World War 1

As part of our visits of historically significant sights we headed 300 miles north so that we could experience the region where the bloodiest battles of World War 1 took place.

Our first stop was Fort Douaumont which was a fortified underground base built by the French to protect their borders from Germany.  It was an impressive bunker but not robust enough for the newer military technology (bigger bombs delivered over longer distances) that was introduced during the war. Thus it was heavily damaged and of limited use during the trench warfare waged in the Verdun area.

The Verdun area has been left largely the way it was after the war,  except for the trees that have grown in the area.  The landscape is completely uneven from all the shell craters, and the partially filled trenches are still in place.  There were also some towns in the area completely destroyed by the shelling and left that way except for the markers that show the original locations of the buildings.

We also visited the Ossuary de Douaumont.  It's the location of the French military cemetery from WWI and at the memorial on site contains the unknown remains of over 120k soldiers, their skeletal remains can be seen through windows in the Ossuary.

Very old cave art

We headed 300 miles southeast to the Rhone-alps region.  Our destination was the L'Cavernes du Pont D'Arc. This is where some cave explorers back in 1994 discovered a cave with 30,000 year old cave paintings made by the earliest humans. The cave had been untouched as the opening was sealed by a landslide  20,000 years ago.  If this was just a trip for me I could have spent a week just visiting wineries as it was also in the middle of the region where Cotes d' Rhone is produced.

Getting a last minute inexpensive hotel was a challenge as it was peak season for the tourists in the area.  We managed to find two rooms in a hotel just outside one of the towns.  When we arrived we discovered the rooms were far from each other and when Crista used her broken French to see if we could find rooms closer together the receptionist showed us a third option, a gite.  A gite is like renting a home.  We've also seen them as cabins as well.  The hotel had two gites and the available one was a two bedroom with a/c, kitchen and washing machine for the same price.  We took the gite an did at least 4 loads of laundry and utilized the clothesline to dry in the hot sunny air.

With the caves,  the challenge was to preserve the 30,000 year old art but to share it with the public.  The solution was to build a complete reproduction of the caves with the art and keep the original cave sealed except for research. This museum had been open for less than a year. It felt a little Disney-like knowing what we were looking at was fake but they did an incredible job making it realistic.

Afterwards we drove down to the site where the original cave was located to see the other attraction next to the cave; a rock formation which creates a natural arch over the river called the Pont D'Arc. Kayaks go down the Ardeche river to go under the arch.  There is also beach access so we parked and the boys went swimming under the arch for a hour.

Bayeux tapestry

On our way out of Normandy we stopped in Bayeux to view the Bayeux Tapestry.  Note I used the singular form of Tapestry.  Tourists stop in this town to see this one piece of cloth which is 230 feet long and almost 1000 years old.  The tapestry tells the story of how William the Conqueror came into power though a set of embroidered pictures.

To view the tapestry you enter a dimly lit room and the tapestry is behind a glass case on your left.  You view it as you walk down a corridor, and halfway through it u-turns and you view the remaining tapestry.  The walk takes about 20 minutes if you follow the included audio guide. I was a little disappointed after viewing the tapestry as I thought there would be more but the museum also had additional artifacts on the different floors which provided additional information about this piece of history. 

On the way back to the car we stopped by the Bayeux cathedral which is also old.  The stained glass is amazing.

Châteaux of the Loire

Hundreds of years ago the French royals and the rich built Chateaux in the central part of France.  Our basecamp for visiting these châteaux is a town called Loches which also has its own Chateau.   Instead of getting two rooms at a budget hotel we ended up in a hotel that was also a time share resort.  We had a one room condo with a kitchen and deck that overlooked the river and the bell tower and a small view of the chateau.  It was the same price as the budget hotel but there was no housekeeping and we have to pay for WiFi.  It was nice to finally have cold drinks and to sit at a table!

We ended up visiting three châteaux including Cheverny,  Chambord an Chenonceau.   Cheverny which is pictured below is still owned by its long term family and it was furnished with rare antiques and tapestries and paintings. It's best known as the basis for the chateau depicted in the adventures of tin tin.  My favorite part was the area where the Hounds live.  They have 100 hunting Hounds which all live together in an open kennel on site.  These Hounds are still used for hunting the old fashioned noble way. 

Chambord was a huge château, it might be the biggest among the châteaus.  The best part were the double helix stone spiral staircases. Unfortunately since it's so large and hard to manage many visitors have carved their names into the stone walls.  Chenonceau is best known for its location.  It's built over a river, so the structure doubles as a bridge and a château. 

Mont St Michel

Mont St. Michel is 900+ year old abbey built on a rock off the coast of Normandy.   It's a beautiful and a popular tourist destination so it was on our list of places to visit. 

Unfortunately for us the French farmers had been on strike this week by blocking various roadways with their tractors and trucks.  We were blocked earlier in the week but figured out a detour courtesy of our our Garmin and by following a few locals.  The road blocks were more challenging on our trip to Mont Saint-Michel as they blocked the only two ways into the site which required us to park on the side of the road three miles away and walk in.  We were able to catch a shuttle bus after walking a mile past the roadblocks. 

D-day

We spent the day going to the three American D-day landing locations.  Omaha,  Point du Hoc and Utah.  We started the morning at Omaha where the American cemetery is also located.

There is also a visitors center at Omaha.  I don't recall seeing it when I last visited 17 years ago.  It was well done with videos,  photos and stories from the soldiers who were there and background info on some soldiers that did not make it home after the war.  We walked down to the beach and walked the cemetery.

Afterwards we went to Point du Hoc,  the location of where the Army Rangers had to scale 100 foot cliffs in order to capture the big guns that were defending the beaches.  That area has also been developed with a boardwalk for easier access to the site. The old concrete bunkers are still intact at this location as are the craters in the ground where the artillery hit.

Finally we drove the Utah beach.  That was a little disappointing as it was commercialized compared to the other two locations.  There were some memorials at the location but it was also a location where the locals play at the beach.  Probably why there were cafes and ice cream shops right next to the site.

On the way back we also stopped by the German cemetery.  This location was the main American cemetery until they developed the current location. 

I hope the boys realize the importance of our stops at the landing beaches and at the WWII museum in Caen.

Finally in France

We left Bruges and made it to the city of Caen which is in Normandie.  Along with way we stopped at a few towns along the water including Honfleur.  We walked along the old town and port and had a seafood dinner that would never be served at restaurant in the US.  For one thing the servings of shellfish were huge.  The mussels appetizer for one person came in a 3 quart pot, and Ians mixed seafood plate had items I had never seen before.  I'm glad everyone else was enjoying their mysteries from the sea. 

As dinners in France are very leisurely we didn't arrive into Caen till 9p and the reception desk at our budget hotel had closed.  I had to do a self check-in at an atm like machine outside the gates to the parking lot.  That what you get when trying to save on the hotel.  At least our rooms are nicer than the last hotel.