James Wilson’s half-term break was last week and we took a road trip from Amsterdam to Normandy, France. We chose that trip because it’s only about a 5 hour drive and there were lots of fun Autumn activities for us along the way.
Apples from the Calvados region
Our first stop was Forges Les Eaux, which is in the Calvados region of France. Calvados is a type of brandy, wine or cider made using a specific distilling process from a specific region in France. We drove all through the beautiful apple orchards in the French countryside, and it was impossibly charming and quaint.
The French Countryside reminded us of Virginia in the fall. Touring Chateau du Breuil, which is a big Calvados orchard and distillery in the regionThe Calvados BarrelsThe main part of the Chateau is private as the family who owns the orchard (a Swiss/German family who have owned the orchard for three generations) lives there. They’re fancy. The view from our hotel in Forges les EauxWe checked into our hotel and took a little walk through town and bought Neufchâtel cheese (which is a regional specialty) fresh bread, the best mustard I’ve ever had and some other beautiful foods and made a picnic in our hotel room before heading out to a Haunted Halloween Mansion. I like looking at this photo and remembering how lovely the trip started off before taking a rather dark turn….We bought tickets to this Haunted Mansion and it was a HUGE MISTAKEJames and JW were fine for the most part but I farted my way through the entire thing because it was so goddamn scary and disturbing and I wish I hadn’t gone. Just before the final room (which truly drove me over the edge) I tried to escape but there was no way out so I had to keep going and it was TOO MUCH HORROR. I am done with Halloween for the rest of my life. Thankfully I did survive the night of the haunted mansion (no thanks to the freakshows who took their acting roles WAY too seriously) and the next day we explored the countryside as we drove the official Cider Route, which was fabulous.A smaller Calvados orchard and distillery He fits in here doesn’t he?
We spent the second night of our road trip in a Chateau in Bayoux, which is close to the historical World War II beaches in Normandy. We booked a tour through a local company and they picked us up and drove us to the major World War II sites from D-Day.
The D-Day historical sites are extremely moving. The history is of course quite graphic and upsetting but it’s absolutely worth visiting in person to get a much truer sense of the historical impact
The final leg of our trip was a short drive to the little port town of HonFleur.
The port is so old-world charming. Anna and Elsa might live here. We rented a little apartment for our two nights in Honfleur and it was the best! We’re so glad we did because it gave us the flexibility to scout out the markets where the locals shopped and we were able to cook our own food rather than being relegated to all the touristy, expensive and not-so-great harbor restaurants. Plus we got to know this sweet kitty who lived on our street. We brought her some rotisserie chicken from the Saturday farmer’s market and she loved it because she is a very fancy and sophisticated french cat. Shopping with the locals at the Saturday morning marketJames and JW cooking in the kitchenIt’s really nice to be able to cook and eat on your own terms while traveling. We made pasta one night, and then one of the rotisserie chickens and potatoes that everyone was clamoring to buy at the Saturday morning market, which we ate for dinner on the second night. Then I used the leftover chicken to make sandwiches to eat in the car the next day. Our apartment was awesome — so old and full of character and in a great location but James and JW both constantly hit their heads on the exposed beams. We had two separate bedrooms which was nice but after we got back to the apartment for the night we all squeezed together in one bed and watched Harry Potter which was super fun as the entire town felt like it could be the setting for Hogwarts. Exploring the villageWe drove to the next town for a big Shellfish festivalThe Shellfish festival was enormous — it took up the entire town and every street was packed with all different kinds of vendors. James Wilson bought himself a little wedge of cheese. He’s going to be eating it for the rest of his life. JW got into the french crepe sceneI was smitten with the seaside cottages. This seaside town is two hours from Paris so it’s sort of like the French version of the Hamptons. I didn’t hate it. Taking a break on the sea wallRiding the carousel in the harbor
Our trip was only 5 days — we got on the road Wednesday morning and were back home in Amsterdam by mid-afternoon on Sunday but it felt like it was a lot longer (in a good way). We loved it!
