After a smooth flight from SFO to Frankfurt and a tight connection ... I made it to CDG! After too long of an encounter with Mr. Hertz guy who kept trying to upsell me to a French made convertible...I was on my way. Driving on the highways of France...things were going smoothly until the Garmin GPS ran out of battery and my poor man's Mercedes charger would not charge...onto my google map printouts. About half an hour later...I come upon toll roads except I have no euros..I was going to wait until I got to my destination for all that! Anyway...French guy was nice enough to accept my dollars but severely under changed me but I was just happy to get through and have enough euros to get me through the next four tolls! Also, as I started to look around the car, I noticed a "navi" button...pressed it...ah ha! Navigation! In English! So glad I did not go with a French car!!
About two hours later, I arrived at my first destination, Honfleur. Nice picturesque harbor town that will serve as my launch pad to the rest of the Normandy region. Spent the rest of the evening getting settled, familiarized myself with the town and streets and had my first serving of moules & frites for dinner.
Next morning on little sleep, I started my drive to Mont St. Michel, a place I,ve always been fascinated with! This is also when I discovered my car has a bit of personality of it's own...unlike google maps and freeway signs..my car likes to guide me on back country roads..hence I decided car needs a name. The driving adventures of "Yi and Matilda" begin! Arrived in Mont St Michel through long roads leading to spectacular views of this place before actually arriving. I booked a room in a small B&B ran by a couple. Danielle, B1B owner welcomed me with the most friendly pleasantries. She asked, "Yi..you are alone and you drive?" I said yes to all. She said ah brave girl. While I appreciated it, I don't really like it when people say that during my travels...almost makes me feel a little less relaxed...like that time in Budapest..."You're taking the overnight train to Krakow? Alone?" Once settled, Danielle recommended I spend the rest of my day exploring the Brittany region. I thought Brittany?? That sounds far! Not sure I want to drive out there! 10 minutes or so later, Matilda and I are on our way to Cancale, our first stop in Brittany.
After a nice drive on narrow country roads, we arrived in Cancale, known for their oysters! After lunch on the waterfront, we headed to St Malo which would turn out to be my favorite in Brittany. Beautiful fun resort town...water front...off ocean swimming pool...great for people watching fun! Lastly, stopped at Dinan, an old medieval Brittany town before heading back to Mont St Michel. The next morning, visited the Mont early enough to avoid the crowds, I,ve concluded that Le Mont is much better marveled from afar on the outside than it was on the inside. Beautifully build! Stunning.
After Le Mont, Matilda and I headed for Bayeux, my launch pad for the D Day beaches. It happens to be a national weekend holiday in France and many roads in Bayeux were either blocked or one way...after much circling around trying to navigate to my hotel which happen to sit btwn a blocked road and a one way, I decided I had to do it, ignore the one way do not enter sign and go for it. I could see my hotel and it was only 1.5 blocks...!!! After careful waiting, Matilda and I went for it, we only got one dirty look from a local! Sorry! Well, not really. Spent the rest of the day exploring this lovely town of Bayeux.
Now today...I just got back from my day exploring the D Day Beaches, Utah Beach, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetary. It is a little tough to fathom all that took place here...so rich in history!
Tomorrow...I bring Matilda back to Paris before hopping on the TGV to Avignon to start the Provence portion of my adventure! Matilda and I have not always got along as she constantly tries to get me to get back on the country roads as I'd ignore her for the highway signs...so far it's been all fun as I've taken in all the beauty of these little French towns full of narrow roads and roundabouts. All those roundabouts on TV as shown during the Tour de France...they all exist in close proximity!
No comments:
Post a Comment