Do your research before planning to drive to Mont St. Michel. There is a giant car park at the foot of the "mountain" though during high tide, the car park is under water. Just make sure that you plan on getting there after the tide leaves and that you depart before the tide returns. It would be terrible to come back and find your car under water. (Though the internet pictures are funny to look at!)
We arrived at Mont St. Michel about 45-60 mins before the cathedral opened, so we enjoyed a leisurely stroll directly up hill until we reached the top. On our way, we stopped for a hot beverage and some sweet pastries. The whole experience of this place is spectacular. The cathedral itself is beautiful with an interesting history, but I also equally enjoyed walking around. Do people really call this rock island home? It was as fascinating to me (if not more so) than the locals on the Isle of Capri in Italy. How is one born into a place like this? As we were leaving, some storm clouds were rolling in, and I was able to get this picture.
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| Mont St. Michel |
The dark clouds didn't amount to anything which relieved us. The drive from Mont St. Michel to the beaches of Normandy took about 1.5 hours. Our original plan was to spend the afternoon at the D-Day museum and spend some time seeing the beaches and monuments the next day, but the museum didn't take as long as we thought, we we were able to see both that afternoon.
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| D-Day Memorial |
The skies turned back to blue, but the wind picked up. As we walked among the grave stones of the fallen D-Day soldiers, we were nearly knocked over by the wind. Oddly enough, it was calmer as we walked closer to the water's edge. Seeing Normandy is very sobering. Obviously the events of D-Day happened decades before my lifetime, but as I pictured scenes from the first 10 mins of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" and thought about how similar things happened in this exact location right before my eyes, the calm, serene waters seemed very harsh and merciless. There's more to see there than just the sandy shores. There are monuments and old underground artillery bunkers to see as you walk around.
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| Omaha Beach |
From the Normandy beaches, the city of Caen is just a 20-30 min drive. We stayed at the Best Western Hotel Moderne which is literally in the center of town. We had no problem finding the street the hotel was on, but we must have spent 15-20 minutes driving around and around and around looking for the actual hotel entrance. It had a parking garage underneath it which is a big reason why we picked it (also because it was a 4-star hotel under $200/night). The hotel had a great central Caen location, so after we checked in, we spent the rest of the evening strolling the town, souvenir shopping, and eating dinner.
May 16 was our last day in France and...my birthday!! Since we saw all of the Normandy sites on our list the previous day, we had a free morning until we had to drive back to Paris and catch our train to London. What better way to spend a free day, than learning more about the city you're already in? We didn't really do any research ahead of time, but our hotel had several things they recommended including a cathedral in the center of town and the fortress of William the Conqueror. I don't remember much about the cathedral, but I really enjoyed William the Conqueror's fortress. William the Conqueror was the first ruler of England, so our time there very fittingly tied into the theme of the day since we woke up in France and would fall asleep in England.
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| Fortress of William the Conqueror |
After spending a few hours seeing the sites of Caen, we relaxed for a while at a cafe in Caen before heading back to Paris. The drive was just over 3 hours, but we didn't mind it at all. We drove mid-day with light traffic, and we were excited to continue our journey across the English Channel. Although one might question why we drove all the way back to Paris only to take a train over to England, the answer was simple. A train ticket from Caen to London was more expensive and had a layover in Paris. What? How does that make any sense? But we didn't try to figure out the logic, we just went with it.
We returned out rental car back to Hertz, took the Paris metro to the main train depot, got dinner, and found our "terminal" at the station. What delighted me about this experience was going through customs. When we were in Italy, we drove across the Swiss border one day, and their idea of customs was to pay a toll charge. Customs and security in Paris was more similar to an airport but much more lax. We went through metal detectors and had our passports stamped. At one point during the process, we officially crossed onto British soil (even though we hadn't gone anywhere), so that we didn't have to go through immigration once we arrived in London.
The train itself was comfortable enough. The ride was 2.5 hours though we only lost 1.5 hours since England is in a different timezone. On the way under the English Channel my husband occupied our time with a little birthday surprise which included a puzzle game and a pretty present. When I opened it, he was certain I had "snooped" since the souvenir I bought earlier in Caen matched it perfectly. I promise I didn't peak!!
Well friends, that concludes our short stay in France though our entire trip was only half way done. My next blog series continues highlighting our stay in London followed by several days in the English countryside.
Thanks for reading!
- Foxy the Traveler
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