Five Go To France - Part 1: Bayeux

We met up with Kath again a few weeks later (Stu having already headed off for Barcelona) and set off for Northern France. With 5 in Beatrice it was pretty squeezy in the back as we headed for Portsmouth and the overnight ferry to Le Havre. But I would much rather have slept in the car than the human-endurance experiment/torture session that was the "general seating" of the Norman Spirit. We skilfully managed to seat ourselves next to the loudest snorer on the planet, and with the ergonomically-challenged seat-armrest combination and oven-like ambient temperature, spent one of the most uncomfortable nights of our lives.

The experience was not helped by the fact that much of it was spent not moving. Yep, the ferry leaves Portsmouth at 11pm, but it only needs 4-or-so hours to get across, and Le Havre Harbour doesn't open its doors (or whatever it is harbours do) until 7am. So halfway across The Channel, the boat just stops. For four hours.

Anyway, feeling a bit grotty, we arrived in Le Havre, with Johnny at the wheel having his first experience of driving on the "wrong" side - of the car! Luckily Kath was a very capable navigatress and after a brief mini-tour of Le Havre we hit the open road, with Kath doing her best "bonjour" bit at each péage (toll booth).


After a pâtisserie-break at Caen, we moved on to Bayeux, home of the famous tapestry. Any initial misgivings about "looking at a big rug" were soon forgotten as we walked its immense 70m length, audioguides jammed to our ears as the commentary rattled through the incredibly busy and beautifully detailed story. Pictures really don't do the tapestry justice - the textures are lost - so it didn't really matter that we weren't allowed to take any!

We also looked around the Battle Of Normandy/D-Day Museum at Bayeux, a fascinating insight into what it must have been like to be part of Operation Overlord in June 1944.


The next stop was the D-Day Landing beaches, and the US Cemetery at Omaha Beach (the beach immortalised in the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan). A very poignant place - not necessarily a happy one, but highly recommended nonetheless.



Then it was time to hit the Autoroute down to Paris - and a few buttock-clenching minutes of navigating unfamiliar Parisian streets, in darkness, on the wrong side of the car! But we got there - and what a great spot! We highly recommend the 3-star Hôtel Eiffel Kennedy - it's affordable, well-located (right next to a GREAT café!) and the view from your bedroom isn't bad either...