I’ve always wanted to go to Normandy, France. It’s supposed to be a cheese-lover’s paradise. Dairy, in general, in fact. Butter! As I understand it, just about everything that comes out of a Norman kitchen is made with butter. Cooks in Normandy have no use for olive oil. For them, it’s butter all the way.
Normandy
So of course, Normandy is well-known for its pastries, particularly when apples are involved. Normandy is apple country. “Tarte Normande” is probably on every menu there. That works for me.
Ooooh… and seafood. In Normandy they get it first — straight out of the cold Atlantic ocean — before it gets delivered to the markets of Paris and beyond.
Then there are the D-Day Beaches. If I had a bucket list, visiting the D-Day Beaches would be on it for sure. And those beautiful little coastal towns and harbors that painters love to paint. Each one looks like it was meant to be on a post card.
The history of this corner of France is full of twists and turns as both the French and the English claimed this region as their own. And before them, the Vikings – the Norsemen – from whence we get the name, “Normandy.”
Paris
So this should be a good trip, eh? But since we’re flying into Paris first, we might as well spend some time in the City of Light. We want to check on Notre Dame, and see how it’s coming along now, after the fire.
While in Paris, we’ll stay, as we have before, in an apartment in the Montorgueil neighborhood, (in the 2nd Arrondissement). Hanging out in that part of town is one of our favorite things to do.
We’ve signed up for a foodie tour in Paris. Foodie tour? Paris? That should be a no-brainer. There are a lot of food-oriented tours there to choose from. We opted for one that focuses on the Marais district. That should be interesting.
After a few days in Paris, we’ll board a boat for a 1-week river cruise through Normandy. A river cruise covers a lot of ground in a fairly short time, so it seems like the perfect way to see Normandy.
The cruise will start in Paris. We’ll follow the Seine river all the way to the Atlantic ocean, then return to Paris, still on the Seine. We’ll make stops along the way so we’ll be able to see different parts of Normandy up close. One of those stops will be a 1-day excursion (by bus) to the D-Day beaches.
Dublin
That all sounds great, but we wanted to visit one more place while we’re “in the neighborhood.” We decided on Dublin, Ireland. It’s just a 2-hour flight from Paris. Easy.
We’ve been to Ireland before, and we loved it, but on that trip we weren’t able to see Dublin at all. This time, we’ll take a few days and get to know Dublin. By that time, we’ll probably be ready to come home.
To be continued…
