Since World War II, France’s windswept northern coast has been a place of pilgrimage. But not far from the somber NOBLEbeauty of the D-Day beaches lie a series of little towns where old-fashioned Gallic charm lives on in communities rich with cheesemakers, fishermen, and apple farmers who still practice their centuries-old trades. Yolanda Edwards and her family take a road trip through Normandy . . . and end up experiencing history in a whole new way.
0414-TR-WENO01 THEPhotographs by Matt Hranek SHORE
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own Notre-Dame Cathedral, the facade of which history lessons was prodigiously reproduced by Monet. It has Some of our favorites centuries of historical significance in the wars be- of the region’s sites tween the English and the French. But the thing and museums. that trumped all of that, as far as Clara was con- Bayeux Tapestry cerned, was that Rouen is the place where Joan of Museum 13 rue de Nesmond, Arc was burned at the stake. In fact, we parked our Bayeux; 33-2-31- car right at the site of her martyrdom on the Place 51-25-50; tapestry du Vieux Marché. This of course necessitated an -bayeux.com. explanation of who she was (which is why all of Château de Balleroy (Museum Rouen’s other attractions will, in my mind, forever of Balloons) be sound-tracked to an endless feedback loop of Balleroy Développe ment S.A.S., my daughter asking, “But why did they kill her?”). Balleroy; 33-2-31-21- Then it was on to Honfleur, which I loved. Yes, 06-76; chateau it’s so charming that it can be overrun with tour- -balleroy.com. ists in summer, but even so, the people who live Cornille-Havard Bell Foundry there are genuinely welcoming, and along with 11 rue du Pont terrific restaurants, it has a great organic farmers’ Chignon, Villedieu- les-Poêles; 33- ne of the very best trips my fam- market every Wednesday morning right next to 2-33-61-00-56; ily has taken was one in which I (a consummate St-Catherine’s Church. It is also simply beautiful, cornille-havard.fr. planner) had little time to plan at all. But before I a quiet port town that has inspired so many of the Ethnography and get to where we went, let me start with where we country’s most renowned artists. The composer Norman Popular Arts Museum obegan: Paris. A set of unforeseen circumstances— and pianist Erik Satie was born there. Monet, the Rue de la Prison, my then six-year-old daughter, Clara, had come most famous of the Impressionists, painted there. Honfleur; 33-2- 31-89-14-12. down with a fierce cold, and Air France had staged That night we stayed on the outskirts of town Mémorial de a strike—left us stranded with at least four idle at a lovely hotel called La Chaumière. The rooms Caen Museum days. My husband, Matt, and I weighed our op- were huge and yet cozy, with wood-paneled walls; Esplanade Général tions: Stay in a town we were already familiar with, the views were vast, the breakfasts delicious and Eisenhower, Caen; 33-2-31-06-06-44; or strike out for someplace new and easy to get to. abundant; and the whole place was surrounded memorial-caen.fr. And so we packed up, nestled Clara in our warm by grassy lawns that ran all the way down to the Normandy rental car, and headed northwest, for Normandy. sea: heavenly. American Cemetery and It certainly wasn’t a region I knew well, and my Memorial only association with it was the D-Day beaches and We could have remained longer in Honfleur—and Omaha Beach, Mont St-Michel. I knew a little about Bayeux and indeed, unless you want to go very far west, it’s the Colleville-sur-Mer; 33-2-31-51-62-00. Honfleur (me: art history minor) and about Deau- perfect place to stay when exploring much of Nor- ville and nearby Trouville (daughter: obsessed mandy—but we wanted to press on deeper into with Gigi). But beyond that bare sketch, all I had the region. Our next move was to base ourselves were some suggestions from friends and my smart- in Port-en-Bessin, at a place called Château La phone. Our rough plan had us spending a night Chenevière. It’s a grand old estate house, exactly or two in Honfleur before exploring the coastline what you want in this corner of the world, with farther west. a perfect blend of comfort and old-school style: Previous page: An enormous We left the city in the morning and pulled into cement caisson— Giverny—the famous home of Monet, which is only the remains of a Mulberry ten minutes off the highway—a little over an hour Harbour, one later. Not surprisingly, Monet’s much-painted gar- of two temporary ports built off den is heavily touristed; you might run into the PORT-EN-BESSIN Normandy during couple you chatted with while admiring his water ASNELLES HONFLEUR ROUEN World War II— lilies at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris two days marks the otherwise BAYEUX DEAUVILLE GIVERNY idyllic beach at before. But as pit stops go, it’s ideal: a beautiful set- Arromanches. PARIS ting and a hit of bona fide culture. VILLEDIEULESPOÊLES & Right: Tripping MONT STMICHEL down the We then stopped in Rouen, a small medieval cobblestoned city strung along the banks of the Seine, and the alleyway outside ein the sixteenth-
capital of Upper Normandy, suggested to us by a Huss century building
cheesemonger friend in New York. It’s probably am that houses s best known for the Gros Horloge, the great astro- Honfleur’s For more on the historic Ethnography and nomical clock that’s nearly 500 years old, with battle sites, see “Travel Intel,” Norman Popular H ai by
internal mechanisms that are far older. It has its page 116. Arts Museum. map
0414-TR-WENO03 0414-TR-WENO04 0414-TR-WENO05 Right: The seafood here is some of France’s best—like this plate of plucked- from-the-ocean oysters. Left: Its beaches may be the site of one of the most famous battles in modern history, but Normandy is really all about ease. Here, a local and his dog enjoy a spring day (beachside, of course) in Courseulles-sur-Mer.
