Normandy- 30th July till 5th August

Finally I got my 'hay bales in the field' photo!

After leaving Mont St Michel we headed around the Normandy coast toward our rendezvous with some of Morgan’s family.  On the way we stopped for a night each at the coastal towns of Barneville-Carteret and Courseulles Sur Mer.  The beaches in this area are very similar in appearance to New Zealand beaches.  The tides though are huge and we had two failed attempts at going for a swim.  Both times the tide was so far out we would have had to walk for miles to reach the waters edge, let alone go in far enough to actually submerge ourselves.

On the beach at Barneville-Carteret.  Somewhere out there is the actual water. Swim - fail.

The pretty town of Grandcamp Maisy.  This was the first seaside town we stopped at on our way along this stretch of Normandy coast.  I chose it mainly for the name of course but it turned out to have a good local market.

The water front at Grandcamp Maisy

Omaha Beach

Morgan looking fierce

We met up with Morgan’s parents and his cousin Sophie in a place called Blonville-sur-Mer.  The property here belongs to the family of Sophie’s friend Beranger.  They were very welcoming to us all.  The previous farm-house has been made into a B&B and the previous campground closed, apart from a few long-time customers and some very special guests!  The setting was beautiful; very rural with views down to the ocean.  Our time together here was very special and we spent a lot of it sitting outside in the sun, talking, eating and drinking.  We made sure to try out the local produce including cider and calvados.

The sunset looking out from our accommodation over Villers-sur-mer.

Lovely Jane Reeve the original.  Morgan wanted something like "Jane tried to hide the hand-shaped deformity growing out of her neck"...but I refused.

We also made a few days trips in the Reeve’s hire car.  One of the highlights was a trip to Bayeux to see the famous Bayeux tapestry.  This tapestry was begun in 1070 and it over 68m in length.  It depicts the events of the 1066 Norman invasion.  The level of detail and obvious skill involved is staggering.  No pictures are permitted unfortunately.  The Bayeux cathedral was also beautiful though, so you can look at some pictures of that!  

Bayeux Cathedral

Crypt action man

Jane and Martin.  They appeared to be actually reading the information sheets- strange.  I don't think it ended well for the guy in the painting above them.

Stone carving detail.

Detail on the ceiling.  This is me trying out our new camera lens with "more zoom".

One of our drives took us past the invasion beaches of Normandy.  One of the most impressive features is the Mulberry harbour, the remnants of a temporary harbor built during World War II.  It was constructed in England in sections and towed across the channel, before being filled with concrete and sunk.

Gun emplacements at Longues-sur-mer.

Partly destroyed gun emplacement.

View across the fields at Longues-sur-mer, with the Mulberry harbour in the distance.

A closer up view of the remnants of the Mulberry harbour.

We also visited the beautiful towns of Hon Fleur, Beaumont-en-Auge, Deauville and Villiers-sur-mer, where we wandered the streets and marveled at the architecture.  

Hon Fleur, a gorgeous port town.  It was amazing how different the architecture and style of the different coastal towns were.

Hon Fleur was busy and full of tourists but managed to maintain a really nice vibe.

The wooden clock tower in Hon Fleur.

Gelato time.

Martin, Jane (the original) and Morgan went on a side mission to see this house, the subject of a book Jane had read.  They managed to take a couple of pictures before the owners of the private house set the dogs on them! 

During the Reeve road trip they also visited this castle.  Apparently they all peed under the same tree, a fact that neither you nor I wanted to know!

A very impressive hotel in Deauville.

On the famous Deauville Promenade des Planches

Colourful beach umbrella's on a grey, cloudy summers day. 

No caption required.

And again....

Beautiful half timbered houses in Beaumont-en-Auge

One of the stunning sunsets we saw from our accommodation.

On the beach at Villers-sur-mer

Villers-sur-mer

Villers-sur-mer.  I never did find out the relevance of the dinosaurs!

On departing Blonville-sur-Mer we left not only Morg’s family L but also France, boarding a ferry for our return to the UK!


So our first Europe leg is finished - and very exciting it was too. The highlight for both of us was getting to see several countries which had not previously been on our radar. Originally we thought we would see France, and that was about it - Germany and Switzerland (and the little bit of Italy we saw) were all incredible. Switzerland was probably our favourite.


The key part of what has made it all so enjoyable is being able to change our plans as we go - which is the best thing about having a motorhome. Our interludes with friends and family in Sicily and France have also been great opportunities to do something different, and to build up our travelling mojo again.

Interesting facts - we have filled up the squirty water thing for the van in the windscreen once since we got it, and we did all of Europe on one 3 kilogram gas container, which is still going.


We also enjoyed getting a working knowledge of several different languages, and of course THE FOOOOOOOOD!!!!

On the road again.