Vachement Normandie: Caen & D-Day beaches

My friend Claire and I have been planning a trip to Normandy for a couple months and last week we finally made it. We couchsurfed with the Caen Couchsurfing ambassadors so naturally we had a great time in their beautiful home. Normandy also happens to be the Couchsurfing capital of France. Claire and I made it to Juno and Omaha beach and a bunch of war museums. The sights were stunning and very moving. Overall our days were very peaceful and reflective, and then we'd have a great night hanging out with our hosts, Nicolas and Amélie.

Juno beach

Omaha

The walk from Omaha beach up to the American cemetary... we felt a little lost but we got there in the end and the walk was beautiful. 

Our hosts lost their cat Obama last week but they found him the night before we arrived. Pauvre 'tit Obama!!! 

BBQ - Claire and I were ecstatic  

Ribs, sausages, wine, beer, calvados etc...

Funny cat. 

Our comfy comfy bed in their Napoleon home. It was right along le jardin des plantes, a big public garden. The building used to house the garden guards. 

Obama hanging out on his white house. The real Obama was actually in Caen while we were there, for the G8 summit.  Funny coincidence. 

This trip really reinforced how much I love couchsurfing. Our hosts were so generous and fun. We practiced so much French that I was talking to Claire in my sleep in French. Awesome!

Loire à vélo day 3: Tours, Amboise

On day 3 we packed up camp and headed to our last destinations, Tours and Amboise. We were 15km from Amboise when I got a flat tire. An hour long adventure followed full of life lessons: how to repair a leak, how not to buy a 3 euro bike pump from Carrefour and how to talk bike jargon in French. In the end we lost too much time and had to catch the train to Amboise from Montlouis-sur-Loire. 

We stopped in Tours and looked around a bit. This train station brings back bad memories of being stranded in Tours at 10pm earlier this month.

The usual - double espresso et un verre de glaces 

Final destination

Group shot with our biker shorts. John was too cool for them of course. 

I would be lying if I said the whole trip was lovely. There were sometimes I felt like my butt was going to fall off. But overall, it was amazing and I can't wait to do another trip!

Loire à vélo day 2: Avoine, Villandry, Ballan-Miré

The second day of our trip was a big one. Sometimes the trail was through the woods and other times it was along small backroads which seemed to go on forever. It felt like all the signs pointed exactly in the direction I did not want to go in, such as this one. 

Some hills were worth walking...

A church in one of "les plus belles villes de la France"

Emma and I swam in a shallow part of the river while the boys had a nap. The current was still really strong and would sweep you away if you didn't hold onto the sand. There was a couple on the beach, in typical French style: the man was fishing and the woman sunbathing topless. 

There are cottonwoods everywhere and they're all in bloom. Many fluffs ended up in my mouth and eyes as well as this pond.

Poppies everywhere

A cat that joined us for lunch. Reminded me of my kitten back home a lot. He was so hungry he ate bits of baguette.

I visited the gardens of Villandry while the others had a drink.

After a long day we finally found the campsite at Ballan-miré. They had a pool which we immediately jumped into. There were plenty more Dutch couples in caravans. We all began to realize that the only people who have time to do la Loire à vélo are retired couples and Erasmus students.

Loire à vélo day 1: Saumur

The Loire valley has great bike trails all the way from Atlantic to Nevers. A few weeks ago we took a day trip to Saumur, about 60km away from Angers. I liked it so much we went on another bike trip. This time we camped and almost made it all the way to Amboise. About 15km from our final destination I got a flat tire and we had to call it a day.

Here are some photos of the route from Angers to Saumur from both trips. There was a lot to see: slate mines, vineyards, lavender fields and plenty of cute farm animals.

The team from the first trip - Jenni, Naihomy's friend whose name I've forgotten, Naihomy and Andrea

Sunday nights in Saumur

More pretty scenery from Saumur

We stumbled across a free campsite and settled in next to a sweet Dutch couple. 

That night we sat around the fire and talked to a French guy who wandered up to our camp. The four of us squeezed into our little tent pretty early and tried to get some well needed sleep.