So, I have been trying to decide where we will go on our usual Fall vacation and going back and forth as to whether we should leave the country or not and trying not to let my FOMO get the best of me and just get on a plane to somewhere everyone else has been going. While it's a few months off still, I've landed on the perfect balance for us: Normandy, France.
Now, you may have noticed we've been to France several times. The last time we went, it was the first time we didn't include it as part of another vacation. We first visited in 2006, as part of our honeymoon. It was mostly not my favorite trip there. We visited again in 2013, again as part of a bigger trip to London, but we spent more time there than the first trip and did more interesting things. Our last trip was in 2022. If you have been around awhile, you know that we did a lot of non-touristy stuff, and then we spent 3 days at Disney, because that trip cost less altogether than a trip to Orlando would have, plus we got to sightsee around Paris.
This trip we're going to try some new things. First up, renting a car and driving in the French countryside. I'm always nervous about driving in a different country, but more so I'm definitely afraid to drive in the big city if it's on the other side of the road. I will gladly try that out in the country or even on the highway. I won't be doing that this time, though, because France drives on the right-hand side like we do in the U.S. I also won't have to figure out how to drive in Paris, which seems like it could be scary...though I did drive in Ecuador and Quito was crazy, but we didn't die and I actually was really confident by the 3rd day.
Why Normandy? Why not? It has a ton of history, beaches, great food, Monet's garden is out there, and France just happens to be an affordable destination, even now. I'm excited to explore new areas of France and not have to rely on public transportation to go to a new town. Not that I have anything against buses and trains, but when you have limited time, you don't really want to waste it waiting on a bench. If we didn't rent a car, the train trip from Paris to Normandy would only be 2 hours, which is fine, but getting around the area might be a bit more challenging.
Normandy is an area made up of a bunch of smaller towns, so there's so much to check out, but here are just a few things I have on my list to do:
- The Bayeaux Tapestry - a 230 ft-long tapestry showing Duke William of Normandy's conquest of England.
- Notre Dame Cathedral - apparently, the one in France isn't the only one, it's just the most famous.
- Conservatoire de la Dentelle - a conservatory dedicated to the art of handmade lace.
- Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy
- Bayeaux Botanical Garden
- Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet
- Jardin de Plantes and Jardins des Simple - two gardens in Caen that showcase rare and medicinal plants.
- Caen Castle
- Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei - officially listed as one of the most beautiful towns in France.
- The Haras du Pin National Stud - known as the Versailles for horses, it encapsulates all of Normandy's horse history and culture.
And since we'll be flying and out of Paris, we're absolutely going to visit Disneyland Paris again. I love those parks and have a new plan for dining this time, too. I've been doing more research and it looks like the food in Disney Village is better than the sit-down dining in almost any of those in the parks, unless they are quick-service. I'd also like to explore, at least, the Disneyland Hotel and possibly the Disney Hotel New York - The Art of Marvel. We might be lucky enough to also be there during a festival or the start of Halloween.
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