Normadie? Norman-oui!

This weekend I got to go to Normandy! The trip is included in the program, so although I had already visited several spots on the itinerary, I didn't want to pass up a free weekend away. I wasn't disappointed. The trip was worth it if only for the chance to see the ocean (I absolutely love the ocean) and the bath I took in the hotel (this is the first bathtub I've come across in France). Overall, the trip was a lot of fun, but I felt that we didn't spend enough time in any of the places we visited; we got to see everything but we never got to see anything. But I'll make that my sole complaint. I had an absolutely wonderful weekend.

Friday we met at Gare St. Lazare at 8:30 and departed for Bayeux. We had just enough time to see the tapestry (a lot of fun--I love tapestries, and this one was especially kitchy) and eat lunch before getting back on the bus and heading to Omaha Beach. I made a beeline for the ocean and spent some time walking around, enjoying the salty air and taking pictures before reascending the hill and wandering through the American cemetary. We didn't have time to go through the museum before we had to get back on the bus and head out to Pont du Hoc--the location of German bunkers during WWII. All that remains now are giant holes in the ground and some concrete and tangled steel ruins, but barbed wire fences still line the cliffs. After only 45 minutes, it was back on the bus and off to the hotel near Mont St. Michel. There, they fed us and we had the evening to ourselves. I took the opportunity to take a bath because, as I mentioned, this was the first tub I'd seen since arriving in France. It was absolutely glorious after a long day on the cold, windy coast. Several of my friends attempted to find a bar in the small town we were staying in, but returned about 10 minutes later--no luck. So we spent the rest of the evening just hanging around talking.

The next day we got up early for breakfast before heading off to le Mont St. Michel. It was high tide when we arrived so the water still came to the base of the mountain. It looked absolutely magical in the morning light with the fog rising from the water. After a tour of the Abbey, we had enough time to do a little souvenir shopping, but not enough to tour the tidal plains surrounding the mountain. For that I guess I'll have to make a third trip out there! Then it was back on the bus and off to St. Malo. Upon arrival, our first priority was to find lunch. I was extremely excited to take advantage of our seaside location and order a French specialty: Moules frites, mussels drowned in white wine and served with French fries. I tried to teach others at my table to use an empty shell to pluck the mussels from their shells rather than using a fork (which tends to be unwieldy with the small shells), but no one else was a fan of this traditional French trick. After lunch, we met up with the rest of the group to tour an old pirate house (St. Malo is known as a pirate town). I was disappointed to know that the proprietor of this particular house was a poor excuse for a pirate--he was a merchant who committed tax evasion by hiding undocumented merchandise in a secret basement between his house and his neighbor's. After that, I only had time for a hurried tour of the walls (which brought extraordinary views) before we had to jump on the train and head back to Paris.