Normandy - Mont-St-Michel, American Cemetery, Bayeux, Caen, Rouen

I've seen pictures of Mont-Saint-Michel (MSM) many times.  It has been my goal to visit the landmark someday.  It's one of the most popular and well-visited tourist sites in France.  But getting there by public transportation is not easy.  That's why I rented a car to visit MSM and other places in the region of Normandy.  You can read about all the reasons why you should visit Normandy here.  

MSM is almost straight north of Bordeaux.  It takes about 6 hours to drive there.  It is a beautiful drive through the countryside, through narrow roads and small towns.  I found a Best Western hotel at a very reasonable rate (about US$82 a night) about 10 minutes from MSM.  That's where we are heading - the Best Western (BW) Hotel Montgomery in Pontorson.  The hotel is located on the main street of this very small town.  It is in a building that is (we were told) about 150 years.  We were greeted by the friendly owner of the hotel and shown our room on the 3rd floor.  After checking in we walked through town, basically the main street, to look for someplace to eat.  Most of the places were closed.  We found a Middle-eastern restaurant that you see all over Europe.  They sell Donker Kebab with fries.  We were happy just to have a nice warm dinner.  

In the morning we had a very nice breakfast at the hotel.  It costs 15€ but it was worth it, not having to go out and hunt for a place that's opened.  A cup of coffee would've cost 3-5€.  It's only about a 10-minute drive to MSM.  You park your car at a big parking lot and a shuttle will take you to MSM.  MSM is a town on an island, with a monastery on top.  It has a long history, dating back to the 6th century.  If you are interested to know about its history, there are many sources of information available.  

We were dropped off in front of MSM.  From there we entered the town and walked through narrow streets with shops on both sides.  The streets curves around the island.  Near the top we showed our tickets to get into the monastery part of the island.

A Distant View of Mont-Saint-Michel

A Closer Look

Narrow Streets 

A Faucet Outside the Abbey

Part of the Outside of the Abbey

The Sanctuary

Looking out from the Abbey

Before visiting MSM I thought the entire island is the monastery or Abbey.  The island is the town of MSM and the monastery sits on top of the town.

Our next destination is another important landmark - the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer.  It's about a 2-hour drive from MSM, again through the beautiful French countryside and farms.  If you've seen anyWorld War II (WWII) movie or picture of the fighting in Europe, you'd have seen scenes of this area.  My lasting memory of this area is the movie "The Longest Day."  I was a teenager in the 60s' when I saw this movie and I never forgot the lasting impression of the war.  The focus of the movie is to tell the story of the Normandy Landings of the Allied forces on the beaches that eventually turn the war in the Allied forces favor.  The cemetery is on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel.  This is the scene of one of the heaviest fighting among the Normandy landings.

Entrance to the Information Center

An Obstacle to the landing

The Memorial with a Reflecting Pool

9,388 American military are buried here

A closer look at the tombstones

Omaha Beach and the English Channel

About thirty minutes from the Cemetery is a small town called Bayeux.  We are headed here because we want to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry.  It was said to be made in the 11th century, telling the story of the Norman conquest of English led by William, the Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, the King of England.  We were not allowed to take pictures of the actual tapestry.  We had to take pictures of the replicas at the gift shop.

Entrance to the Museum

Replica of the Tapestry

Replica of the Tapestry

Cathedral at Bayeux

Bayeux is a small town so we decided to stay at the Best Western Le Moderne in Caen.  It was dark by the time we made the trip.  It took us a while to find the hotel because it was almost hidden behind some buildings.  We even went to the wrong BW just around the corner.  Eventually, we unloaded our luggage and were told to park in a garage under the park across the street.  We had a nice French dinner at the Le Royal restaurant across the park.  Staying at the BW hotel entitled us to a 10% discount at the restaurant.

