Last weekend we went on another excursion to Normandy and Brittany! It was a whirlwind trip taking place over just two days, or actually, about 36 hours.
Both regions were beautiful. There was a lot of blue velvet, red curtains, bumpy terrain and...oh wait, that wasn't France, that was our bus! Yes, a lot of this excursion was spent traveling on a large purple bus. We all wished for one more day, perhaps leaving Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning, but at least we got to go!
We first arrived in Caen (almost like caw with a silent "n") mid-Saturday morning at Le Memorial, a museum dedicated to D-Day and WWII. After having a quick but tasty sandwich, we viewed a video with actual footage from 1944. Afterward, we had a little over an hour to take in an overwhelming amount of information. The museum was really great, our audio guides told us some unique information as we looked at old letters, artifacts, and more footage of speeches given by the Fuhrer himself. It was interesting to hear France's take on things. They admitted that their defense was really a lazy offense at the beginning of WWII, and it really wasn't until D-Day that they sprang into action. There was little mention of the Vel d'Hiv, the round up of French Jews that happened right in Paris! I hear there's a memorial museum, remind me to look that up...
Then we jumped on the bus again and headed towards Omaha Beach. It was absolutely gorgeous there, ocean as far as the eye could see. It was almost spooky in a way, however; standing there listening to the waves gently beat out a rhythm on the shore and imagining the sky completely black with fog, planes, and parachutes. Some unfortunate soldiers didn't even make it to the beaches, their gear was so heavy they drowned when their parachutes landed in the sea. Here across the ocean were an overwhelming amount of graves. Thousands and thousands of souls rested in one of the most peaceful places in France (well...technically we were on American soil, but as we're on a separate continent, I say it's in France) that was once wrought with action and despair. I got shivers not from the cold, but thinking of the impact that this very place had in both France and US history.
Again, we loaded on the bus and napped our way to St. Malo, a fortified city in Bretagne, or Brittany. It was charming, more winding streets and little shops. There was not much color compared to Collioure, but there were many more crepes! Brittany is the home of the crepe, and not just your average looks-like-a-pancake- throw-some-Nutella-on-there-oh-and-add-a-banana-for-good-measure crepe. For dinner, I had steak (yes, I'm still trying new things!) with onions and tomatoes in a buckwheat crepe, which I had never seen before! It was like compressed wheat bread, but so much better. Go try it, you'll see.
After getting a comfortable night's sleep we departed the next day for Mont St. Michel, one of the 7 marvels of the world! Yes, marvels are made by man, and wonders are stumbled upon and we wonder (get it?) who made them! After trekking up a hill of adorable shops and more creperies we made it to the entrance which presented us with more stairs. We made our way up and finally got to explore the abbey. It was comprised of many empty stone rooms, all of which monks used for prayer, eating in the refectory, and a chapel for burial. Of course, outside on the terrace provided us with more incredible views. The tide was out, the sand stretched along one side of the abbey and the other side reminded me of a green patchwork quilt. It was the quintessential french countryside, which we saw more of as we made our 5 hour journey home. Cows and sheep grazed lazily in their fields and I have to admit I was a little jealous, as most of my body began to insensate on the bus. It was a busy weekend but it was interesting to see such historic places and regions that were completely unlike Paris! It's good to be home, though.
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