DAY 13 - Normandy

Monday, 2 May 2005

France
We took the ferry across the English Channel from Portsmouth, England over to St Malo, France. The ferry ride was great! We wound up in the walled city of St Malo which is pretty amazing. It denotes the western edge of the Normandy Region, which we will be exploring today. We had croissant and coffee for breakfast and walked around the small town. There were mostly locals up and about when we arrived there (7:30am) so that was kind of nice. Almost no tourists like us.

Le Mont-Saint-Michel
A breathtaking island off the Normandy coast...
It used to be a monastery but is now a tourist attraction and small village.  You do have to hike a ways into the village but it is definitely worth it.  We had perfect weather and were amazed how well preserved the place was. The monastery is perched on an island that connects to the mainland via a road during low tides. The island is very steep and we recommend only those in good health to visit this site as there are a lot of challenging climbs and walkways. Still, the architecture and views are incredible!

World War II D-Day Beach & Cemetary
Al really wanted to go to the coast of Normandy to visit the D-Day beaches, memorials and cemetary. Just like Luxembourg, this place really puts war in perspective when you see so many Crosses and Star of Davids go on for row after row... and this was just the American cemetery.  There were a lot of non-US tourists who were also visiting the memorial.  In fact, we've found that in every country we've visited we usually hear a little German, Italian, French or English amongst the tourists.

Rouen
Rouen was a stopping point for Al & I on our way to Paris. There was a cathedral there we wanted to see but just like so many places we've been to so for it was under reconstruction work and scaffolding covered half of it. Rouen was really tough to get around in. We found our hotel totally by luck. We've found driving in England – and now in France – that the street signs leave a lot to be desired. They are often missing on the sides of buildings or they change names frequently. Italy promises more of the same.

-- Locke