Normandy - Day 1

Our trip to Normandy was a slightly budget affair, which meant doing a few things the long way. For instance, rather than flying, we took a bus down to just past Portsmouth and made our way across the Channel on an overnight ferry. I was expecting this to be terrible (like our ferry experience in Greece) but it actually wasn't too bad. We had big comfy chairs and plenty of room. I just slept on the floor. Note for next time to bring more warm clothes and a pillow!

We arrived in Cherbourg first thing on Saturday morning, and ate breakfast on the ferry. Here's a wee pic of the harbour:

Ours is the bus on the left, skilfully packed like a sardine below deck:

Welcome to France. Don't annoy the man with the machine gun.

First stop (after a punishing bus ride) was Mont Saint-Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the most popular destination in Normandy. It is an abbey sitting atop of a small granite island, one kilometre from the coast, and which can be crossed to at low tide. It was very reminiscent of the hilltop cities we saw in Italy, in particular San Marino.

I was delighted to learn that this was the home of the omelette, invented by one Mdme Poulard. However, due to the touristy nature of the place, I didn't eat one here - but held out until lunchtime.

Instead, Anna and I had a walk through the 8th Century abbey, which was very atmospheric (as always) and had terrific views of the alluvial coastline. (FYI my first photograph is eerily similar to one featured in the Wikipedia article!)

Next we drove to Saint-Malo, a walled port city in Brittany. Once a fortified island, it is now fully connected to the mainland. It has always been fiercely independent, declaring itself a republic in 1590 with the motto: "not French, not Breton, but Malouins".

We had a fantastic lunch here, with delicious garlic mushrooms wrapped up in an omelette, and golden cider to die for. My previous omelette abstinence had paid off!

We contented ourselves with a leisurely stroll - around the city walls, admiring the views of the port (very clean)...

...the streets (very Parisian) and the beaches (very European, which is to say, not quite our cup of tea) - through the streets, eating nutella crepes and looking in the shop windows - and onto the beach.