Day 5: Mont Saint-Michel

Wow ... no words to describe Mont Saint-Michel (Mount Saint Michael).  We were expecting it to be the highlight of the trip  --  it didn't disappoint.  Best to describe it using photos (but it's a pity we didn't have a helicopter for a bird's-eye view as well).

A very small number of people live on the island and are ready to fleece the visitors in their gift shops and cafes as the visitors ascend.  Also, a few monks live in the monastery again.  We saw a few nuns as well.

Our arrival ...

More than 3 million people visit each year!  We were, of course, distinguished visitors.

It was a long climb, but the effort was well rewarded.   This photo is only half way up.

Here's a juxtaposition (Daryl's word) showing the ancient (building) and the new (jet-streams above).

Bonjour!!!

A little piece of paradise close to the top...

He felt like singing "Underneath the Arches," but divine guidance saved the day (and he hadn't had any alter wine yet).

Daryl standing inside a fireplace!  

Tomorrow, we're off to the Loire Valley.
See you then!  

Day 4 - Bayeux: the town and the tapestry.

Day 4 - Bayeux - the town and the tapestry.

Well, we're still in Normandy at Bayeux today - and this is a magical town with many preserved medieval buildings.  When you see some of the photos you could be forgiven for thinking you're looking at somewhere in England's Tudor past.  But there's a subtle difference - the Brits paint their buildings in black and white - whereas here they are cream and brown.

Aside from the town, the major attraction is the tapestry, which dates from just after 1066 - there's no accurate date on it's manufacture.  But we know it wasn't before, because of course it depicts the story of the events leading up to Harold getting shot in the eye by an arrow, and how William the Bastard became William the Conquerer - we mentioned him yesterday.

Isn't it funny how even back then they had their spin doctors - and how the winning side is always the good guy!  Nothing changes !!!

It's a majestic piece of work - unfortunately no photos allowed - it stretches over 70 metres long and appeared to be about 1m high.  The picture above has been borrowed from their promotional material.

Meanwhile back to the real world - just had to show you some of the delights from one of the many local patisseries - yum !!   You can see the bright sunlight - had to eat them real quick, before they went off !!

Here's a statue of Joan of Arc - she features quite heavily in this area - as that's where she was from, and how she helped defeat the English.  We'll see more of her over the coming day or two.

 Also in Bayeux is a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery - not as big as the American one we saw yesterday - 4,000 or so versus 14,000.  But there's some differences in that the US one only has US soldiers buried - this one has not only British and other Commonwealth countries - but also Polish, Czech, and more, and even German.  Another difference is in the US cemetery the age of the soldier is not on the tombstone - whereas here it is - without looking hard we saw too many 17 and 18 year olds.  Shameful !!

 On that sombre note - we went back to our hotel room to prepare for another gastronomic delight that evening - will it be frogs legs - or snails - hmmm, stand by, we'll let you know......

Tour Day 3 - Normandy Beaches & World War II

Today there were some more somber parts.  We started by going to Pegasus Bridge, which was the first target to be recaptured from the Germans at the beginning of D-Day.  The Allies were successful.

The pilots of these gliders had to crash land deliberately and then go on to fight. "Every landing was a genuine do-or-die situation for glider pilots. It was their awesome responsibility to repeatedly risk their lives by landing heavily laden aircraft containing combat soldiers and equipment in unfamiliar fields, ... often in total darkness."

The memorial flags at Juno Beach  --   the beach where the Canadians landed.  

 One of the remaining fortified bunkers built by the Germans as they watched for the approach of the Allies.

Since all the ports were heavily occupied by the Germans, the Allies built a port at Arromanches, where they could bring in ships with soldiers and supplies.  It was pre-fabricated and transported from England!  

Some of the concrete structures that were part of the port can still be seen.  To give you some perspective, they structures are about 1 mile out to sea.  They were huge (about 6 stories high).

Here, you can witness the formation of a brand new bunker!

Musée du Débarquement at Arromanches

This huge bomb is one of the 10,000 dropped during the first attack.

Omaha Beach, where the Americans landed.

Later we travelled to Colleville-sur-Mer to visit the famous American War Cemetery, overlooking Omaha Beach.  After the war, the land was given to the Americans by the French Government, so these American soldiers are buried in American soil.  

It was heart-breaking to see so many unidentified soldiers.

