Normandy: Food glorious food, Dday reminders and the beautiful little towns in Northern France
We spent a few weeks up in Normandy, France visiting Anthony´s cousin, Marie Elena, and her husband Manu and exploring this distinctly beautiful area of the country that is famous for many things including its beautiful coastal landscape, the fantastic food (i.e. cheese and dairy, cider and anything apple-related), and its role in WWII.
The last time I was in Normandy, France was 15 years ago when I did a foreign language exchange program as a high school student. It was great for me to go back and visit many of the same places I visited 15 years ago, to see them thru my “adult” eyes and have the opportunity to compare my experiences.
We spent in a week in the quaint and cozy city of Fecamp with Marie Elena and Manu, who were fantastic hosts. Manu was born and reared in Fecamp and did an fantastic job of making sure that we saw and experienced all that is great in Fecamp and Normandy. We hiked around the beautiful coastal rock formations of Etretat, strolled around the quaint and chic beach haven of Deauville, toured the Palais de Benedictine (which included a very tasty tasting) and visited the Dday beaches. Though I had visited once before and had been greatly moved by the experience at the time over 15 years ago , I had not expected to be even more emotionally moved no this visit. Standing at the edge of the cemetary, looking far down below at Omaha beach it’s difficult not to be overwhelmed and awed by the accomplishment of the soldiers that made it all the way from the shore and up the steep incline to storm the enemy lines. There really isn’t anything quite like standing in the sea of white crosses thinking of the sacrifice that had been made in order for us to live in a better world than what could have been.
Manu and Marie Elena also made sure that we were very very very well fed (which unfortunately, has left a lasting impression on our waistlines!). Manu owns a restaurant in Fecamp that serves fantastic food from the region so food is something he has a special appreciation for and takes very seriously. We must have sampled at least 75 different cheeses, ate our fill of mussels cooked a variety of different ways, drank great cider, stuffed ourselved silly with foie gras, the best meats, fishes, desserts and much more. In short, a glutton´s dream (my dream!). As an high-school exchange student, my culinary world had been brought to life by Nutella, Kinder hazelnut cream bars, and Orangina and was content to have it end there for the rest of my life….never thought I would experience it again and this time 10 fold.
After our vacation in Fecamp, we made our way to the famous Mount Saint Michel, the free-standing abbey/fortress off the shore in the ocean. There is only one road to Mt. St. Michel and 15 years ago, if you didn’t leave by late afternoon you would be trapped there as the tide would come in and flood the road cutting off all land access. Unfortunately, now due to certain alterations to the dunes, change in the tide (and probably global warming) the parking lot gets a little wet but same dramatic flooding of the access road doesn’t happen any more…what a shame. Regardless, we had a nice time wandering the tiny little streets in the fortress up to the abbey and more importantly checking out Mme Poulard’s famous omlettes. Anthony’s mom had seen a Food Network special on these famous omelettes and sent us on a mission to find them and try them out (as a birthday present to me). Despite the hefty pricetag (50 bucks a pop) were shocked and delighted by the famous omlettes that were as big as your head, light and fluffy as a souffle and decadently stuffed with fillings like foie gras, lobster, salmon and even chocolate…Thank you Martha and Jimmy Ives!
We made a pass thru St. Malo on our way out of Normandy and started the long journey to La Rochelle to see our friend Roman, who we met months before in Laos and had met up with again in Thailand. Our time in Normandy was a decadent vacation in the middle of the European leg of our trip as we left happy and well-fed.
For pictures:
Fecamp and visiting Marie Elena and Manu: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlovesphotos/sets/72157594205785284/
More Normandy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlovesphotos/sets/72157594234108761/
Onward,
Shan
Tags: Europe, France, Normandy, Travel
Shan