Caen and the surrounding areas saw a lot of fighting between the Allied forces and the Germans in WWII.  Much of the city was destroyed during the war and most of the buildings were completely rebuilt.  We took a walk around the city in the morning and it seems most of the people we saw are young.  That's because the Université de Caen is located here.

St John's Church

Ramp to Le Château de Caen

View of St. John's Church from Le Château de Caen

Another View from Caen Castle

A Building destroyed during the War

The Abbey of Sainte-Trinité

There are many places we could have gone after Caen.  But we wanted to be close enough to Paris so that we don't have to drive too far on our last day.  We thought of Honfleur, a seaside town very well written up.  Unfortunately, it was going to be raining almost the entire day the next day.  Eventually, we decided to go to Rouen, which will put us about a 2-hour drive from Paris.  From the photos and write-ups it looked a beautiful old city.

We arrived in Rouen after about a 90-minute drive under a light rain.  The hotel is right across from the train station.  After checking in we walked around the neighborhood to find some food.  Nothing looked too appetizing. There's the usual fast food places.  Then we saw a place that looked like an Asian grocery store.  We walked in and saw that the shop sells some Asian food.  We decided to buy some and take them back to the hotel to eat.  We couldn't go too far because of the rain.

Asian Grocery Store

Vietnamese Spring rolls and other Asian food

After breakfast the next morning we started our drive back to Paris.  Originally, we were going to stop in Giverny, where Claude Monet's former home was and is now a museum.  Unfortunately, they had just closed for the season at the end of October.  

It was a Sunday so driving back to Paris was quite smooth.  The biggest challenge was navigating the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe.  There are 11 roads feeding into the roundabout.  At some point you have to stop to let cars from another road enter the roundabout.  At the same time you have to make sure you exit at the right road.  In the end we made it to Gare du Nord.  Fortunately, the car rental company left us instructions on how to enter the garage.  We enter a down ramp through a side road.  There is a steel door that is closed but as you approach, it opens.  We have to drive down 7 levels of spiraling down ramp.  Finally, we found the Alamo car rental folks and returned the car at 2:30pm.

Then we walked on rue la Lafayette to the Best Western Anjou Lafayette Opera, where we stayed for another 3 nights.  During this time we took a Batobus River Cruise on the Seine, visited the Musée d'Orsay, Montmartre and Sacre Couer.  We were going to try some Crepes in Montmartre but ended up eating dinner at a restaurant where our waiter happened to speak Cantonese and was originally from Cambodia.  

Bordeaux

In the morning we drove almost straight south on the A10 Highway to Bordeaux.  It took about 3 1/2 hours and we arrived at about 4pm.  When looking for hotels in Bordeaux I decided to stay at a Hilton Garden Inn just slightly outside the city center.  Why?  Because I found a good room rate and being a Gold HiltonHonors member I get free breakfast.  Other hotels in the city center are small and expensive.  It turned out to be a good decision.  Since we were going to spend 4 nights here we might as well be comfortable.

We were hungry after we checked in.  We asked the front desk where we can get some food.  Their restaurant was closed.  So were some nearby restaurants because it's a Sunday and holiday.  We started walking towards the city center.  We saw the train station and thought there might be some restaurants opened there nearby.  Nothing looked interesting.  We ended up at a grocery store and bought a baguette, a rotisserie chicken and a bottle of wine.  That was our dinner that night.  

We had a very nice buffet breakfast at the hotel the next morning.  Normally it'd have cost 20€ but it's free for us.  It included all the favorite French bread, egg and cold meat dishes and coffee.  We were planning to visit one of the châteaus but it was raining.  The front desk recommended we drive to Arcachon, a resort town about an hour west of Bordeaux.  The town is known for its oysters, because of the many oyster farms in the area.  Amidst a cloudy sky and rainy day we walked around the town and admire the scenery. Since we had a big breakfast we were not quite hungry.  When we were ready to eat a little after 2pm, the restaurants that were selling oysters were closing.  We had to settle for steak for lunch.

