After our 3 nite visit to Paris, my husband rented a car and off we were to the area of Mont St. Michel, north coast of France. It took a few hours to make the trip, but it was such a delightful ride we hardly noticed. As we left the highways, byways and flyovers of Paris, and the towering skyline was behind us, the open road was a quick and easy contrast. The highways (autoroutes) are well marked and our GPS came in very handy only because we were so busy admiring the countryside, we could have missed a turn. The gently rolling hills were spotted with lazy cows grazing on lush green grasses; their freedom may explain why their cheeses are soooo good! A few pastures down the road, there were sheep just milling about enjoying the day's sunshine. It was so nice to see that they too enjoyed being in the fresh outdoors. What I did learn on the trip was that some cows' milk can only be used for cheeses, while others are for the rich creamy milks. By the way, French beef is very good; they age meats differently, but it is highly regarded here. As we passed the exits for small towns and little villages, I could just imagine what their daily or weekly markets held: special local cheeses, rich creamy butters and farm fresh produce. Farm to table is a way of life here - has always been and hope it continues to be!
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| View from our hotel room |
We finally arrived to the town where we would be staying for a couple of nights. I had read about Ducey years ago as a result of a hotel I found in the Best Western Hotel Guide and it stuck with me. Lucky for us, Best Western still has a hotel in the town: Moulin De Ducey, and what a charming hotel! The owners were so friendly, the rooms were immaculate and the rate was unbelievable. We paid "a little extra" for the room with a view of the river, bridge and small waterfall. The hotel overlooks an old water mill and the wheel is still there. See the hotel link for more.
http://www.moulindeducey.com/
The village of Ducey is adorable. It doesn't seem real - yet everyday life goes on here with shops and restaurants. It was such a charming place that I quickly said 'I could live here'....and just in case you'd like to check out the real estate market here is the link:
http://www.logic-immo.com/annonces-immobilier-ducey-50220-9816_2.html. It's in French, but you can just imagine....
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| Mont St Michel |
The next day we set out for Mont St. Michel....oh my goodness it was raining! Our host at the hotel told us to go anyway since most crowds arrive about 12n, and upon entering, quickly take the stairs to the top of Mont St Michel - it was the best advice ever. It was a misty rain with fog. We could barely see Mont St Michel. It's a rock, it's an island. The tide comes in and the "island" is isolated and safe from invaders (but that's a history lesson). As the tide
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| Village inside Mont St Michel |
goes out, you can walk to the "rock" but be careful of the quicksand! Fortunately, France doesn't want to lose any tourists, so there is a walkway to safely get from the parking lot to this historical monument. And just as we parked the car, the skies opened up! It was a downpour...we had umbrellas to keep our head and bodies "dry" (not really) but our legs were drenched. And just like that, it lightened to just a mist as we entered the gates to Mont St. Michel. Quickly we found the stone steps that would lead us along the ramparts, up plenty more stone staircases and finally, almost to the top to the ticket office. Hardly anyone was there; the rain and the long walking path had kept them behind. Tickets in hand, we moved forward to explore the amazing creation of generations of monks.
(
http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/index.htm?lang=en) It took us few hours to walk through all the different rooms, chapels, chambers and work rooms. We gazed out below and were surprised to see how high we were - and that there were people walking on the quicksand! As we finished our self guided tour, the sun was shining and the mass of people were heading up for the tour...we smiled, we beat the crowds!
Another lovely evening in Ducey and we had mussels in white wine sauce at the local restaurant. It was so good - we left not a drop in our bowls! (See the recipe for mussels in white/rose wine sauce under the VGL CookBook tab) A quiet evening after a good day's walk and we would be ready to visit the beaches of Normandy, the beaches of World War 2...
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| John Steele Restaurant |
The next morning we departed Ducey after a wonderful breakfast at the hotel. The wind was picking up and sun was playing peek-a-boo with the clouds. Within an hours drive we arrived to the town of St Mere Eglise where my husband's uncle was killed during WW2. We stopped at the church and there was a mannequin dressed in army gear, dangling from the steeple in his parachute. This was the story of the GI who pretended to be dead while the enemy was shooting down soldiers as they parachuted. His name was John Steele and a movie was made of his story: "The Longest Day". We had lunch at a restaurant named for him - it was an outstanding meal and the setting was magnificent. (
http://www.aubergejohnsteele.com/home.php)
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| To those that served: Thank You |
After lunch we made the trip to Omaha Beach. The skies had turned grey, wind had a bite to it and the waves were capped in white. I could not imagine what those young men of 18+ years saw, what they faced, what they endured as they landed on those beaches. I've watched movies about WW2 and news clips of the landing, but standing on that beach...it was something totally different... Those who have served, and who are serving, we say Thank You.
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| Honfleur, France |
Next stop: Honfleur! This seaside town is as charming as it gets! The town centers around the harbor with its bobbing sailboats and fishing skiffs. We had a hotel right on the waterfront (
http://www.hotel-honfleur.com/) and our room had a magnificent view over the harbor. Because Honfleur is right on the seafront it can boast the best mussels anywhere...and they were! In fact, while we were there for 2 nights, we had mussels twice! They were that good - they were so fresh the taste of the sea was still in them! Yep...had them twice! Aside from eating, we did a fair share of walking and drinking. A specialty of the area (northern France) is Calvados, a liquer made from apples. An aged one tastes best - albeit a bit too strong for me. However, my husband enjoys it every so often and I use it when I make my apple tart. I stick to wines: red, white and rose'. While walking about we came upon an old building with a portico and a plaque. Of course we had to read it: it was dedicated to the memory of Samuel de Champlain who sailed from Honfleur to North America 8x times between 1603 and 1620 to explore New Brunswick, NovaScotia, Newfoundland, Labrador and who founded Quebec. And that, my friends, concludes both the history lesson and today's post!
Check out the "VGL CookBook" recipe for Mussels in White Wine. Check out more pictures of Ducey, WW2 Beaches and Honfleur under the "Pictures" tab.
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