Paris and Normandy trip report

Excuse the typos. I have some nerve damage in my hand so I have to dictate this to a software program. I should mention that no one besides me had ever been to France before, and my mom and sister had never been to Europe before at all.

the fourth day, Tuesday, was the day to go to Versailles.we got up early this morning and caught the train. We were still in a bit of a hurry so of course we got on the wrong RER train that was going to branch off before heading to Versailles. I knew that but wasn't paying attention. Fortunately I was able to ask someone on the train how to get on the right one and then everything was okay. It was somewhat cold, the opposite of the day before when we were at the Louvre. Of course we weren't dressed for the rain because we just had in our memory the heat of the day before, but we did bring umbrellas so even though we were cold we didn't get too wet. the security line to get into Versailles was very long. It was like a snake that had to bend all through the courtyard by the time we got there. However, since we got there by nine a.m it was better than the line when we left. My mom absolutely loved Versailles. It was my third time going to Versailles. My husband and my sister were really sick of the crowds by this point. The kind of rushed ahead of us to get to the gardens. in fact by the time my mom and I got to the gardens, we found my sister easily but my husband was no longer inside and it took quite a while to find him. I also have nerve damage in my feet and was in a lot of pain this day so my mom offered to rent a golf cart for us. Best decision ever. I have been to Versailles 3 times but had never gotten to see the outlying buildings like the Petit Trianon and I didn't think I would be able to walk there. it was raining really hard so it's great to have the cover of the golf cart and get to see everything we wanted to see. I liked all of these outlying buildings even better than the pilots. They were amazing and I was so excited to see them. At the end of the day, we had so much fun driving the golf cart and we arrived back at our hotel soaking wet and tired but happy that we had a great day. One thing I love about going to Paris in June is the long days.. That Night we had one of the best meals of the whole trip at Bouillon Racine. Amazing escargot, best creme brulee I have ever had in my life. I absolutely recommend this restaurant. It was pretty close to our hotel, by the Sorbonne.

The next day our plans got a little derailed (no pun intended haha). We were supposed to take the train from Paris to Rouen and then rent a car there and drive to Bayeux & the Normandy beaches. I had gotten an email the night before that the French trains were on strike and that our train was cancelled. So I went on to Hertz website and changed our car reservation to pick it up in Paris at the Gare du Nord. I actually really recommend Hertz as this was really easy to do and the process of getting our car was pretty straight forward.we ended up going for an automatic and got a van type of Peugeot which could fit all of us easily. The first car they gave us didn't lock properly so we got upgraded to this second car.my mom drove us out of Paris. After an initial mistake where we went the wrong way on a one way street very briefly, we didn't have any other problems. We discovered the trick is to just drive confidently and keep up with the speed of traffic. soon we were out of Paris and on the somewhat open road to Rouen. The drive was beautiful! Rolling green farmland.

We had only planned to stay in Rouen for one night. I don't remember the name of our hotel there right now. It wasn't terrible but I wouldn't recommend it so I guess it doesn't matter. The good thing about it was that it was two blocks from the cathedral, which was absolutely beautiful. Overall I didn't like Rouen too much and wouldn't go back but it was a good stop over after our hectic day of having to change plans and drive the car in Paris. One good thing about Rouen was this amazing restaurant we went to called Le 37. It was the second best meal we had in France after the restaurant I mentioned before. Great service and multiple delicious courses. It's definitely worth seeking out.

Next day: drive to Bayeux.

In the morning we set out for a leisurely drive to Bayeux. We planned to take the whole day to drive leisurely, stopping in multiple little towns for whatever took our fancy. I absolutely love the Normandy countryside. We made several stops including stopping in the town Led Andelys and saw the cathedral there as well as a nearby Chateau Gaillard. Also stopped for lunch in the very cute town of Bironne. Lovely canals and stone buildings.

Stopped in Caen to see the castle there.

Close to Bayeux we pulled into a small Apple Farm to taste some cider and pommeau (cider/apple brandy mix). The owner of the farm was working on the cider as we got there but his son went back to get him and he came out to talk to us. He didn't speak any English so I spoke to him in French and he explained the process. We got to do a tasting and ended up buying several bottles of pommeau and apple brandy. It was delicious, especially the former. This was an amazing experience of getting to walk around his farm and cider making faculty. He even let us use the bathroom in his house. What an authentic and memorable experience!

