Those of you who are regular followers of my blog know that theTravelsketcher and I live in rural France. We live in a little expat community several miles off a quiet country road, in the middle of nowhere. We even pass through a dairy farm as we turn off the road to get to our... Continue Reading →
Eight Cultural Differences Between France and the US
When we arrived in France six months ago, we knew there would be a learning curve involved as far as the cultural differences between our two friendly countries. Prior to moving here, we had traveled to France on many occasions, so we were aware of some of these. However, there are a few that we... Continue Reading →
Laval, Normandie, France
Earlier this week, theTravelsketcher and I had to take a trip to Laval to get our COVID boosters, so we decided to make a day of it and see some of the sites in this historic city. Laval, about one hour from our home, is the capitol the Department of Mayenne, and is located about... Continue Reading →
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Musée d’Orsay, located on the left bank of the Seine in Paris, houses the largest collection of impressionist art in the world, including works by Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir and many other famous artists. In addition to the amazing paintings, you’ll find sculptures, photography, and other works of art dating from the mid 1900s to... Continue Reading →
D-Day Beaches, France
Last week I wrote about the first part of our trip to Bayeux; you can read about that here. After visiting sites in Bayeux, we headed to the D-Day Beaches and other WWII sites. We started our tour at Arromanches-les-Bains where artificial ports were installed to allow for quick unloading of supplies, equipment, and troops... Continue Reading →
Bayeux and Beyond
Last week I wrote about some sites we have visited recently not far from our home in Normandie. This week I’ll write a little more about two of these locations, Beuvron-en-Auge, and Bayeux. After visiting Château de Canon, we headed to Beuvron-en-Auge, one of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, for lunch. It was a... Continue Reading →
Trois Châteaux
We have visited some beautiful châteaux since arriving in France four months ago, including Château de Valmer, Chenonceau, Château de Domfront, just to name a few. As I have mentioned before, some of these were built as fortresses, others as hunting lodges, and others as holiday homes, and we have seen a variety of each... Continue Reading →
Even More Out and About in Normandie!
We have been very busy the past few weeks, and have seen tons of beautiful, interesting, and emotionally moving sites not far from our home. I’ll cover the highlights today, and follow up later with more details of each location. A few weeks ago, we met up with our son-in-law’s mother and sister in St.... Continue Reading →
Château de Fougères
The current standing Château de Fougères, located in the town of Fougères next to the Nançon River, was built during the late 1100s as a stronghold at the intersection of well traveled trade routes. (The original castle, built of wood rather then stone, was burned by Henry II, King of England, and later rebuilt). Located... Continue Reading →