DOSSIER Information and inspiration. read Calvados: The Spirit of Normandy, by Charles Neal (Wine Appreciation Guild; $95). D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II, by Stephen E. towering French windows, strategic deployments After all, Camembert, Livarot, and Pont l’Évêque Ambrose (Simon of toile de Jouy, lots of heavy linens, brass candle- cheeses all come from Normandy, as do caramels and Schuster; $20). sticks on the fireplace mantles. The staff are well au beurre d’Isigny, those lovely caramels made with The Longest Day: The Classic Epic informed and gave us great suggestions for off- creamy Norman salted butter. of D-Day, June 6, the-beaten-path adventures. Just outside Asnelles, we came across an um- 1944, by Cornelius One recommendation we followed immediately brella maker called H2O Parapluies. It’s a small Ryan (Simon and Schuster; $17). was to visit Les Sablés d’Asnelles, a bakery in tiny family operation where all the components are Madame Bovary, Asnelles that is famous for its tinned shortbread hand-made and assembled in one room, and it by Gustave Flaubert cookies. Being there, meeting the floury-handed happens to be on a farm (Clara and I attempted (Penguin; $13). owner, epitomizes what’s really special about to wrangle chickens while Matt shopped the in- Watch Normandy. Not far from the solemn significance credible selection of umbrellas, which come with The Big Red One, of the landing beaches are these living, working, a lifetime guarantee). Later the same day, at Les directed by Samuel small-industry villages that champion many of Vergers de Ducy, owner René Petrich took us on Fuller (1980). the things the French (and most of us) hold dear: a tour of his 200-year-old family-owned organic The Passion of Joan of Arc, directed good wholesome food and drink, strong local com- cider farm, holding our daughter’s hand as we by Carl Theodor munity, and beautiful handcrafted things that last. strolled up and down rows of trees bearing dif- Dreyer (1928). Throughout Normandy, artisans—cheesemak- ferent apple varietals. He also offered us a map of Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven ers, metalworkers, potters, lacemakers, bell forg- the cider route—indeed, you could come to Nor- Spielberg (1998). ers, and cidermakers—still run thriving trades. mandy for the cider alone. (And certainly don’t
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leave without picking up some of Petrich’s amaz- beaches, as well as the nearby American Cem- From left: A ing Calvados and Pommier.) etery. As we walked with Clara past the endless fisherman’s shop in Port-en-Bessin; rows of white crosses, we were silent—moved a pony ride in Bayeux, too, harbored some unexpected de- beyond words. Just up the coast, we stopped in Deauville; a café in Beuvron-en-Auge’s lights, including its own impressive cathedral pretty Arromanches, its own study in contrasts. village square; and the exceptional Bayeux Tapestry Museum There, an old-fashioned carousel is painted in the fish market in (we sold Clara on a visit by pitching the tapestry sugary pinks and greens and blues, and scattered Port-en-Bessin. as the world’s longest comic strip). Afterward, on the wide, long beach and in the steel-blue wa- we strolled through the town, stopping to admire ters beyond are enormous cement caissons—the lacemakers at work, their tiny delicate shears and remaining sections of the Mulberry Harbours hair-thin needles lined up precisely before them. that the British erected as temporary ports dur- (This is where lace is made for some of the couture ing World War II. I was struck by the fact that houses of Paris.) Then we indulged in the tarte aux these relics of one of the bloodiest battles of our pommes Normande at the town’s most famous tea- time live right next to such sweet symbols of in- room, the nineteenth-century La Reine Mathilde, nocence and childhood. before continuing on to Port-en-Bessin. A real Traveling with Clara in tow was a reminder of working-class port town, it has what is probably how different—and oddly liberating—it is to visit the region’s greatest selection of striped mariner’s a history-rich town with a kid. Had Matt and I shirts, fishing boats, and, best of all, one of our fa- been alone, we would’ve likely succumbed to the vorite restaurants of the trip: Le Bistrot d’à Côté, self-imposed yet inescapable pressure of The whose seafood towers are stacked high with fresh Checklist, the one that demands you visit every langoustines, whelks, oysters, and shrimp (for a site, every museum, every monument that you’re fraction of what you’d spend in Paris). supposed to. But when you’re with a child, you ad- Of course, we couldn’t properly see Normandy just your expectations: You want to keep your kids without paying our respects at Utah and Omaha stimulated, of course, but also entertained. You
