The Normandy Experience Part Deux

If you have seen the Tour de France on television you have undoubtedly enjoyed a birdseye view of the beauty that is the french countryside. From imposing chateaus to medieval fortresses, rolling farmland to the Alps, there is much to experience. Normandy is rich in history, the scene of many a battle through the centuries for control of her plentiful resources. The land is fertile and the ocean provides fisherman with a decent living. Her seasonal offerings of mussels and huitres (oysters) are renowned throughout France and can be found packed in ice inside wooden crates at little markets and restaurants throughout Paris during the winter months. The Calvados region of Normandy is famous for her cidres, both apple and pear. It is here you will discover a little gem called Honfleur. Admittedly touristic but picturesque and charming, it's center is a maze of narrow cobblestone streets winding around art galleries, souvenir shops, and fairytale dwellings adorned with exposed beams in the medieval style. Windowboxes overflow with geraniums, and there are mysterious alleyways that invite exploration. Cidre is definately the product du jour, there are cidre bars where you drink from special cidre bowls, cidre caves (shops), cidre kitsch, and during the harvest months a cidre festival. Being an ocean village, it's churches are dedicated to the seaman and there is a wonderful maritime museum not far from the Hotel de Ville. An inlet of ocean has found it's way to the center of town, and it is here fishing and pleasure boats are moored in repose, their masts reflected in the glassy water. Restaurants line the left bank feeding hungry tourists delicious fresh fruits de mer, and I must say it was there I had the best mussels ever! The locals are friendly as is usual in this part of France, and if you are aware you will discover a suprise or two. I have fallen in love with Honfleur and hope to return soon with my paintbox and an appetite. Located somewhere between Honfleur and the Plages débarquement is Bayeux, home of the legendary Bayeux Tapestry (tapisserie), the 1,000 year old embroidered histoire of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings. Peaceful and sunny, this ancient ville also boasts a 12th century gothic cathedral which is as worth visiting as Notre Dame de Paris. If not for the acquisition of the famous tapisserie Bayeux would likely be passed by, unregarded by the traveling tourist. It would be a pity however, to be in the neighborhood without treating yourself to the trésors du Bayeux; the cathedral Notre Dame and the Bayeux Tapestry. May I also recommend the reader Google "Bayeux" if planning a visit, as it is rich in the medieval history of feudal Europe. Then have a walkabout and imagine yourself trodding the same cobblestone streets as a people who called her home more than a millenium before!