After we left Paris, we traveled around France for the next ten days.
Bayeux & Normandy
June 18, 2025 - Wednesday
We picked up a rental car in Nanterre (western suburb of Paris) and drove 4 hours to Bayeux through more roundabouts than we could count & beautiful farmlands.
In Bayeux we collected our friend, Will Bowman, at the train station. He would be joining us for a few days.
We went to see the Tapestry of Bayeux. I had never heard of it but its famous in this area so we felt like we should go. It was ..... well, I could have skipped it...but I am not a huge fan of museums. The girls walked right though the exhibit without stopping.
Here is the online description of it "The tapestry of Bayeux is an embroidered cloth ...that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle."
After the Tapestry we went to see the Bayeux Cathedral....
... had dinner and looked around Bayeux. It's a really cute village.
It was quiet and peaceful after a week in Paris.
June 19, 2025 - Thursday
We had a full day planned to see the D-Day sites. We had a quick pastry in town
There were lots of memorials
We also spent some time in the museum where there was a lot of memorabilia and a movie about the day of the invasion.
We had pizza in a nearby town
then drove to Omaha Beach
Our last stop was the Normandy American Cemetery. Over 9,400 soldiers are buried there. It's overwhelming to see the number of graves.
It was very quiet and serene.
It was very quiet and serene.
June 20, 2025 - Friday
We took a little time in the morning to relax and have a nice breakfast. We didn't get out of the house until almost noon.
Our goal was to visit Mont Saint-Michele which was about 40 minutes south. We stopped in Avaranches on our way at an old chateau that overlooked the city.
Mont St. Michele which is a little village on an island.
When we got there we had to take a bus to actually get to the island.
It was a very hot afternoon, somewhere in the 90's. The bus was SO hot and had no ventilation at all so by the time we actually got to the island both my girls were not feeling well.
We looked around the town for a little while. It is one main "street" with other alleys that branch off...
...with an abbey at top
I sent James and Will ahead because both my girls were not feeling well. Elin ended up with heat stroke. Ani didn't feel much better. We went back to the car for water, snacks and air conditioning while James and Will toured the Abbey.
We intended to have dinner on the island, but we had to revise that plan. We stopped at the grocery store for frozen pizza to make at the house. On our way back the road was closed due to a accident so we took a random road google maps recommended and ended up in a raspberry bramble that James had to back out of.
It is always on adventure driving in a foreign country.
June 21, 2025 - Saturday
Travel day. We dropped Will off in Bayeux (he was staying another week).
... and in France her name is Caitlyn.
We had time to relax and play Uno.
Everyone wished it was just a little longer ride, we love the trains in Europe.
We got to Avignon around 9 pm. Our next rental car was for the remaining 12 days of our trip....and they gave us a tiny car which was not what we had reserved and paid for. After cramming all our stuff in the car James went back to the rental agency and talked the person into getting us a bigger car that we had to come back to get next day.
We had to drive 40 minutes to our next place near Uzes so it was dark when we were trying to find our next apartment. We were driving in circles again thanks to google maps. Eventually we stumbled upon the right place.
Provence
Uzes, Sault and Gordes
June 22, 2025 - Sunday
Despite no air conditioning and a VERY hot house when we arrived, everyone slept ok. Luckily we found 2 fans in a closet which helped. I went into town for groceries before anyone was awake. Since it was Sunday, very few stores were open and the Carrefour I found was only open from 9 am - 2 pm.
Our apartment was a converted barn. It was old and charming.
but best of all it had a pool.
We promised the girls a "down" day so they spent the whole day either at the pool or relaxing in the house. We even had a picnic at the pool.
James and I had to drive into Avignon to trade the car, but it was worth it to have more space.
We spent the rest of the day in the pool or in the apartment. We made dinner, our traditional pasta-in-a-foreign-country meal, and watched a movie before bed.
June 23, 2025 - Monday
We drove to Sault which is the Provence region and had a whole valley of lavender fields.
We looked around the village and went to a lavender distillery
Had pizza in the park
Then drove to Gordes
where we had gelato
The abbey was closed by the time we got there, but the grounds were open and we could walk around. The smell was amazing and it was quiet and peaceful.
When we got back to our apartment we had a late night swim to cool off before bed.
June 24, 2025 - Tuesday
We stayed in the Uzes area and went to Pont Du Gard which is a Roman aquaduct build in 400 BC.
It is a big structure that is 2000 years old and in remarkable condition. You can even walk across it.
After lunch we all went swimming...
...and the girls and I went to the Haribo factory in Uzes.
In the evening we went to Uzes for dinner...
had an amazing dessert....
and walked around the old town.
Saint Tropez and Annecy
June 25, 2025 - Wednesday
We drove 4 hours to St. Tropez for an overnight stay. After checking into our room we walked down to the old city for lunch.
We drove 4 hours to St. Tropez for an overnight stay. After checking into our room we walked down to the old city for lunch.
We looked around a little, but the stores here were well out of our budget.
We went to the beach to swim in the mediterranean sea. It was very refreshing.
Then went up to a lookout that overlooks Pampolona beach where we swam
Since we had late lunch, we had snacks for dinner. None of us felt that St. Tropez was all that great, it was overpriced and crowded. Our room was .... interesting....the decor was random and the bathroom was cramped BUT we had air conditioning.
June 26, 2025 - Thursday
Our host brought us a lovely breakfast that we ate in our private patio area.
then we were on our way north to Annecy which was our last stop in France. We had McDonalds lunch
and got lost AGAIN thanks to google (and apple) maps....but finally made it to Annecy by dinner time. In Annecy we had a 2 bedroom apartment with an American fridge....which meant unlimited ICE...this made the girls happy. We also found a restaurant that served Mexican (ish) food, which everyone had been craving.
June 26, 2025 - Friday
We started our day in Annecy at a market in the old city where we had strawberries and fresh pastries for breakfast.
then did a little shopping.
where James noticed they had paddleboats for rent. We decided to do that later in the afternoon. James and the girls went to get lunch in the market while I toured a chateau with a great view of the city.
and treated myself to chocolate gelato for my lunch.
After a little afternoon break at our apartment, we came back down to the lake and rented a paddleboat with a SLIDE and had a few hours on the lake.
We had such a great time and the lake was one of the clearest and prettiest lakes I have ever been to.
We ended the night at a restaurant called Chez Ingalls where we had typical French dinner that was 2.5 hours long. It was one of the best meals we had in France.
June 28, 2025 - Saturday
Travel day.... France to Switzerland via Chamonix.... which is Part 3
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