IN PROGRESS!!!

This page covers the start of our Road Trip: Honfleur, Lisieux, The D-day beaches, Bayeux, Dinan, St Malo, Carnac and Angers.

Day 1- Newhaven to Dieppe.

When we drove to Greece a couple of years previously we had dinner at The Hope Inn in Newhaven prior to our departure for France. We did the same this time. Leashia’s beef ribs were obscenely large and as we hate wasting food we saved some for a picnic.

We had booked a cabin for our overnight ferry to Dieppe as on the last occassion I found it nearly impossible to sleep on the airplane style seats provided. The cabin was basic but fine, we got some sleep and were raring to go when we arrived in France in the early hours.

Day 2- The drive to Lisieux via Honfleur, Normandy.

It was dark as we drove through the country roads towards Honfleur, our very first destination, so we could not see much of the country until dawn broke. On the way we stopped to look at the attractive entrance gate to the Manoir de La Pommeraye and a large bespectacled snail that was nearby.

Honfleur

We parked for free in Honfleur and had a wander around the town. We originally planned to have lunch here but we were actually in time for breakfast! Honfleur is on the Seine estuary and is described in our Rough Guide to France book as ‘Normandy’s most beautiful seaside town.’ although the sea has now retreated. As this was our first Normandy seaside town [Dieppe doesn’t count] we were not in a position to argue.

It was certainly very pretty and the 18th century timber framed buildings and cobbled streets were lovely. We expected the town to be busy but it was very tranquil and there were only as few people milling around. We were visiting in late March so I suspect it busy’s up over the summer.

We headed to the 15th century L’église Sainte-Catherine in the centre of the old town. It is France’s largest wooden church with a separate bell tower and the main church building when viewed from the front looks like a market hall.

We stumbled across Le Maison du Tripot where we had a lovely breakfast. Our tummies were now ready to do some more exploring so we headed for the Boudin Museum which had some some quality impressionist paintings on display [not just by Boudin]. We bought a ticket that also incorporated Les Maison Satie.

Les Masions Satie is a museum dedicated to Erik Satie in his former home and it was wonderfully surreal, a bit bonkers and lots of fun. To find it just follow the musical notes on the road.

The entrance to the museum is through a closet and we were treated to a range of exhibits including a large glowing pear, a weird monkey and a pianola [playing Satie of course].

The best bit was a carousel that you have to pedal to make it work. We didn’t understand everything that was on display apart from the surreal link to Satie, but we had a great time.

Our next destination was Lisieux, 40 minute drive from Honfleur where we were booked to stay for two nights.

Lisieux

Lisieux is the principle town of the Pays d’Auge region of Normandy. St Thérèse, lived here during until her death in 1897 from tuberculosis when she was just 24 years old. We spent the afternoon visiting the incredible Basilique de Ste – Thérèse and St Thérèse Convent.

The most imnpressive thing about the Basilica is its size, it’s absolutely huge! It was built in the 20th century so it is relatively modern. The vast interior is adorned with mosaics and stained glass windows. Sadly, the crypt was closed when we were here.

St Thérèse Convent, chapel and museum.

The Convent is closed to the public but The Chapelle du Carmel and the museum dedicated to the tragic life of St Thérèse is open to the public and free to enter. We ended the day with a pleasant meal at Le Duplex brasserie which is just a few doors away from the 3 Little Pigs English sweetshop owned by the very amiable and very English Jane.

Day 3 Lisieux

We had the morning to explore Lisieux and visited the 15th century Gothic Church St-Jacques which was badly damaged in the 2nd World War. It is no longer a functioning church and is now repurposed as an exhibition space.

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre was completed in the 13th century and was where St Thérèse used to attend mass in her youth. It also contains the tomb of Bishop Pierre Cauchon who oversaw the trial of Joan of Arc in 1431. The Cathedral survived the 2nd World War intact.

It was saturday and that meant it was market day [it’s also on a Wednesday]. We thoroughly enjoyed choosing local saucisson, cheese and bread for our lunch. I wish we had local markets [and food] like this in England!

We had our lunch on our small balcony, it was just perfect. This started off a lovely routine for this trip- sourcing local food for a picnic lunch wherever possible.

Exploring the Pay’s D’Auge

After our lunch we had the afternoon to explore the area by car. The lush countryside of the Pay’s d ‘Auge lies to the south of Lisieux and the area is well known for its cheese and cider. Leashia and I are both cheese lovers as you may have already guessed from our lunch.

We headed first to the little village of Bevron en Auge [see photos above], which is well known for its pretty half timber houses. We also visited Château de Crèvecœur which is a restored castle, outbuildings and museum, [photos below]. It’s ideal for kids and we enjoyed our time here, even though we had no kids with us.

Vimoutiers was our next stop and we were most grateful to find a public toilet near the Town Hall. There was a handsome cow in the village square and a statue of Marie Harel who is credited with inventing Camembert cheese in 1791. We then walked to the Eglise Notre- Dame which was built in the late 19th century.

