This week we have been in France staying at Eco Gites Lenault who I have been chatting to on twitter for a couple of years.
Hubby is obsessed by WW2 and has been dropping hints that he wanted to visit some of the historical sites for years, so for his birthday in July I surprised him by booking the Gite for February half term, which is based in Calvados, Normandy – perfect for visiting all the places he wanted to go.
Although the week has mostly been about him we have had an amazing time. On Sunday we were so exhausted from the rough crossing the previous day we stayed at the Gite, helped Rosie on the feed run and played in the play area on site.
Monday saw us start our WW2 adevntures and saw a parachutist hanging from a church tower in St Mere Elise, ran up and down the sand dunes at Utah beach and investigated the bunkers at Pointe Du Hoc.
Tuesday was a day for Isaac as he is studying the Anglo Saxons at school and we headed into Bayeux to see the beautiful cathedral and of course the Bayeux Tapestry. We finished exploring them early afternoon and then headed to Omaha beach and the American Cemetry.
On Wednesday it was my turn to choose our destination and we headed to Le Mont St Michel. I did think the carrying Sebby up all the stairs was going to kill me at one point but it was all worth it.
Thursday was by far the kids favourite day. We went to sleep on Wednesday night as it started to snow and there was a good covering by the morning. I struggled to keep them indoors for most of the day.
On Friday we did the other end of the Normandy beaches, starting with Pegasus Bridge and then heading along the coast road from Sword beach where we had fun finding shells, along to Juno and its museum and finally to Arromanche and the false harbour which was spectacular. The feat of engineering can still be seen today and we were dwarfed alongside the giant caissons that still line the beach.
Saturday saw us leave Eco Gites and head to St Malo where we explored the old town for a couple of hours before taking the ferry to Jersey and then change to go to Guernsey. After the crossing out I wasn’t looking forward to it and due to “adverse weather” our ferry was cancelled, so we had to take the Clipper. Lets just say none of us has sea legs!
We camped in our bell tent there a couple of years ago. Lovely beaches! Cant believe you had such random weather!
Looks like you’ve had a fantastic week away, even with the snow!
Great photos Kara. Looks like the perfect place for exploring! Don’t envy you on that clipper though. Yuk!
What a great time you have had and yay you got to build a snowman x
Oh it looks like you had a wonderful time! I’ve always loved the look of that gite, we’d love to go one day xx
I’m so envious you got to play in the snow! I was so wishing it would snow in the UK this winter but might just have to travel somewhere snowy this year instead! x
So jealous you got some snow! Lovely pics
It’s hard to believe that on one day we had snow and the next you were sitting on the beach! Such a great collection of photos which show so well why Normandy makes a great place to visit with children of all ages …. Blatant bit of publicity there!
wow what a brilliant holiday you have all had. Your photos are so lovely and it looks like you really made the most of the time and did so much. How fab that you saw snow too! Hope your return journey is better xx
Kara it looks like you’ve had an amazing time there, and the historical places you’ve visited look so majestic and beautiful. I am in awe of Bayeaux Cathedral, how magnificent. I would one day like to visit the memorial fields, it must have been quite overwhelming.
Thanks for linking up!
What an amazing week you have had, packed! I loved Mont St Michel when we went last year, totally stunning! x
What amazing snow, fantastic memories for the children. It looks like you had an amazing week, what a lovely place to visit x
What an amazing and busy week you had. It seems like it was packed full of fun.
What an amazingly trip and birthday present! It looks like you have packed so much ch into your half term holiday. Lov both at it snowed too!
Sounds like such an amazing week and so busy too! Fab photos
What a lovely holiday! I love France, some beautiful places!
We keep talking about going to Normandy – one year we’ll make it.
This looks like an amazing holiday, your pictures are fab! x