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More Than Just a Tapestry | Bayeux - Exploring France

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This weeks adventure took us to the beautifully French town of Bayeux, which got us wondering, is there more to Bayeux than just the tapestry? Yes, everyones heard of the Bayeux tapestry all over the world.  This famous artwork stitched onto cloth almost 70 metres long and 50 cm tall. It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England led by William the Conqueror, the end of the tapestry shows the Battle of Hastings. It is thought that this piece of art dates back to just a few years after the Battle and Historians have concluded it was made in the south of England. This piece of artwork is known all throughout the world and loads of tourists flood to Bayeux each year to see it.  But do they actually get to see Bayeux itself? Theres loads of things to see here, with its history dating back to the first century BC and having prominence all throughout history, it is full of hidden information and facts.  Firstly, we took a walk along the river which was the ...
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D-Day Remembering 78 Years On | Omaha Beach - Exploring France

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Omaha beach, what a place.  A place for remembrance, contemplation and thanks to those who risked their lives to give us all a better future.  We went only a couple of days after the 78th anniversary of D-Day, although there weren't any celebrations still happening, there were loads of flowers everywhere in honour of D-Day, lots of flags and extra information stands dotted about.  So, what was Omaha beach?  This is a code name for one of the five sections of beach that were occupied during World War II.  Omaha refers to a five mile stretch of coast line which starts at Saint-Honorine-des-Pertes to Vierville-Sur-Mer. It is situated between Gold beach which was defended by the British and Utah beach which was also defended by Americans.  The American army landed on the beaches via 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 13 destroyers along with over 1,000 other vessels.  The first wave of soldiers were unaware of the dangers that faced them. On the night of 5th ...
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Location: Omaha Beach, France
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The Most Beautiful Town in Brittany? | Dinan - Exploring France

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I t's been argued for a long time that Dinan is the most beautiful town in the whole of Brittany. We thought we should go and have a look ourselves and make our own minds up. Beautiful, yes but the most beautiful, we're not sure, but we did have a lovely time.  The view from the top, overlooking the beautiful port - very picturesque As always before we go on a trip like this, I (Jess) did a bit of planning, where to park, what to see, where to eat or get coffee, I like to be organised. So I planned the route around Dinan known that it was a beautiful place with lots to see and lots of history to be discovered. I found a great car park (which google said was free) that was really central and easy to get to.  In the end it cost us €1.30 to park for 2 hours on a Sunday so really not that bad, although it's only the third time since living in France that we have paid to park! Incidentally, I've just been looking at parking in Bath, UK for a few hours as I am visitin...
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Location: 22100 Dinan, France
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Be Careful Not to Fall off the Edge | Vauban's Cabins - Exploring France

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T his beautiful coastal route was the perfect place for an early morning walk.  About 4 miles round trip, we decided to, for the first time since living in France, check out this part of the coast. This place offers stunning views across Mont Saint Michel Bay and beyond if you're lucky enough to go on a clear day. If you did, you'd be able to see as far as the Channel Islands and Isle Chaussay, a collection of islands off the coast of Granville.  One of the many tiny Cabins of Vauban Our trip, although very sunny, was quite hazy with the spring morning dew still on the ground, we started our mini hike none the less, hoping the weather would clear up and we would get a view of Mont Saint Michel.  Our aim for this walk was to see Vaubins cabins, there were two on this route. In total there are around 70, although some sources claim there to be 40 and another only 4.  No one really knows, as over time, cliffs have slid and they have fallen into the ocean off the cliffto...
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Location: PCWJ+45 Carolles, France
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Château on the Hill | Gavray Sur Sienne - Exploring France

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G avray is an odd one for us, it's somewhere we have been tons of times as they have a great  Saturday  market and it's also where out vets are, so we are very familiar with the place. It wasn't until one day we were getting a few bits from the market we noticed a sign for the château. Château we both thought as we looked at each other in surprise, we never remember seeing a château here. We didn't have enough time that day to explore but we thought we would have a look on google to see what it was all about and maybe go and visit another day.  Ariel view of the château and paths around the grounds A quick google, and we were informed there was a lovely château up on the hill, ahh that's what all the flags are about up there. It was defiantly somewhere that looked like it would be worth a walk around. A few days later, we drove the 10 kilometres or so to Gavray and parked outside their community centre.  There was parking ...
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Location: Gavray, 50450 Gavray-sur-Sienne, France
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Defying the Laws of Balance & Giant Ovens | Regnéville sur Mer - Exploring France

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R egnéville sur Mer is somewhere we have been a fair few times, there is a beautiful beach there and an even better restaurant just in the village. We knew the château was there, but we didn't know about the old lime kilns!   Defying the laws of balance! Where is Regnéville? Regnéville is located on the west coast of the Cotentin peninsula of Normandy and on a sunny clear day, you can just about see the Channel Islands off the coast.  This port is located on the edge of the mouth to the River Sienne and during the Middle Ages was one of the best and most popular anchorages on this coast.  It was an important merchant stopover for Montmartin which is just down the coast and held great fairs.  Nowadays, it is a fairly small but touristy town with small hotels and campsites dotted around and the population is only 741 people. It peeked in 1866 when over 2,000 people lived here! There is quite a bit to see here for a small town. We saw the medieval castle and the lime ki...
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Location: 50590 Regnéville-sur-Mer, France
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