Camembert was not far away and it was a very sleepy hamlet indeed, [the museum was closed] and we had a brief stop at Orbec to look at the pretty timber and tile houses [in various states of repair] and drove through Livarot on our way back to Lisieux.

We ended the day with a pleasant dinner at Au Bistrot Gourtmand, the highlight for me was the local cheese washed down with Calvados. Poor Mrs Lyons found it all a bit too much and was very sleepy but did manage to enjoy her apple crumble.

Day 4 To Bayeux

We started off the day by having a wander around the Jardin de L’eveche in Liseux. The Garden’s origins go back as far as the 17th century but many of the features and monuments were added in the 19th century.

Pegasus Bridge Memorial and Museum

Our next destination was the Pegasus Bridge Memorial and Museum. which was about 50 minutes to the west of Lisieux. This was to be our introduction to D-Day. We did not know it at the time but the next couple of days was going to be an emotional rollercoaster.

The iconic bridge has been moved from its original location over the Caen canal to its current home and is now a memorial. The excellent museum which is adjacent details the attack on the 6th June 1944 by the British 6th Airborne Division.

The night time raid is full of heroism and tragedy and it’s impossible to not be moved by the story which is explained through film, photographs and exhibits.

Caen Memorial

We spent a couple of hours at the Pegasus Bridge Memorial before heading off to the Caen Memorial which was only 15 minutes away. We ate our picnic in the grounds as planned before walking towards the Memorial entrance. The memorial is in fact a well regarded museum that focuses on the Two World Wars.

As we approached the entrance we were gutted to be told that it was closed for a conference! Nothing had been posted on their website, so to say we were a bit pissed off was a bit of an understatement as our agenda did not allow for another visit. At least our lunch was yummy and the gardens were pleasant.

British Normandy Memorial

We decided to visit the British Normandy Memorial which is near Ver sur Mer, a half an hour drive to the north. The Memorial overlooks Gold Beach, which now looks so peaceful, slightly different from June 6th 1944 when it was scene of the major assault lead by British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. The huge car park was mostly empty and there were not many people at the memorial when we visited.

The memorial opened in 2021 and honours the more than 22,500 people who died in the battle for Normandy under the command of the British. The names of the fallen are inscribed on 160 stone columns. The scale of the monument and its setting was powerful and evocative, Leashia and I were moved to tears.

Ryes Cemetery

A 12 minute drive from the British Normandy Memorial is a small[ish] cemetery that contains 653 war graves. It’s situated on a small hill near the village of Bazenville. The majority are Commonwealth graves but there are also over 300 German graves as well as a Polish one. We were the only visitors and explored the cemetery in tranquility.

Bayeux

It was only a fifteen minute drive to Bayeux, which was to be our home for the next two nights. We found the town attractive and it has the river Aure running through it. Our visit to Bayeux was not to see the famous tapestry which which was in the process of being relocated to London on loan. We wanted a good base to take see important sites relating to D-Day and we had a full day tour planned for tomorrow.

Our accomodation was on the edge of the town but we were happy to walk into the centre and visit the sites on our agenda. We had a walk around the town to get our bearings and visited cathedral first which was hard to miss. The origins of the Notre Dame Cathedral goes back as far as the 11th century, the Crypt is the oldest surviving section and the 15th century frescos are well preserved.

The Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy and the British War Cemetery

From the Cathedral it was a 15 minute walk to The Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy. The museum was excellent and covered the whole campaign to recapture Normandy from the Germans in vivid detail.

The British War Cemetery was just over the road from the museum and is the final resting place for more than 4000 British and Commonwealth servicemen who died in the Battle for Normandy. A sombre and sobering place to visit.

We rounded off the day with a lovely meal at Le Moulin de la Galette which was by the river. I had a Camembert Fondue and Leashia had fish skewers. Yum!

Day 5- Normandy American D-Day Beaches Full Day Tour from Bayeux

We had to be up early today as we had booked a Full day tour of the Normandy D-Day beaches which started and ended in Bayeux. We booked this with the Gold Beach Company via Tripadvisor. The tour was not cheap but it was incredible and worth every penny. Matthew our guide was knowledgeable and passionate about the subject.

D-Day Tour [Normandy American D-Day beaches full day tour]- Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, St Marie Eglise, American Cemetery, Utah Museum and Beach….[Matthew was our brilliant guide]

Drinkies then dinner at La Nomande.

Day 6 -To Dinan via Mont St Michel

Mont St Michel

A mooch in Dinan

Dinner at le Cantonbery

Day 7- Dinan and a trip to St Malo

Free parking at St Malo,

Turkish cafe for lunch- Mignoin Cafe

Wandered around the Citadel and then the Cite D’Alet

Dinan- The port area and a lovely dinner at L’Atelier Gormand.

Day 8- Dinan

Dinan market

lunch at Cafe Noire

City walls, the church and views over the river.#

Dinner at Le Mastroquet

Day 9 To Angers via Carnac

Carnac Megaliths

Long drive to Angers

Quirky accomodation

Pizza at Franceshini

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