Hmmm, the website that Karen found shows that the area has a lot of orchards of apples and pear, and that you can go cider/calvados/pommeau tasting, as well as tasting pear cider. Not bad!
Joe
mortagne-au-perche?
thanks- have that site bookmarked and it's a good resource. am practising the Francais.
sara p
sara p
Hummmm - take a look here~~~
http://membres.lycos.fr/mortagneauperche/
If your French is lacking, go to the resources page of Bonjour Paris and access the language translator!
http://membres.lycos.fr/mortagneauperche/
If your French is lacking, go to the resources page of Bonjour Paris and access the language translator!
Well, the gateway town for Mont St. Michel is Pontorson, which is OK, but other than hotels and restaurants, really a town for the locals. Mont St Michel has a lot of restaurants, but we have not been there for 10 years, so anything I could say would be likely out of date. I'll let others in the BP croud chime in here. A bit further west, and worth at least a half-day each is St Malo, a lovely seaport town with most of its medieval walls intact, and further south, Dinan, which has a wonderful, intact old town. St Malo is largely rebuilt from WW II, as are most of the towns in Normandie. Brittany is less damaged from WW II, so you see more of the old stuff. Some of the other BP folks are more familiar with Normandie, but I have been to Bayeux, and it is a very nice town. If you have the time, my French friend strongly recommends the museum of Liberation in Caen, which is very new. Just north of Avranches, and I don't remember the town, there is a nice bell foundry, which could be a place for nice souveniers. In St Malo, there are lots of nice shops, little ones, that my wife heavily contributed to the US trade imbalance. When we go to that area, we usually stay at a Gite that is a working dairy farm near the town of St James.
As for the foods, the crepes are the regional delicacy, especially the ones made from sarrazin (roughly translated as whole wheat). You can have appetizers, main course, and dessert of various types, all crepes. We found a good creperie in Fougeres, which is not too far from the town you will be staying in. Another regional thing is to hit the cider train and do cider tasting, and get the Calvados (apple brandy, if you've never had it). Since Normandy and Brittany are ferry terminals from England, there are a lot of British tourists, so you should be able to get by with minimal French.
As for cheese, if you want to read up on it, I can recommend the book "Encyclopedie des Fromages", which I think has an English version, "French cheeses", 1996, Dorling Kindersley Ltd. This is an easy to read book, and includes suggested wines to accompany the cheese. However, it is little help when the waiter comes to you with a tray of 10-15 different types after the main course, the scents cause you to drool, and you have to order another huge basket of bread. Then I let the waiter pick an appropriate glass of wine. Be warned that some cheeses are strong!
As for the foods, the crepes are the regional delicacy, especially the ones made from sarrazin (roughly translated as whole wheat). You can have appetizers, main course, and dessert of various types, all crepes. We found a good creperie in Fougeres, which is not too far from the town you will be staying in. Another regional thing is to hit the cider train and do cider tasting, and get the Calvados (apple brandy, if you've never had it). Since Normandy and Brittany are ferry terminals from England, there are a lot of British tourists, so you should be able to get by with minimal French.
As for cheese, if you want to read up on it, I can recommend the book "Encyclopedie des Fromages", which I think has an English version, "French cheeses", 1996, Dorling Kindersley Ltd. This is an easy to read book, and includes suggested wines to accompany the cheese. However, it is little help when the waiter comes to you with a tray of 10-15 different types after the main course, the scents cause you to drool, and you have to order another huge basket of bread. Then I let the waiter pick an appropriate glass of wine. Be warned that some cheeses are strong!
thanks so much, oursdor. We are staying in Normandy near Liseaux since we have the use of a friend's house there- am looking forward to the cider and camembert!
we will definitely check out the two towns you mention- also would love to hear your rec for Mont-St-Michel area-
sara p
we will definitely check out the two towns you mention- also would love to hear your rec for Mont-St-Michel area-
sara p
I wasn't in your town of interest, but I was near there last November. You might want to hit ghe Gite-de-France for a country B&B if you don't want to stay in the town. I can recommend the cities of Fougeres and Le Mans for their Medieval old towns. Le Mans is especially nice with its remaining old Roman walls on the north side if the old town. Obviously, further west is Brittany and Normandy, but I tend to be partial to Brittany. I can recommend a gite further west just off the freeway to Rennes, 20 km from Mont St Michel if you are interested. Another piece of local product is Cider, especially the Cider trail mentinoned in another folder in this regional folder. There are a lot of wonderful cheeses, and if you get to the Brittany area, the crepes are wonderful.
hello all-
my husband has traced his French ancestors to this town in Normandy- we will be visiting there this summer and are interested in any hotel, restaurant and sightseeing advice from those who may have been there. Thanks in advance!
sara paradis
my husband has traced his French ancestors to this town in Normandy- we will be visiting there this summer and are interested in any hotel, restaurant and sightseeing advice from those who may have been there. Thanks in advance!
sara paradis