Got to Bayeux strong textthat evening. Can't say enough good things about this beautiful town. We loved the hotel we stayed at there. It was called Hotel Le Bayeux and I recommend it without question. A few blocks off the cathedral and no tourists around except in the hotel itself. It even had parking. Easy walking distance to several restaurants and to the Bayeux Tapestry.

That night we went to look at the Cathedral before it closed. It was amazing and one of my favorites on the trip. We went out to dinner at a little cafe on the side of the cathedral that had wonderful galettes, pizza, etc..a little ctouristy but we just wanted some quick food and it was delicious it delicious. We would go on to eat there several times.

It was about a week after the official D Day celebrations that we were there. It was surprisingly very quiet in the town and at the sights.

The next day we went to the DDay museum in the town of Bayeux (very nice), then to the American Cemetery, and the Longues-sur-Mer gun batteries. This was all of great interest, and very moving, for my husband who is a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.

Driving among all the little towns and farms in this area was wonderful. We didn't get as much done as we wanted to this day because I really wasn't feeling well.

But hey, it's OK to take breaks! :) Went a lovely walk that night in the town with my husband. Some beautiful canals and many, many nice stone buildings.

The next day my mom and I got up early to go see the Bayeux Tapestry. It was amazing and fascinating. Definitely work seeing. We were able to walk there from our hotel.

after that my mom and my sister opted to stay in town and go shopping while my husband and I took the car to go see the Utah Beach site. We started at Pointe du Hoc, I think the most evocative site we saw. Then the Utah Beach Landing Museum. It was really great and I recommend it. Then we walked out onto Utah Beach itself. On the drive back we saw the little church of Angoville-en-Plain. With its bloodstained benches it was very powerful. Also the age of the church itself was a highlight. We were the only people there. My husband appreciated the small stained glass window with the 101st Airborne Division symbol, the unit he served in.

this was one of my favorite days of the whole trip. We really wish we had one more day in the area. There was so much more to see. I feel that we got to see the highlights but my husband really wanted to see more of the airborne stuff and some of the Cotentin Peninsula. Maybe another time!

Next took the train back to Paris. Fortunately the strike was over. We returned the car in Bayeux. It was a little bit strange because the Hertz rental office was in the gas station. It was a nice train ride back to Paris. We had one more night in Paris, staying in the Saint Germain neighborhood just north of Luxembourg garden at the Best Western Trianon Rive Gauche. Also recommend this hotel. Loved the location. We got back in the morning so we went to explore Luxembourg Gardens. I had never been. Beautiful! Had a nice dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Last morning my mom and I walked to the Pantheon. Didn't get to go inside because it wasn't open yet but nice to see from the outside. Then it was off to the airport. Took us a couple days to get home due to strike again (this time on Icelandair with mechanics) and multiple flight delays. Great trip! Sorry so long. Hope you enjoyed it.

Great trip report - I really enjoyed reading it!

Thanks Dawn! Glad you enjoyed it. Say hi to Denver for me. I'm a Denver native but I live in CA.

Great report. I love that you told us both the ups & downs of the trip because they always seem to have both, at least for us! Do you remember the name of the Vietnamese restaurant or the street it was on? We stayed in an apartment very near one, on Rue de Vaugirard. Anyway thanks for the nice report. I enjoyed reading it & bringing back lots of memories of our trip in May.

I really enjoyed your report, especially the details of what you liked and didn't like.

Glad you liked the report, Grier!

Diana, unfortunately I don't remember the name of the Vietnamese restaurant. It was really delicious though. I think I don't recall the name because I didn't make a reservation there like I had with the other restaurants I mentioned. Sorry again for all of the typos. :)

Nice report. I will be in Paris the week of 12 - 18 Oct, strike or no strike (my flights are all with Air France). I'm staying at the Hotel Europe Saint Severin, walking distance to the Bouillon Racine, I've added it to my list of restaurants and I will do my best to get on the correct train to Versailles. I have read its an easy mistake.

One of the best parts of the restaurant was the art deco interior. Beautiful. I hope you have a great trip and don't have to deal with the strikes. I'd love to know how you like Paris in October. I'm planning to go next year 2015 in September or October. I've only ever been in May and June.