lauramsgarden

So on Day 6, bright and early we were met at our hotel by Bruce and Veronique from French Mystique Tours. I will admit, I was a wee bit nervous about it - after all we had found them on the internet, and paid in advance for 6 days of travelling together through the French countryside with total strangers. What if they didn't show? what if we didn't like them? what if they were axe murderers? Well as it turned out they were none of the above - indeed the choice to travel with the french mystique fabulous duo was one of the wisest travel choices I've made (Yes! let's hear it for a little risk taking). I knew I didn't just want to stay in the cities, but also knew that neither of us felt confident taking on driving in a place we'd never been - which also turned out to be a wise choice for us, we would have been wrecks trying to figure out the french roads (what ever happened to the idea of street signs that say I-85 west, or east, or whatever?)

Anyway, back to French Mystique. while Veronique skillfully maneuvered her way out of Paris Bruce pointed out the sights (ok I had my eyes closed except for the Arc de Triumph) and then, voila, we were out of Paris and tootling along through countryside that only got more and more beautiful.

First stop was Monet's garden at Giverny. ok, I was a little skeptical - I love gardens, but was it really worth the trip? YES IT IS - it was exquisite, and such a trip to actually see his studio. luckily we got there early as within an hour it was totally overrun by tour busses. Time to make our escape. We spent some time wandering the streets of the village before leaving, even getting a little lost looking for the church where Monet was buried, which was lovely, seeing the side streets.

From there we drove to the little village of Les Andelys, where we shared lunch and a carafe of wine on the patio of a little restaurant and walked along the river bank. Then on to Chateau Gaillard, Richard the Lion Hearted's stronghold. This is one of the reasons French mystique tours was so great - it wasn't mentioned in any guidebooks that we had, yet it was fascinating and fun to climb around.

Then on to our hotel - Fermier de la ranconniere in the tiny village of crepon (not too far from Caens) It is in a(I hope I don't exagerate) 14th century Norman farmhouse. Here we have a difference of opinion - I loved it, the atmosphere, the room was beautiful and comfortable, breakfast plentiful and staff helpful Hubby wasn't so wild about it - didn't like the bathroom facilities, but I'll let him speak for himself if he wants to. Dinner there was included the first night - tres elegant and delicious, but somehow the service was lackluster, maybe cold, and left us less than enthused.

2nd day in Normandy Bruce and Veronique picked us up and drove us to Bayeaux where they left us off to visit the tapestry (amazing) and wander about and have lunch. By the way, part of what was great about the French Mystique folks was that at each stop they pretty much let us set the pace, gave us plenty of space to explore on our own, and yet were there, ready and waiting when we were ready to move on.

Next stop was the American cemetery and D-Day memorial/museum. words cannot express the power of being there, and the grief and pride we felt - and how touching the words of the french tributes to the fallen are.

Then drove to Honfleur were we shared glace and espressos and wandered the back streets, dinner in Deauville - we kept seeing all these soldiers and policemen wandering about - what was going on. Turns out we narrowly missed being caught up in the G-8 hoo ha - whew.

Back to Fermier de la ranconniere for the second night. The next morning I took a little time to wander the village - managed to get myself lost, visited the churchyard and their WWII monument - loved it.

Then on to Mont St. Michel. The plan was for Bruce and Veronique to drop us off on the island to spend the night and then pick us up after we visited the abbeye in the morning. In a fit of inspiration I thought to just bring a change of clothes instead of our suitcases - whew - that would have been rough getting them up those stairs. Anyway, stayed at the Hotel Mouton Blanc. Given that the buildings are hundreds of years old, I think if you stay on the Mont you kinda have to accept that it won't be that fancy - it was comfy enough though of course small, and just such a kick to be staying in such an ancient setting, and to walk the ramparts at night with just a few other tourists which was of course the whole idea. Had a dreadful dinner surrounded by busloads of tourists - should have eaten at Mouton Blanc which actually looked pretty nice (tho the breakfast was a bit sparse).

but whose complaining - Mont St. Michel was by far the most awesome amazing and just knock my socks off part of the tirp - my favorite of everything and so glad we went.

Around noon Bruce and Veronique picked us up and we were off to the Loire Valley. Ate lunch at a rest stop - you know you are in France when the rest stops sell baguettes with brie and pate in the gift shop!

I'll sign off for now, stay tuned for the final installment tomorrow - the Loire Valley

lauramsgarden

Eeek - I was just looking at pictures and realized I somehow left an entire day out of the trip - and it was one of the best. Totally forgot Day Seven when Bruce and Veronique drove us through the Normandy countryside on the route de Fromage - visiting little farms where the cheese is made by hand, the village of cambembert, and the best meal of the trip - a picnic of cheese and pate and Normandy cider on one of the farms. Truly a unique experience. sorry....that was the day we also visited Honfleur and had dinner in Deauville.

irishface

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

Kristinelaine

Love your report. I agree that Mont St Michel is just about the best of the best!

