3 - 10 September 2012

Gastronomic tour of

Normandy

3 September. Arrive in Tocqueville, Normandy after Nadege and Frederic picked us up at Charles de Gaulle Airport. It’s a four-hour drive, but worth it. The guest house is a renovated old dairy that started operations in 1909. Beautiful, peaceful and quiet, with a stunning view over onion fields.

4 September. Our first cooking class at 9.30. on the menu: Mussels, a cheese platter and an apple and pear cake.

Next on the itinerary: lunch at La Marine restaurant, followed by an exploratory walk of the historic little coastal town of Barneville-Carteret and its surroundings.

5 September: View from La Pernelle Restaurant

Le Vast village

Le Vast Village

Barfleur

Dinner

6 September: La Baleine, home of Andouille - smoked pork sausages made from who knows what - and a beautiful little church in the forest.

L’Andouillerie, La Baleine

Copper workshop in the ancient town of Villedieu-les-Poelês

Lunch at La Ferme du Malte, Villedieu-les-Poelês

The rocky tidal island of Mont St Michel, on which the monastry of the same name was built in the 8th century.

Mont Saint Michel

Driftsand around Mont Saint Michel. The tide around here can change very quickly. The writer victor Hugo described it as advancing “at the speed of a galloping horse.”

Dinner

7 September: The Fair at Lessay is said to be a thousand years old. While this may not be strictly true, documents from the early twelfth century describe the rights of the Abbot of Lessay to levy a tax on the receipts of the fair. Its origin may therefore be at least as old as the abbey itself, going back to 1084. It always takes place the second weekend of September, and attracts larger and larger crowds every year. But its rustic and traditional character has changed very little over the centuries. The people are friendly and helpful and the food on offer is spectacular.

Foire de Lessay

Left: Le Vast Village.

Looking for supper in a nature reserve

L’Epicerie Parisienne, Bricquebec

Walk and dinner on an apple farm,Montagu La Brisette

8 September: Cherbourg market, lunch at La Commerce Brasserie, dessert at Pattiserie Yvard. Then the Cherbourg lighthouse and dinner at home.

9 September: La Reine du Vicq Cidrerie in Yvetot Bocage, followed by lunch at La Gravelotte creperie, Jobourg, and a visit to La Hague.

10 September: Our last day in Normandy. A moving, emotion-al visit to Omaha Beach where the D-day landings happened in 1944, and the American cemetery. On the way back to Paris, we also visit the beautiful town of Honfleur.