we would be checking out and got no hassle so we were off as quickly as possible. Whew! But for these adventures our stories would be boring, right?

Tuesday, July 19th was our day to see as much as we could of the history and memorials of the Normandy invasion on June 6th 1944. It was an extremely poignant, emotional and inspiring day. We would recommend this trip to everyone if it is at all possible. We have all seen the movies, The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan, to name a few. We have read the history, some of us more extensively than others. But to go through the tastefully done museum and see the gear, hear the personal stories, see the pictures of laughing young faces, is quite another thing. We were in tears before we headed to the beach and the cemetery.

The cemetery site is on land given to the United States by France as a thank you for our countries sacrifices. It is really quite beautiful. Tragically it is huge and only represents about one third of the service men who died there.

From the museum and cemetery we found our way to Omaha beach. Having just heard personal stories and gained a new understanding of the man power and years of preparation it took for this very important day, the beach had even more meaning to us. All I could think of was these strong young mean could have no idea what was in store for them nor could they imagine the impact their bravery would have on the free world. When we viewed the huge maps showing the entire world under Hitler’s control and saw how seemingly impossible this mission appeared to be it was frightening to ponder how easily he may have won.

We've seen the photos of the beaches and drawings or pictures of the men storming through the water but perhaps not as many have seen pictures of the cliffs at Point du Hoc where 225 Rangers stormed in under fire and with hooks thrown up to the tops of the cliffs, climbed up and pushed the Germans back. Because of mis-communication they were forced to hold the Germans back for 48 hours until help arrived. By the time the help arrived only 90 men were alive and able to fight. We walked through the battle site around the tops of the cliffs. Wound our way around huge craters where bombs had hit 67 years ago, and viewed the remains of German bunkers. As we stood on the edge of the cliffs it seemed to defy reason that anyone survived this climb much less succeeding to push back the enemy.

Of course as we all remember, this was the beginning of the end for the Germans but the battles certainly did not stop at the beach and cliffs. As we drove through the countryside we could only assume that most of the large farm houses and certainly chateaus were taken by the Germans during their occupation. We saw the hedgerows in a different light after we understood what an obstacle they were for our troops as they attempted to push the enemy back and liberate France. And of course we could only imagine the fear and finally exhilaration of the people that lived in this area. They too suffered many looses.

This was truly an amazing day for both of us and one we won’t soon forget. On this rainy and blustery day, we were blessed with beautiful sunshine just as we arrived at the cemetary and we were able to walk and contemplate all day without worry of wind and rain.

We closed our day back in Bayeaux where, after a walk to a nearby restaurant, we got a good night’s sleep in our humble and very comfortable room at the Best Western. No French garden but comfortable nevertheless.

Tomorrow, July 20th, we will leave Normandy to begin exploring Brittany. More later but for now Au Voir.....