Coquelicot

Your trip sounds so enjoyable. We LOVE the back roads of France and that's the specialty of FMT. When they go to an area, they explore it in depth. I've picked up so much information from reading their trip reports.

If you and your husband disagreed about only one thing on this trip, I'd say you two haven't been married long!

I'm ready for your next installment.

annhig

Hi - great report so far - give us more!

also, it might be interesting to know how you decided on French Mystique, and how much they cost, if you don't mind posting that?

Fodorite018

Just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying your report We too have stayed at the Britannique and loved it! We have not made it to MSM yet, but it is on the agenda for this summer so can't wait. Nice to hear from you and others that it is worth it!

annhig

another fan of the Britannique here. I'd be reluctant to stay anywhere else now. and we loved the restaurant on the opposite corner.

lauramsgarden

thanks everyone for your encouragement - I'm about to write Part IV. I'll just disagree with Coquelicot one one thing - my sweetie and I have been married 7 years and I'm looking forward to 70 more!

How did we choose French Mystique? I was intrigued by their trip reports and the depth and generosity of the advice they gave here on the forum, as well as their obvious in depth historical knowledge which is a passion for both my husband and myself.

I was concerned that they are relatively new at this business but after talking on the phone I felt ok with it. Mostly we chose them because of their willingness to totally tailor the trip to our interests, and I have a horror of being locked in with a large tour group being rushed from stop to stop. Throughout the trip Bruce kept saying, "we want you to be comfortable, take as long as you like, we're here to help you have a good time." and they meant it. Also they were quite reasonable I thought - I think it came to 200E a day plus expenses, but you would need to check with them.

tripgirl

Fabulous report.

My only wish is that you kept the entire trip report to one thread, so I didn't have to find all the parts.

It probably made good sense to you to do it and I know sometimes people are only interested in one part or another, but I enjoyed it so much, I would have loved it all in one place. I love long threads and a continous read.

But bravo on a wonderful trip and excellent reporting.

lauramsgarden

thanks so much tripgirl - I wasn't sure about the best way to do it, didn't want to overwhelm people with too much detail, and so wrote it in four installments, but I can see how that might be confusing. it was indeed a wonderful adventure

kerouac

Great report, and you certainly chose the best time to take your trip -- for the next two months, even the backroads are going to seem crowded a lot of the time.

Ozarksbill

Thanks for your report...seems you enjoyed much of what we did. Yes, Normandy beaches and American cemetery were impressive. We really liked the Bayeaux Tapestry and also the nearby cathedral. And of course Monet Gardens at Giverny. You didn't say much about Honfleur but it has such an ancient feel to it. Did you get to the Peace Memorial at Caen I wonder? Was your weather as sunny as ours...but I hear France is facing a drought.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-the-seine.cfm

CopperandJade

A great report, and thank you for the detailed input about ‘travels with Bruce and Veronique’, or, French Mystique Tours, http://www.frenchmystiquetours.com/

FMT and Kerouac are my chosen guides to Paris and France. I’ve read all of FMT’s reports, often, and love the photos, the historical detail and the ‘out of time, out of place’ moments. Your week with them sounds lovely and excellent value.

I love, <<<<By the way, part of what was great about the French Mystique folks was that at each stop they pretty much let us set the pace, gave us plenty of space to explore on our own, and yet were there, ready and waiting when we were ready to move on.>>>>>>
This is for me.

I’ll be spending most of the month of October in Paris and will take a few trips out of the city.
The Loire Valley is one of the many places that I would like to go and I was intrigued by your time with FMT. For those that missed it, here is the link,
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-the-loire.cfm

I would like to take the tour where you spend one night. ( Cityrama offers a tour, not cheap (about 180E) and it all happens within one day. Too much, too crowded, too fast.)

Thanks so much for your thoughts. Don’t worry about putting all of the trip on one thread, it helps us all. I will definitely be in touch with Bruce and Veronique.

lauramsgarden

Honestly I wasn't as thrilled with Honfleur though my husband loved it. I did enjoy the icecream we ate sitting on the peir though and the back streets were lovely. I think I was tired that day. also we were surrounded by soldiers looking for pre G8 trouble so it added a bit of spice to the adventure.

lauramsgarden

oh and we never did make it to the peace memorial - had to leave something for next time (too busy eating cheese and drinking calvados?)