We reached Normandy and Brittany after 8 days of travel and 1650 kilometers of road, not counting the detours. We stopped for a week at the northern edge of France on the Channel between Ploumanac’h, the furthest point on Brittany’s Pink Granite Coast, and Mont Saint-Michel, on the bay of the same name.
Norman charm between countryside and sea
Certainly seven days are few and it took at least twice as long to get to know the Norman and Breton traditions, the history of these borderlands, the gastronomy and the natural beauties. But we still brought with us indelible memories. And the enchantment, which is the good life that takes place in these parts, in this land of wonders suspended between sky and water that we have wanted to visit for some time.
Personally, I have dreamed of retracing Proust’s steps since I read La Recherche more than 30 years ago: this time I was unable to immerse my madeleine in the same places because our Normandy tour included other areas. But I have the excuse to come back again. And again…
Because as you can already guess from the first lines of this article dedicated to Normandy, this French region has stolen our hearts.
The roads of Normandy that we have traveled to reach its coasts facing the wind of the Channel are the greenest ones, among its more than 350,000 hectares of forests and woods and 600,000 hectares protected in natural parks.
We stopped in the Orne department, a land of horses and castles, in Lower Normandy at Le Hameau de la Fouquière as guests of Pierre Calleja and his family, in a typical village of the area rich in natural beauty and beautiful authentic hamlets.
The second is the village of Bagnoles de l’Orne, the only spa resort in North-West France that we liked for its peaceful and slightly old-fashioned atmosphere with its Belle Époque palaces and villas.
Famous for the longest medieval tapestry in the world which tells of the invasion of England by the Normans, it boasts a splendid cathedral, a great example of Norman Gothic architecture considered one of the most beautiful in France. Consecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conqueror and Queen Mathilde, it has a stupendous façade with 5 portals, interiors illuminated by marvelous stained glass windows and a suggestive crypt with perfectly preserved magnificent 15th century paintings. After the visits it was nice to get lost in the narrow alleys among the half-timbered houses of the historic centre, stopping for a sweet éclair-based break.
Today they are a sort of large open-air museum, the Espace Historique de la Bataille de Normandie, which includes, in addition to the beaches, museums and places of memory related to D-Day. The most moving area is that of the war cemeteries, from the American one at Colleville-sur-Mer with 9,386 crosses and stars of David in white marble lined up facing Omaha beach to the German one at Cambe.
Another type of emotion was felt in front of the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel: it is an extraordinary emotion to cross the large bay on foot just like the ancient pilgrims on their way to the mountain did. A grand finale for our tour in Normandy that we tell in a dedicated post.
To conclude: did you understand that we returned home in love with Normandy, with villages with half-timbered houses, abbeys and castles in the green, the sweet countryside of endless pastures dotted with cows and horses, villages and the tides. And we already miss its enchantment with authentic Norman charm, just as a man in love would miss that of a beautiful woman.
