UFRT Day 3 : Normandy

Day three of our Ultimate French Road Trip was spent visiting the D-day beaches, museums and memorials in Normandy.  

Arromanches - This is where the artificial harbor known as Port Wilson was built.  During wartime it served as a base for Allied troops taking 600,000 tonnes of concrete and equipment across the Channel.  You can still see remnants of the bridges out in the ocean.

Utah Beach

Pont du Hoc

Omaha Beach

UFRT Day 2 : Mont Saint-Michel to Omaha Beach

Day two wasn't over yet.... after we left the American Cemetery in Brittany, Jim and I continued on to the coast to see Mont-Saint Michel. 

Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island and monastery.  During high tide the causeway is completely covered with water.  We arrived at low tide but were informed we had less than an hour to move our car.  Our trip was a little rushed but the drive approaching MSM and the views from the top were quite beautiful.

Soon it was time to get to our final destination, Omaha Beach.  A little less than 2 hours north from MSM we arrived at our hotel which was a block from the beach.  We were tired and hungry but wanted to see the Atlantic Ocean before it was too dark.  I can't even express how incredible it is to stand on the beach with the soft sand and serene waves and know that a war was being fought here not even 70 years ago.  Needless to say after 2 days in Normandy Jim and I were on a history kick and watched quite a few shows and movies relating to Normandy and D-Day. 

UFRT Day 2 : Tours to Le Mans to Fayelle to Brittany

Day two of our road trip we headed out of Tours (B) and made our first stop about an hour later in Le Mans (C).  Jim quickly figured out how close we would pass to the famous race track, so we made a quick stop to see if it was open for visitors.

Our next stop was Fayelle (marker D on the map above).  This was on the agenda because ever since I was a teenager my cousin Fayelle and I talked about finding the cities with our names and visiting.  It was a 30 min. detour to little sign, but worth it!

Our next stop was the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial.  

to be continued...

UFRT Day 1 : Geneva to Tours

The first day of our Ultimate France Road Trip (UFRT) we headed out from Geneva and drove west around 5 hours stopping in the Loire Valley near Tours.  On the map below that is from point I to B. 

I booked a quaint B&B for the night outside of Tours, but before checking in we had a stop to make.  

Château de Chambord is one of the most unbelievable places I have ever seen.  It is incredibly huge, pictures can't do it justice for how grand the building is.  As we pulled up Jim says That's where we are going!? Sweet!  Not knowing much about the châteaus of France I had no idea this place existed before looking into sights in the Loire Valley. 

To give a brief history; Chambord was built as a hunting lodge for King François I in the 16th century. That's right...just hunting.  Construction began in 1519 and upon François' death in 1547 he had spent a total of 7 weeks there. The Chateâu was actually never meant as a residence. The rooms are massive and the ceilings high making it impossible to heat. In François time the Chateâu remained unfurnished until the King's arrival. An entourage of some 2,000 people would bring in the furniture, as well as food and everything else the king needed for however long he was expected to stay. After François' death the Chateâu remained unused for almost a century. 

From 1639 until 1944 Chambord was renovated, expanded, and abandoned over and over until it became a tourist site in the mid 20th Century.  It was also said to be the inspiration for the Beast's castle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.   

If you need more history I suggest the internet, Chambord does have a fascinating history!

After Chambord we drove about 20 min to the bed and breakfast where we stayed for the night.  Basically I picked it for location to the highway because we wanted to be able to get up early and on the road again.  It turned out to be really nice and the owners were very friendly. We even had a little patio to sit on.