By Dan Friesen on August 3, 2016
It was a relatively quiet day of tour planning here in Normandy. Roger and I spent the morning working on walk docs – recording all the stuff we are planning on-site takes at least an hour of documentation work (maps and directions) for every hour in the field planning.
Then we headed north through the rain, returning to Étretat to visit the farm at which we hope to start our walk. The farm is run by a couple specializing in natural products – in this case goat milk that is made into cheese, ice cream, and gourmet chocolate. We tagged onto a French tour of special needs kids. Farm owner, Bernard, had them engaged and laughing for 45 minutes as he walked them around the farm to see the goats and where the cheese is made.
Though we couldn’t understand the dialogue, the transparent emotions and interactions of the young people were precious – so unaffected and spontaneous. It will feel a bit different when we are there, but we’re convinced this will make a good place to start our walk – tour, picnic lunch with the local products, then hit the trail across the fields to the Alabaster Coast.
We’re just outside the town of Bayeux this evening. After several “work until after dark” days, we arrived around 7:30 pm and had a delicious 3-course French dinner – masterful! Sun was setting as we went up to our room and we could see the Bayeux cathedral silhouetted in the distance.
Bayeux as one of the first towns liberated in June 1944 by the invading Allies. Tomorrow we visit the D-Day Beaches, then turn south towards the Loire Valley.
