They burnt a saint

Rouen’s Notre Dame There are a couple of places in France that do a illumination show – where they project a light show onto a building and synchronise it with music. They do this at the Notre Dame in Rouen. We timed dinner so that we would be at the church in time for the […]

The Normandy D-Day Beaches

the beaches offered no cover at all The area we have been travelling is called Normandy. When most people think of Normandy, they think of D-Day in 1944. When the Allied troops (US, Canadian and British – some Australian air force personnel served under the British) invaded Normandy to drive the Germans out of France. […]

The Abbey on the Island

Mont St Michel While I felt I was getting better in Epernay, I suffered a relapse the following day. Our B&B was in a perfect location, only a short walk into the town with a view of Mont St Michel from the carpark. The town of Mont St Michel is not much, just a few […]

Vintage Bubbles

Grape vines in the Abbey at Hautvillers Our first stop outside Paris was the town of Epernay where they make Dom Perignon Champagne. We had been invited on a special tour of the Abbey at Hautvillers – the birth place of Dom Perignon champagne and the resting place of the monk Dom Perignon. The monks […]

Ooh la la, the city of love

The River Seine Getting off the train we were hit by 35° heat which was a bit of a shock after London. I had booked an Airbnb room in a 17C apartment on the 6th floor that gave us a stunning view over Paris; the lift had only been installed 18 months ago. We could […]