Oysters is the Specialty

A View of Arcachon Bay

The Waterfront

One of the streets in town

Late that evening at the hotel we heard a very loud alarm.  We thought it was a false alarm.  Doris looked out the window and saw people waving at her to come down.  Others opened their doors and looked out the hallway, wondering what was happening.  Then it dawned on everyone that there was an emergency.  We walked down the stairs and were directed to an area across from the hotel.  We looked up and saw that the sign for the hotel was burning.  It was a while before the fire trucks came.  A fireman had to climb to the roof and sprayed water on the fire.  It looked like an electrical fire.  

Hotel Sign Fire

What the sign looked like the next day

Before we left for Archachon the front desk at the Hilton Hotel helped us make reservation for a tour of one of the châteaux.  Every week the Bordeaux wineries designate four wineries that are opened for tours. The hotel recommended Château de Pressac.  The tour of the wine-making itself was short.  However, our guide led a very educational and interesting discussion about wine and drinking wine.  She talked about what drinking wine means to her family and French tradition.  She taught us the proper way to drink wine and how to taste wine.  The French grew up with wine.  It's part of their culture.  Asked what is considered the price of a bottle of good quality wine, she said about 12€.  

Château de Pressac

Rolling Hills of Vineyards

Another View of the Vineyard

Barrels of Wine

Wine from Château de Pressac

With our Wine Guide

We stopped in the nearby town of Saint-Émilion.  It's one of the popular towns that was highly recommended that we make a stop.  It is the center of the Bordeaux wine region.

The Cathedral

Downtown Square

Store selling Bordeaux Canale

On the way back to the city of Bordeaux, the GPS took us through some of the most beautiful wine country I've seen.  I've been to wine countries in the US, South America, South Africa, Italy and New Zealand.  This is arguably the most beautiful.  The French have been growing wine grapes in this region for centuries.  The rolling hills and weather is perfect for that.

On our last full day in Bordeaux we decided to explore the city center.  The night before we had driven to the city center for dinner, at a restaurant recommended by the hotel.  It was fully booked so we had to go to a sister restaurant.  It was crowded with locals.  The food was good, but not great.  Unfortunately, right after dinner we had upset stomachs and had to go straight to the bathroom.  What's scarier is trying to navigate the narrow streets to drive out of the city center.  It was like driving through a maze.  You can end up at dead-ends.  You are not sure where to turn, whether that part of the road belongs to a tram.  Eventually, we followed some cars out of the area and headed back to the hotel.

On that last day we drove to the La Cité du Vin, the famous wine museum.  It is an impressive museum, with the history of wine-making and everything you need to know about wine.  After touring the exhibits we went up to the top floor and were given a sample glass of wine each, as part of the admission ticket that we paid for.  From here you can also have a beautiful panaromic view of the city.

La Cité du Vin (Wine Museum)

Inside the La Cité du Vin

We then drove a few miles to the city center so that we can see what it's like.  It was a busy place.  The tourist sites are not that impressive.  The outstanding spot is the Miroir d'eau, the reflecting pool that is next to the Garrone River.  There were many families with their young children enjoying the beautiful weather.  We met a woman from China with her two children.  She married a Frenchman who is from Bordeaux, so she moved here.  We also met a group of international students from all over, studying French here.  

National Opera House, with city tram

Pedestrian Mall

City Center

Kids Riding Bicycle on Miroir d'eau (Reflecting Pool)

Meeting International Students at Miroir d'eau

Canales de Bordeaux

It was a beautiful four days in Bordeaux.  We saw the seaside, the city, and best of all, the wine region.  That alone is worth the visit.

Paris to the Loire Valley

As planned, we walked about 10 minutes from the Best Western hotel to the Gare du Nord train station to pick up the rental car from Alamo at 11am.  Upon arriving, the staff told us they have bad news for us.  The truck that was supposed to bring the cars from the airport to the train station broke down.  We have to wait for another 2 hours.  Someone was going to drive our car to the train station.  For all the inconvenience the manager gave us a 20% discount on the rental rate plus allowing us to return the car a little later than the 2pm.

