Giverny to Normandy

Today we left Giverny and head for Normandy. First we went to Mont-Saint-Michel which dominates the bay as you drive in. The Abby which is 80 metres above sea level boasts several marvels of medieval architecture. All the rooms relate to monastic life and are stacked above one another around the top of the rock. The history is thought to date back to 708 when a sanctuary was built to honour the archangel.

An impregnable stronghold during the hundreds year war it also has military architecture. It's ramparts and fortifications resisted all the English assaults. During the revaluation until 1863 the Abby was used as a prison. It was declared a historic monument in 1874 and in 1979 it was listed as a world heritage site.

The views from the top of the Abby are amazing and we have a clear day so you can see for miles and miles out to sea, the coast line and the countryside, east to the cliffs of Normandy and west to Brittany. To the southwest Mont Dol and the isle of Tombelaine to the north. You can see why the people of the middle ages regarded it as a representation of the heavenly Jerusalem and an image of paradise.

The whole place was fantastic to investigate once you got out of the main street which is like all these walled city's, tourist traps. The climb to the Abby is well worth the trip and you could spend days just finding new nooks and crannies to explore.

We continued our journey to our B&B which is near Bayeux and during WW2 was occupied first by the Germans and then the English. It even has a bend in the wall where a tank tried to get through the gate and couldn't make it. The home is over 300 years old and is just superb. Our hosts are French but speak English. They invite us down for a drink of the local cider and apple juice and some very yummy home cooked snacks. We meet some people and one of them was once Miss France however now she is more like miss leather. She is so brown and leathery you can't imagine her once as a beauty.

Our rooms are very nice, Kathy and Richard are in the garden room and we are in the attic Which is fantastic and very large. We get a king size bed which is great after the small doubles we have had however we have two flights of spiral staircase to climb. The view from our room makes it worth it as we over look the huge garden which is more like a park and you can also see down the road. All that's missing are the Vizslas who would love to live in France and be allowed everywhere including the restaurants.

We go to the restaurant Josette and Jean-Pierre recommended which is down on Gold Beach where you can see remnants of pontoons out a sea from WW2. And yes someone has there dog with them at the dinner table. Noel walked down to the water after dinner to take a closer look and he soon discovered it was much further than it appeared.

No wifi so these next entries will come a few days late. We have been lucky until now, we do have Internet here but you need to plug in to a Ethernet cable and of course the iPad doesn't have a port and surprisingly neither does the notebook.