A French Chateau, Storming the Beaches, and Missing the Mark: Five Days in France

June 22, 2015
Day 1:  Lorraine, France
Michael's Mom, Dad, and Sister came to visit a couple days after Kraig and Kiylei flew home.  We planned a trip of a lifetime for them.  They came to Germany on June 20th and we let them have a day to recover before getting our rental van and driving to France.  We didn't want to be overwhelmed with the drive so we drove close to Metz, France and stayed at the most amazing Castle/Chateau from Airbnb in Choloy-Ménillot, Lorraine, France.  This was an unbelievable place.  It went far beyond our expectations and our hostess, Catherine Loevenbruck, was warm and friendly and went above and beyond.  I have rarely left a place with such as sense of peace and feeling fully re-charged.

The front entrance of Chateau Choloy-Ménillot

The wing we stayed in

Part of our courtyard

What was once the dining area

The wines the Choloy-Ménillot Vinyard creates

A little creek on the land

A very old bridge by the pond

The bridge and pond from the opposite side

Looking at the Chateau from the pond

A small chapel on the land

The entryway into our wing of the Chateau

The Blue Staircase leading to our room

Our room

Colleen's Room

Keenan's bed with desk

Keenan's bed

The bathroom sitting area

More of the bathroom sitting area

I just loved the colors

The in-laws room

The dining area

The view from our room

It was so beautiful and peaceful

Looking along the chateau

Doesn't it look inviting?

We spent that evening relaxing then going to find dinner.  Our hostess actually called around to see which restaurants were open since it was a Monday and most Monday's in Europe, things are closed.  Also, the French do not have dinner until much later than Americans so she found us a place that would serve us at 7:00pm luckily.  Catherine said she usually cooks dinner for her guests but with massive renovations going on, she was limited on time that night.  

When we woke up however, she made us a very impressive breakfast with pastries, ham, eggs, coffee, tea, and juice.  It was filling and delicious! After breakfast we drove to Cabourg.

June 23, 2015
Day 2: Cabourg, France
The drive to Cabourg was very nice.  I have always had great success at using Airbnb so I felt this time would be no different, however, when the owner's of the place were not there when we arrived, I felt we might have a different experience than before.  The little place was very cute but it turned into a bit of a fiasco...when the owner finally showed up, it was actually the wife, who did not speak English.  To top all that off, the beds had no linens and there were no towels.  The owner called the wife and actually told us to go buy bedding and towels.  It was a ridiculous request and ultimately the wife found bedding in the shed.  Despite all that, it was comfortable enough and we were actually there to tour Normandy so it only needed to be a place to est our heads.

Once we were settled, we went to the English Channel to find dinner.  The restaurants were very expensive but the food was amazing and the view was spectacular.

On our way to Cabourg

The view from the van

The back of the little beach house in Cabourg

The first floor

The kitchen area of the first floor

The loft in the beach house

This was a very cute little community and right on the shore of the English Channel.  The walk was really pleasant.

Flowers on the way to the beach

When we got to the boardwalk, the sun was low and it gave everything a warm color.  We romped around the beach for a long while.

Walking towards the sea

I just love the baluster!

There were even changing rooms on the beach

Keenan playing with his food

My Father-in-Law playing with his food

Keenan playing in the tide

The boardwalk as seen from the channel

Keenan dancing in the tide

How I love this view...

My guy watching his son play in the water

Just look at that sun set

June 24, 2015
Day 3: Bayeux, Longues-sur-Mer Battery, Omaha Beach, American Cemetary of Colleville, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Beuzeville-au-Plain, Marmion's Farm, Brecourt Manor, Angoville-au-Plain, and Carentan

We drove from Cabourg to Bayeux to catch an Overlord Tour of Omaha/Band of Brothers.  It was 95 euro per person but worth it.  Unfortunately we missed our tour bus and had to meet up with it in American Cemetary due to not being about to find parking easily and then not being able to actually find the bus location.  Fortunately, as we were trying to find parking, my Father-in-Law found a wallet.  We worried about how to get the wallet back to it's owner while we drove to meet the bus.  We knew by the ID card, it was an American.  We thought we might take it to the Tourism Board in Bayeux on our way back, in hopes that it would find it's way back to the gentleman.

It wasn't a long ride to American Cemetery and we had some time to check it out before we met up with our tour.  Here are scenes from our tour.

Omaha Beach:

Top Casement of WN-62 with the Memorial Honoring 5th Engineer Brigade

The US Memorial at Normandy

National Guard Monument at Omaha Beach

Les Braves by Anilore Banon

American Cemetery of Colleville:

"The battle belonged that morning to the thin, wet line of khaki that dragged itself ashore on the channel coast of France"

I have decided not to go in depth with the tour since there was just WAY too much information to recall...

Pointe du Hoc:

Arial view of Pointe du Hoc (pic from website)

After Pointe du Hoc, we drove to Sainte-Mere Eglise for lunch and to go through the Memorial Museums.

Sainte-Mere Eglise:

Marmion's Farm:

Brecourt Manor:

Angoville au Plain:

Carentan:

Beuzeville-au-Plain:

Other Amazing Things On Our Tour:

 When the tour was finished, we ended up back in Bayeux.  My Father-in-Law and I headed to the Tourism Board to turn in the wallet he had found while our guys took a taxi back to American Cemetery to get our van.  On our way into the Tourism Board Building, we saw a woman walking out talking with another lady about something that appeared to be very distressing.  The Tourism Board was closing down and when we asked if we could turn in a wallet, they said the ladies that had just left were looking for one.  We ran after the ladies and found out it was one of the women's husband's wallet.  They had been panicking of course and were overjoyed when my Father-in-Law gave them the wallet back.  God amazes me all the time but it's moments like that when I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, he is looking after all of us and there is always a reason things happen.

We went back to Cabourg to rest.  It was our plan to go to Mont Saint Michel the next day.

June 25, 2015
Day 4: Rouen, France
So my lovely husband put in Mont Saint Michel into the GPS and clicked on the first thing that came up and we of course blindly followed it (this has happened to me before...in the Netherlands).  :)  We went completely the other way and ended up in the beautiful city of Rouen.  While it wasn't Mont Saint Michel, it was amazing and I am grateful we had that adventure while missing the mark!  

I loved the old streets and buildings

Church of Saint-Maclou

Church of St. Joan of Arc and Rouen Cathedral

Rouen Cathedral

When we were done in Rouen, we went back to Cabourg and spent some time at the beach.  We collected shells and sand and enjoyed the sun set.  

June 26, 2015
Day 5: Lorraine, France
On our 5th day, we went back to Lorraine so we could rest before driving back to Germany.  We were even more excited to go back because it was such a special place.  We walked around the land, sat in the sun and had a couple drinks, then Catherine made us one of the most delicious dinners we have ever had.  She made Quiche Lorraine for an appetizer, roast chicken with potato cakes and the best gravy ever made with her vineyards wine, and to top it all off she made a rhubarb pie with meringue.  

Not only was her home warm, inviting, and beautiful, it was an experience of a lifetime.