Today was a rest day with Tanya, Raoul, and little Miro. It certainly was nice not to be on the cycle and just spend some time exploring Normandy (my body is enjoying the recovery day as I ease into this mission of mine.) We packed up our gear and threw the bikes on the back of the rental car (handy bike rack – thanks Dot) and took off for a few hours drive around Normandy.
All loaded up!
On the recommendation of a friend we spent some time on Omaha Beach and visited the American Cemetery (thanks Peps). A worthwhile visit for anyone touring in that area.
The American Cemetary - Omaha Beach
After the coast and the D-Day beaches we went to Bayeux to grab some lunch which we found in an incredibly charming wine bar…the kind of place where the waiter is also the bar man and the cook. There is only one thing on the menu – today was steak served with mushroom risotto – perfectly rare, excellent cut, and he cooked it on a griddle behind the bar. Lunch was fantastic. Informal, good value, and excellent atmosphere.
mmmmmmmm......
Raoul approves
We spent a little while enjoying the town – but decided to skip some of the touristy bits as we wanted to drive up to Honfleur to find a place to stay for the evening and grab some dinner. Tanya had a quick wizz around on her iphone to find a cheap yet recommended hotel. The best one was already booked up completely, but her rational was – ‘go to the hotel with the best reviews, and if they are full ask them where we should stay’ – exactly what we did.
What we got was an incredibly charming little B&B – La Cour Sainte Catherine, run by a wonderful woman named Liliane. Truly a gem of a place that was once an convent, then a cider distillery, and now a bed and breakfast to die for. Something we never would have found without asking.
La Coure Sainte Catherine
The Courtyard of the B&B
Honfleur is a very very charming port town – totally kitted out for the tourist…galleries, great restaurants, jazz bars – definitely the kind of place I’d like to visit again when I am not on a mission to get out of the north of France and find some warmth in the south!
Honfleur
The Family in Honfleur
Honfleur - What more can I say?
For dinner – well, we treated ourselves and I totally blew my budget (frogs legs, steak tartar…heavy beef day, seafood stew, salted marrow – was a feast for all). It has been hard to keep the budget in control the last two days – especially as I have been with friends who are on a slightly different mission than me. And also with a three year old in tow, the roughing it camping thing isn’t exactly appealing for a autumn ‘holiday’.
Tanya, pleased with her choice
Beef - it's what's for dinner
So that was the day…nice, sightseeing, good food, cider, calvados…what more can you ask for.
On a personal note, I’ve started to realize how under prepared I am for this journey – my 10 – 15 euro a day budget was far too optimistic and the idea of camping through the wet season was sort of ludicrous. I guess this whole adventure sort of started out as a way to meet new people, experience new cultures in depth, and challenge myself…something I’ve sort of ignored is that it’s cold – camping sites are closed and those that are open are really only filled with camper vans and not cycle tourers. (I know a lot of you guys on www.cyclechat.co.uk warned me about this, but I guess I just had to get out here and realize this for myself).
The funny thing is that I’ve gone on this bike tour of ’self discovery’ for an adventure, but realize mentally I’m still dealing with the same shit I might have been trying to leave behind. As Raoul put so eloquently ‘where ever you go, there you are.’
Ok – so it’s early, early days here. I think I need to sit down and look at my route a little. I’m not going to focus so much on camping until I get further south where the weather is more hospitable and I find campsites with people in them.
My main focus now is to look at couchsurfing.com and hostels as the main source of shelter. This means I will be surrounded by new people all the time – hopefully be in towns that aren’t ‘closed’ for the season – and through the couchsurfing network, get to know the towns I stay in a little better.
Before I continue south – I need to take a quick trip into Paris for the company I used to work for – a small job there means a little extra time on the road later on. I hope to continue south on Sunday, and will leave from Rouen…
If you have been following along so far – thanks…I really do appreciate it.
0km Bicycled Today
308km to Date