The whole place is immaculate

Sad to think that we never learn  --  wars are still happening.  No-one wins a war.

Thank goodness for the leisurely drive to Bayeux at the end of the day.  

Tour Day 2 - Northern Beaches

The first beach stop was Deauville.  The day we arrived was a tad cool, but you can see from the photo of the beach how popular it would be in hot weather.

We tried to keep our arrival low key.  Nevertheless, they rolled out the red carpet!

 The stars had an opportunity to mingle with us ...

We were told that the American Film Festival, held here annually (and coincidentally at the same time as our arrival) is the longest-running film festival in Europe.


Next stop along the way included Dives-sur-mer and Cabourg.  The beach in this area was used by  William (known as William the Bastard) to set out for England.  He won the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and from that time became William the Conqueror, King of England.

Cabourg

There are many affluent areas along the northern coast.

Clearly, it was another big day ...

Tour Day 1: Paris to Honfleur

Tour Day 1  --  we had to set an alarm.  BIG shock to the system!  We gulped down some breakfast and hauled our suitcases to the Hotel de Ville Metro station ... down into the underground.  Hoped like crazy that we were getting in before the "rush hour" as we were about to travel on the busiest line in Paris with our suitcases and back-packs. The train pulled in and there was room for us  --  it was, of course, good planning and not luck.  At Charles de Gaulle-Etoile metro station, we had to lug our suitcases and back-packs up many stairs. We were hot, bothered, and probably bewildered  --  but we knew we had time to walk to the hotel where we were to meet the tour leader and fellow travellers.

In no time, we were in the bus and setting off.  First stop  --  Monet's Garden

It was mid-morning and quite cool, but that suited us.  The garden is a very dense and very 'busy'. We recognised lots of flowers we have in Australia, but there were different varieties with many had different colours.

 It was great to see the Japanese garden and the all-too-familiar lily pond and bridge ...

After leaving Monet's Garden, we stopped near Anderlys where we could see ruins of the old medieval castle (Château Gaillard) built by Richard the Lionheart (1196-1198).

Anderlys on a hazy day

The castle is being partly re-built.

Then, on to Rouen, only about 40 km away.  And what was the first stop?  The Gothic Notre Dame cathedral of course.  It was started in the 12th Century but there was a church in the same place as early as the 4th century.

We then explored the Place du Vieux-Marché (The Old Market) which is surrounded by amazing medieval buildings.

The Old Market square is also infamous as the site where Jeanne d’Arc was burned to death in 1431.

Joan of Arc was only 16 when she claimed that divine guidance required her to recover her homeland from English domination.  Can you imagine a 16 year old girl today convincing a future king that she should be given command of an army?  Well, Joan did that in the 15th century.  She overcame the dismissive attitude of the commanders and led the army to victory!  She helped the 100 Years' War come to an end.

Unfortunately for Joan, she was captured by the English and tried for heresy.  The trial was fraudulent, but she was condemned and burned at the stake in 1431.

St Joan of Arc statue in the cathedral

A rather solemn story to end our account of Day 1.  

Day 6 - Latin Quarter of Paris

Who decided we should do a blog???  It's so time-consuming, and tourists don't have time for down-loading photos into a computer and then uploading them into a blog.  However, we don't want to disappoint our devoted readers.

So, Day 6 was Monday, our last full day in Paris, the city of amazing creations  --  incredible buildings and bridges, tall towers and obelisks, intriguing history and designer stubble. There were also the occasional reality checks like dog poo, beggars and pedlars.

On our last morning, we set off for the Latin Quarter on the other side of the river, aka the 'left bank'. First stop, the beautiful little garden associated with Saint Julien-le-Pauvre church.  (And you can see Notre Dame in the background.)  The garden still contains a Robinia tree that was planted in 1605!

We wandered around narrow little streets with names like "Rue de la Chat qui Pêche" (Street of the cat who fishes) and discovered clever graffiti like this 3D face:

The area is full of little cafés, book shops, clothing shops, etc  --  many catering for the students from the famous Sorbonne University.  We took a look inside the famous Shakespeare & Co. Bookshop  --  a ramshackle shop with shelves in every available space (including on the side of the stairwell).

We continued wondering aimlessly (ie. disoriented - not lost!) and found the Place Saint-Michel with the fountain by Davioud, showing St Michael killing the dragon.

We walked back 'home' through a different part of the Marais area and lo and behold  -- more Parisienne decadence!