We realized before our trip to Paris before heading to Amsterdam, where we would begin our Rhine River Cruise last July, that two days would not be enough to do justice to the City of Lights.
We had always discussed visiting Normandy to see the D-Day sites and the natural draw of France and Paris made it almost inevitable that we would get there some day. It was high on our list so even before the Rhine River trip, I made plans and reservations to return to France as early as that September, why not? Somehow I convinced Janet that we should rent a car to drive to Normandy and spend a few more days driving around France.
Flying out of Newark on La Compagnie Air on September 6th, it will be Monday, September 7 when we arrive after an overnight flight leaving at 6:00 PM out of Newark. We will spend Tuesday and Wednesday in Paris near the Montmartre neighborhood before renting a car and heading out of Paris early Thursday. It is well known that you do not need or want to drive in Paris if you don’t have to so we will take the quickest and safest route out of the City and head towards Normandy.
Our first stop will be thirty miles east to Giverny to visit the Gardens and Mansion of the famous impressionist artist Claude Monet. After Giverny, we plan on traveling the back roads that follow along the Seine River through rural France as it meanders to the Atlantic Ocean. There are several towns along the way that might be interesting. The next city on the route is Rouen. Rouen is a city of some 700,000 residents also on the Seine River. It has a spectacular cathedral and a famous large clock. It is also the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. It is definitely worth a visit if we have time and feel like driving into the large city and finding a place to park. In any case our final destination that day is the picturesque harbor town of Honfleur where we have a reservation, near the old harbor to spend the night.
This is our itinerary the rest of the week after spending some time in Honfleur:
Friday, we will be our day to visit many of the D-Day beaches, villages, museums and cemeteries along the Atlantic coast before spending the night in nearby Bayeux.
Saturday, our first destination will be Mont Saint Michel. This is a spectacular monastery and village located dramatically on a hilly island just off the coast, accessible by a causeway. At high tide it is surrounded by the ocean. Afterward, we will drive to our next destination, the town of Blois located on the Loire River.
Sunday, we will travel to three of the famous chateaus built by French royalty who used to spend summers in the area, the Loire River Valley. After visiting the chateaus, we hope to visit the Chartres Cathedral in the town of the same name, before heading back to Paris.
Monday and Tuesday we are staying in the Marais neighborhood of Paris before heading out late Tuesday to spend the night in a hotel near Orly for our morning fight back to the USA.