We took the elevator down 7 floors below the train station to pick up the car.  It was an interesting experience as you spiral upwards to the street level.  The GPS activated and off we go, trying to get out of Paris.  There was traffic jam on the highway so it took us about an hour to get out of Paris traffic.  Once we got on the the A10 highway it was smooth sailing.  It look about 3 hours to drive to Tours in the Loire Valley.  This area is referred to as the Cradle of the French and Garden of France because of its abundance of vineyards, farms and fruit orchards.  The central part of the Loire Valley is designed  UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I booked a room at the L' ADRESSE Boutique Hotel.  Following the GPS we couldn't find the hotel.  I had to pull to a parking spot and called the hotel.  The owner told me to park at an underground garage in the Place des Halles shopping center.  I drove around but couldn't find the entrance to the garage.  I stopped and asked another motorist and he told me that this is the building and the entrance is just around the corner as I turn left.  Finally I found the entrance and parked 2 levels down.  Now we have to find the hotel.

Sometimes it's not easy to follow Google Map.  The hotel looks like it's only a few minutes away but trying to find the right street to get there is not easy.  Finally, we walked into a pedestrian mall and start to look for rue de la rôtisserie.  Eventually, we found the hotel right in the middle of all these restaurants.  It must have been a special night for Tours because the whole place was packed with people eating and drinking.  It looked like everyone in Tours was in this area.

L' ADRESSE Boutique Hotel

Chinese restaurant next to the hotel

We had a few good conversations with the owner of the Chinese restaurant next to the hotel in Mandarin and Cantonese.  We ate there once.  It is a popular restaurant.  There are many ethnic restaurants in in the neighborhood.

Narrow Street where hotel is located

Art statue in the pedestrian mall

Farmers' Market

Empty tables during the day but very busy at night

On the first day we planned to visit two famous chateaus:  Château de Chambord  and Château Chenonceau.  There are many Châteaus in the Loire Valley but these are the two most famous.

What is a château?  According to Wikipedia:

 

A château (French pronunciation: ​[ʃɑˈto]; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.

Nowadays a château may be any stately residence built in a French style; the term is additionally often used for a winegrower's estate, especially in the Bordeaux region of France.[1]

Read more about châteaus here

Château de Chambord

The first château we visited was the Château de Chambord.  We drove about an hour from Tours, through the beautiful Loire Valley countryside.  Having a GPS to guide you and take you to unexpected roads is a joy.  Instead of taking the main highways, we drove to narrow country roads where we are next to French farms and rivers.  Château de Chambord was built in the 14th century by the King of France.  It is the largest and most recognizable château.  Even though it was a weekday and not the tourist season, there were many visitors.  Below are some different views of the château:

Kitchen

Hallway

Outside view

Rear View

A Living Room

The second château we visited was the Château de Chenonceau.  It took a little over an hour to drive from the first to the second château.  This is another well-know château in the Loire Valley that spans the Cher river, near the village of Chenonceau.  It was also build in the 14th century by French royalty and went through several ownerships. It is the most visited château in the Loire Valley.

Château de Chenonceau

Kitchen Knives

Water Jug

A Royal Bed

Another Royal Bed

On our last day in Tours we walked around and explore the city.  The city has a youthful feel to it.  That's because it's a college town, with about 30,000 students at the University of Tours.  It sits next to the Loire River.  

Tours Cathedral

An Alley

A Typical Building

Loire River

Basketball is popular here too

Street Dining is popular here

A Religious Procession

Although off the beaten tourist path, the Loire Valley is a beautiful area.  It is difficult to get to without a car because everything is so spread out.  However, if you can rent a car, it's worth the visit.