D-Day Beaches – The Normandy American Cemetery

In three days it will be the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy. I’ve wanted to visit the D-Day beaches for a long time. Today is finally the day.

Last night our boat traveled back up the Seine and docked at the small town of Caudebec-en-Caux.  At Caudebec-en-Caux  we boarded a bus to make the 90-minute ride to Colleville sur Mer, where the American Cemetery is located. Our tour guide, who was with us on the bus, was a youngish French lady. As we made our way to the highway, she started telling us a few things about the D-Day invasion . I thought I already knew quite a bit about the invasion, but I soon realized I knew next to nothing about D-Day, really. Continue reading “D-Day Beaches – The Normandy American Cemetery”

La Route du Cidre — Let’s Take a Drive!

We’re in Pays d’Auge, Normandy, rolling through the countryside on La Route du Cidre. Drinking and driving is bad, but luckily for us, drinking and riding in a gigantic, modern tour bus is perfectly fine – especially in France. Bordeaux has its “Routes du Vin.” Burgundy has “La Route des Grands Crus.” Ah, oui. But Normandy has “La Route du Cidre.” And from cidre, we get Calvados! Continue reading “La Route du Cidre — Let’s Take a Drive!”

Le Havre and Honfleur

We left Les Andelys last night and made our way up river to where the Seine empties into the English Channel. This morning we docked at the port of Le Havre, just across the river from Honfleur. Honfleur is a picturesque little fishing port whose ancient buildings been here for centuries.

Le Havre is a modern container port, manufacturing center, and university town. Everything here is new – every building, post-1944. Le Havre was totally decimated in World War II. Continue reading “Le Havre and Honfleur”

Chateau Gaillard – Richard the Lionheart’s Favorite Place to Hang Out

We’re in the little town of Les Andelys, France. It’s the first stop on our Seine river cruise through Normandy. When we look up, we see the massive remains of a medieval structure called Chateau Gaillard. It used to be Richard the Lionheart’s favorite place to hang out. That’s right – Richard the Lionheart. Continue reading “Chateau Gaillard – Richard the Lionheart’s Favorite Place to Hang Out”

Les Andelys, Normandy

The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was walk over to the sliding glass doors, pull the curtains back, and take a look outside. “We’re moving!” I couldn’t feel anything that gave away the ship’s motion, but the lush greenery on the banks of the Seine was passing by at a pretty good clip. We were on our way to Les Andelys. Continue reading “Les Andelys, Normandy”

Seine River Cruise – Embarkation Day

We’ve been in Paris for three days, but now it’s time to leave. We’re going to get on board a boat that will take us through Normandy on a Seine river cruise. We’ll go all the way to the Atlantic ocean, making stops along the way, and then turn around and come back to Paris. Our bags are packed, so let’s go! Continue reading “Seine River Cruise – Embarkation Day”

Parisian Foodie Tour – It’s the Yeast We Can Do

Menacing clouds have gathered over Paris. It’s getting chilly, and it looks like rain is on the way. We don’t care. We’re ensconced in a cozy wine shop in the Marais district, getting ready to taste the goodies we’ve collected today on our Parisian foodie tour. Continue reading “Parisian Foodie Tour – It’s the Yeast We Can Do”

Le Foodie Tour Continued – Natural Wine

We’re in Paris, on the last leg of a foodie tour through the Marais district. Our next stop will be at a wine shop. Wine is food, no? Well, in Paris, it is. The proprietor of the shop we’re going to visit has a special interest in “natural” wine. Continue reading “Le Foodie Tour Continued – Natural Wine”

Foodie Tour – Time for “La Patisserie”

We’re still on our foodie tour Paris, France. It’s been a great tour so far. We’ve been to a chocolate shop, a bakery, and a cheese shop. Or in français, un chocolatier, une boulangerie, and une fromagerie. Now it’s time for “la patisserie”. No wonder everything tastes better over here. Everything sounds like it tastes better to begin with! Continue reading “Foodie Tour – Time for “La Patisserie””