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where to eat follow, to some extent, their interests and whims, a genuine fonderie de cloches that produces enor- La Reine Mathilde and in doing so, you often find yourself discover- mous, cathedral-worthy bells. The Cornille-Havard 47 rue St-Martin, ing places—little streets, parks, small shops—that Bell Foundry is open to the public, so we took a Bayeux; 33-2-31-92- 00-59; reine-mathilde you might not have on your own, because you’d tour of the workshop and forge, where we got to -patisserie.fr. have been so busy trying to see everything you see artisans plying their trade using techniques Le Bistrot d’à Côté thought you had to. that date back to the Middle Ages. We couldn’t 12 rue Michel In Arromanches, we stopped at a small hotel leave town without at least one piece of copper: Lefournier, Port-en- Bessin; 33-2-31-51-79- called La Marine. While we were checking out its We chose a tiny butter warmer, which stashed eas- 12; barque-bleue.fr; shop, we asked the clerk for some suggestions for ily in a carry-on. entrées from $13. the next day’s road trip to Mont St-Michel. On the return trip to Port-en-Bessin, we passed Les Vapeurs through the tiny village of Noron-la-Poterie, which 160 blvd. Fernand Moureaux, Trouville- I’d always wanted to go there, but because of is equally famous for pottery—simple designs, sur-Mer; 33-2-31-88- the distance from Paris (three and a half hours beautifully executed and produced in prodigious 15-24; lesvapeurs.fr; entrées from $13. by car), we’d never made the trip. Now was our amounts. There, at the Atelier Céramique Turgis, chance. The sight of the island appearing on the we sighed over shelves and shelves of egg cups, horizon is nothing short of dazzling. But then we café au lait bowls, pitchers, and tureens. got to the parking lots and had to wait in line. And But of all the things we bought and did while then we pushed through a near-solid wall of hu- on our trip, what I cherished most—and cherish For more of manity at the city ramparts only to find another still—was the little joys we encountered along the the best crush of visitors inside. (And this was during the way: a walk through an apple orchard; a perfect restaurants and shops off-season.) Finally, we conceded defeat and fled plate of moules-frites; an umbrella maker tucked in Normandy, back to the car. away on a farm. It was an ideal mix of quiet sur- download our digital edition But the day wasn’t lost. We detoured into prises, simple beauty, and historical poignancy— or visit Villedieu-les-Poêles, what must be the copper pot a perfect expression of Normandy itself, in fact. cntraveler.com. capital of the world, an utterly charming town with May it never change. u
0414-TR-WENO08 where to stay Château Château La Hôtel de la Marine Hôtel des Loges Hôtel La Hôtel Saint James d’Audrieu Chenevière Three-star hotel Charming inn on a Chaumière Well-appointed small Grand estate Luxury hotel near with a good restau- cobblestoned street, Timbered manor inn with antiques with a tree house, the landing beaches rant and great views with just the right house with smartly and a fireplace in swings, slide, and and the picturesque onto the sea. modern touches and decorated rooms the salon. huge lawn—perfect fishing village of Quai du Canada, an organic breakfast. close to Honfleur 16 rue de la Plage, for families. Port-en-Bessin. Arromanches; 33-2- 18 rue Brûlée, and Deauville. Trouville-sur-Mer; Off the rue de Tilly, Escures-Commes, 31-22-34-19; hotel Honfleur; 33-2-31- Route de Littoral 33-2-31-88-05-23; Audrieu; 33-2-31-80- Port-en-Bessin; -de-la-marine.fr; 89-38-26; hoteldes Vasouy, Honfleur; hotel-saint-james.fr; 21-52; chateau 33-2-31-51-25-25; doubles from $83. loges.com; doubles 33-2-31-81-63-20; doubles from $130. daudrieu.com; lacheneviere.com; from $160. hotel-chaumiere.fr; doubles from $275. doubles from $350. doubles from $360.
0414-TR-WENO09 The grounds at Château La Chenevière, a hotel/ restaurant in Port- en-Bessin, are made for running around. Inside, the grand old estate house has just the right mix of comfort and luxury.
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