A birthday trip to Normandy - 14th to the 17th of January, 2026

Fermé!

Both Sophie and I had a good night's sleep and woke at about 8:00am. I had woken a couple of times in the night, but managed to get back to sleep again, which was lovely. It's dark here until about 9:00am!

Sophie wished me Happy Birthday! and we had a coffee each (there is a Tassimo coffee maker here) and then enjoyed a light breakfast. Outside, it was raining, which was slightly disappointing. We hoped it would let up at some point, but at least it wasn't snowing! We were to see more evidence of the violent storm that struck this part of France last week as we drove about today.

We hadn't made any real plans for today, so we decided to head to the British Normandy Memorial nearby, where there was a café. Luckily, we had brought umbrellas with us, so we drove the short distance, but when we entered the vast (empty) car park, it was clear that the café was closed. It wasn't surprising, to be honest. Who in their right mind comes to Normandy in the middle of January?!

I suggested Arromanches, a walk about and a hot chocolate in the hotel we visited two years ago. It wasn't far away, and we drove along the coast. The beach here is Gold, one of the British beaches, and there was a memorial on a headland overlooking the town of Arromanches.

We parked in the centre of the town and walked along the promenade, passing the Marine Hotel where I'd stayed with my parents back in 1988. Of course, most places were closed, but a gift shop was open, and the small hotel on the front was busy with locals.

We could see shells and pebbles on the beach as the tide was a long way out, and the remains of the Mulberry Harbour were clearly visible.

We went into the hotel's café and took a seat in the window. A group of locals arrived and sat around a couple of tables, chatting away, which was lovely. There was a nice atmosphere and our hot chocolate was most welcome!

Mad cows!

After we'd paid the bill, we ambled about a bit more and had another look at a memorial overlooking the sea. A bedraggled couple arrived and put a shell on the wall, along with lots of others. We didn't know their nationality, but they looked British!

Before going back to the car park, we had a quick look in the gift shop, and I think we upset the woman running it as we dripped water all over her floor... she asked us to put our umbrellas into a stand by the door, and then she took a mop and wiped up the wet. Oops! The shop sold local produce, so we bought a spread for toast (with nuts, I think) and a bottle of beer for Keith. There were several bottles of Calvados, but they were very expensive!

When we'd parked the car, we'd noticed a gallery so we decided to go in. What a lovely place it was! The artist was Vanluc and he specialised in brightly coloured paintings of cows! It was a real family affair as he was there, with his wife, and his daughter told us all about the way he worked and the inspiration for the paintings. There were various media, some of which were very expensive, but the gallery also sold postcards, mugs and coasters. We each bought a mug for work, and Sophie bought a postcard and a coaster. We also learned he'd designed the sculpture we saw in the town overlooking the beach.

Fermé... again!

From Arromanches, we took a leisurely drive through the sodden countryside to Creully-sur-Seulles. On the way, we saw several fallen trees, casualties of Storm Goretti last week. For the past two years, we'd stayed in an Airbnb near the town, and it was a place we wanted to explore a bit more. We found a space on the main street, but then realised it was only for an hour. We walked a little way and found a brasserie with people enjoying their lunch, so we walked back to the car, found a space near the chateau and walked back. On the way, we looked at the menus of a hotel, but it was closed!

O Comptoir des Potes was a delightful little brasserie offering a three-course menu for a tad under 20 euros. We ordered a pichet of red wine and gave our order from the blackboards dotted around the restaurant. The place was popular with local workers who were tucking into platefuls of food!

We chose the terrine en croute to start, followed by beef bourguignon, and the food was excellent! The staff were friendly, and one of the waiters asked where we were from in English.

We managed to find room for dessert - an apple tart for Sophie and creme bruleé for me. We were the last to leave (of course!) and paid the bill. It was a thoroughly lovely birthday lunch!

After our lunch, we decided to visit the chateau and learned it was 6 euros to go in. We left the umbrellas in the car, and a man who was clearing away leaves had parked his little truck almost behind our car. In French, he asked if we were leaving and then mimed that we had plenty of space to reverse out. He was so funny!

We walked into the grounds of the chateau, and it looked very much closed up! I was able to use a damp loo, but there was no sign of life anywhere!

We ambled about and then drove to the brocante shop further along the high street. I was worried it would be closed, but it was very much open and just how we remembered it from last time - dusty, dirty and a complete mish-mash of junk. We did see a couple of beautiful armoires, but I think we would have had difficulty getting them home, balanced on top of the car!

We had a good look, and I spotted a lovely blue plate with the inscription:

"Aprés la soupe, un verre de bon vin, épargne une visite de médecin." After the soup, a good glass of wine saves a doctor's visit! That pretty much sums me up!

This time we went up to another floor and could hear somebody ferreting about... we discovered it was a woman looking at a pile of dusty old books. Was she a ghost? What a strange place!

Sophie picked out four lovely pink glasses, and we went to pay - 15 euros for the lot! Outside, their van was parked opposite, and we could see old furniture in the back. They obviously do house clearances, and it seems to be all bunged into the brocante any old how!

We made one last stop before going back to the Airbnb, a trip to the nearby Carrefour to buy more Cracksters and two gooey cakes to enjoy with our Champagne later. Well, it was my birthday!

A relaxing evening

Back at the house, we relaxed, and we both had a nap on the sofa for half an hour. At about 6:00pm, we opened the Champagne and settled down to watch another Netflix documentary about two French pilots who had been jailed in the Dominican Republic for drug-smuggling. Again, it was very interesting and there was more to the story than we originally thought.

Before we watched the last episode, we enjoyed a light salad with a slice of ham, and then we ate our deliciously gooey cakes, which were like large profiteroles. Yum! What a lovely end to a great birthday!

Cheers!