Normandy 1

Green rolling hills, tidal basins, grazing cows and sheep and heaps of history permeate this part of France. Situated on the English Channel, the area represents 33% of France's dairy production. And we've gone from wine to cider as the beverage of choice. And what great cider it is. Steve joined us for lunch in Honfluer and gave us a good lesson on the various ciders and the apples and pears that fuel them. We learned that Steve actually makes ciders for a couple of Oregon cider brands.

Our entrance to Bayeux was marked by a statue General Eisenhower flanked by French and American flags. That was our introduction to how the people in this part of France feel about America. And our hotel furthered that sentiment by having posted on its exterior wall French, British and American flags. Talk about feeling welcome. 

Today we explored the walled city of Ste. Malo, situated right on the English Channel. It's different from other walled cities Julie and I have seen in that there is a lot of vehicular traffic and much of the city appears to have been reconstructed. Still an interesting place.

But today's highlight was our own pilgimage to Mont Saint Michel, the ancient monastery, fortress, prison. As with so many of the buildings we've seen in France, it is an architectural and engineering wonder. We joined a guided tour half way through our visit to the abbey and marveled at the life that happened between its walls. We could easily feel the peaceful serenity that lent itself to the monastic life practiced there for centuries. 

Now we are trying to prepare for our visit to the D-Day sites tomorrow.