normandy - part I

Labor Day weekend we took the chunnel to France to visit Ian and Mélanie who have recently moved from Cognac to Caen which is in the Normandy region. 

We got in early Friday evening, just in time to watch recently voted team captain (!!!) Ian play in a preseason game. 

Since they were still discovering their new city themselves, we spent much of Saturday exploring Caen.  This was just the beginning of a weekend of immersing ourselves in WWII history.  It seemed as if everywhere we looked we were reminded of how heavily affected this region was during the war.  Caen is a unique French city in that the buildings and roads are modern due to most of the city being destroyed during the Battle of Normandy in 1944.

We toured Château de Caen, built by William the Conqueror in 1060, which sits high above the city. 

Saturday evening we ventured to nearby resort town Deauville for dinner and some star sightings.  The Deauville American Film Festival was going on that weekend.  We wandered down to the beach before dinner to take in the atmosphere of the tents, the red carpet, paparazzi, and crowds waiting around festival exits.

As we all were walking back from the beach, Mélanie and I noticed some paparazzi fast walking down a quieter street.  We, along with other clueless people, decided to fast walk along with.  "Who is it? Who is it?"  After minutes of waiting around and people just staring at security and a publicist who were staring down street awaiting SOMEONE - we were over it. 

Total waste of a fast walk! Deflated from our giddy anticipations not being met, we called the guys and walked back to meet them only to find out that THEY had the star sighting.  "We saw Cate Blanchett and she was MEAN!  She exited and not so much of a wave or even a smile for the adoring crowd. Nothing!  She beelined to her car and didn't look up."

 

 

 

camping in the peak district

One weekend this August, we packed up the car and headed 120 miles north to The Peak District region of England.  I had heard great things about the area from my colleagues and Marco will take any chance he can to get out the camping + hiking gear.

We booked a dog friendly campsite/working farm a few days in advance.  We set up camp as soon as we arrived while keeping Henry on a lead so he wouldn't chase the roaming roosters and then headed out to the footpaths.  We planned a 4-5 mile hike (not wanting to overdo it for the boy) but ended up doing close to 8 miles that day with picnic stop and pub stop.

I knew to expect some beautiful views (Google image is a friend) but wow it exceeded our expectations.  Stunning views and green hills as far as you can see.  My favorite characteristic of the region is the dry-stone walling that forms land boundaries and fencing for livestock.  Henry's favorite is the livestock. 

Day two we went to Bakewell, a market town know for its puddings, and also visited Chatsworth House and farm shop.  It is said that Jane Austen resided in Bakewell while she wrote Pride and Prejudice and based the book on the surrounding area - Chatsworth House being the model for Pemberley estate.

It was a remote and peaceful weekend with the only exception being Henry taking off greyhound style for a good 200 yards chasing after the beloved and valuable sheep of Chatsworth House. Oops