WELCOME TO MY TRAVEL BLOG

I have always enjoyed traveling, even if it meant sleeping in a tent when I was younger. I prefer hotels and cruise cabins now, but the motivation is the same...an adventure waiting to happen. Sometimes you will find me traveling with my husband and/or family. Sometimes I will travel alone, and sometimes I will travel with friends. I hope you find it entertaining to keep up to date with me as I explore the world around me. Warning...I like to take pictures of food so don't read if you're hungry. More adventures await...see ya soon...Amy.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Bayeux with the Saulniers

Croque Monsieur....a hot ham and cheese sandwich lunch for Travis

Beef Bourguignon....lunch for Danny, Edna, and Renee

The Lion d'Or...a favorite hotel in Bayeux

Our room at the Lion d'Or

Me and my wonderful husband

The streets of Bayeux

Watercolor inspiration for Edna

The Cathedral Notre Dame Bayeux

gargoyles and stained glass

Edna, Danny, and Renee are the three tiny people at the bottom right of the door

The inside of the Cathedral

Beautiful stained glass after renovation

The pipe organ in the back of the cathedral

A glimpse of the bell tower of the cathedral

Edna and Renee wait for Danny to buy us a sweet

The specialty of Bayeux (at least according to this bakery)

The streets of Bayeux

Ton Ton Jean and Ta Ta Mimi's Home

Visiting with Ta Ta Mimi

Ta Ta Renee (left) and Ta Ta Mimi (right)

They love to see this picture of all five sisters together

Danny helping Ta Ta Renee to the restaurant

La Ranconniere

Inside the restaurant



Ta Ta Renee Labat



Travis said the little puffs might be filled with cheese but not goat cheese. Danny said, no they are filled with butter! I put the whole thing in my mouth only to announce that it was definitely goat cheese, which I do not care for...and I didn't even have any water to wash it down!!

This was a wonderful cheese terrine with apples that Danny and Travis had. I was afraid that it would taste like goat cheese, but it didn't

My Filet of Beef with Foie Gras on top which I promptly took off! Travis nibbled on it and was convinced that it tasted like Pistachios...I wasn't even going to see if he was correct.

This photo doesn't look very good, but this was Danny's chicken stuffed with Neufchatel cheese and wrapped in bacon with a wine and cream sauce. It was wonderful!

Edna's Veal

Renee's Lamb


The house dessert sampler

I was the only one who didn't choose the house sampler. I chose chocolate ganache cake which I thought would be an actual cake and instead was a "cake" of ganache. I might as well have been eating a plate of frosting. It was fabulous!!!

Albert, Noami (13), Alice (8), cousin Marie-Helene, Edna and Renee

Albert, Noami, Marie-Helene, Alice, Marie-Noelle, Ta Ta Mimi, Marie-Francoise and Ton Ton Jean
The whole group together in Bayeux
Danny, Travis, and I went to Marie-Noelle's apartment to say goodbye and pick up Edna and Renee. Marie-Noelle gave Danny directions to Bayeux and a recommendation for lunch along the way. We had some difficulty actually getting out of Le Mans and headed toward Bayeux, but thanks to Google Maps, we got on the right path and there were no more navigation problems. We stopped for lunch in the beautiful town of Argentan. We ate lunch at Bar de l'Ouest which is located near the train station. Danny, Edna, and Renee had the lunch special which was Beef Bourguignon with potatoes. We remembered that Marguerite always served hers with noodles because she said she ate so many potatoes during the war that she didn't care for them very much. Travis has been patiently waiting for an opportunity to eat a Croque Monsieur and today was the day. I just had my usual steak and frites, nothing special. On our way out of town, we were looking for an ATM and found the ATM as well as a patisserie. We bought a sweet to eat during our drive. Our hotel in Bayeux is Le Lion d'Or where we have stayed many times when we visit Bayeux. It is a beautiful old hotel in downtown Bayeux. We have all stayed here at one time or another with Danny's parents so it still holds very special memories. We also have special memories of walking the streets with Ta Ta Renee as this was her home after her mother died. Danny and I have a room on the third floor and this hotel does not have an elevator! Needless to say, the bags get heavier and heavier as you make your way up the stairs. Danny, Edna, Renee and I went for a walk around the town and found the Cathedral Notre Dame Bayeux which none of us had ever seen. Ta Ta Renee would show us her Cathedral view from her window when we would come to visit her, but we had never seen the actual Cathedral. It is beautiful! It was undergoing restoration while we were there and you could tell which windows had been cleaned and restored and which ones had not once you were inside. After viewing the Cathedral, we walked back toward the hotel. The Maison Lemoisson Patisserie-Chocolaterie caught our eye as we walked by and we just had to try the Saint-ESE which is a specialty of Bayeux (at least according to this store). It is described as a tender Almond Meringue with Vanilla Crème and Nougat. Edna thought it tasted like cotton candy and I thought it was like eating a cloud of crispy sugar! Marie-Noelle came to join us on the train from Le Mans and Marie-Francoise picked her up at the train station and brought her to the hotel to lead us to Ton Ton Jean and Ta Ta Mimi's home to visit before dinner. Ta Ta Mimi met us at the door and once again many tears were shed. When Ta Ta Mimi saw us, we think she said in French that she saw Marguerite in all of the children and it brought back memories to her. She patted her heart and we all felt the same. Ton Ton Jean brought Ta Ta Renee to us and once again there were tears. We see so much of Marguerite in all of her sisters and we miss her even more when we visit them. Ta Ta Renee remembers visiting America and all of her nieces and nephews, but she has difficulty remembering their names. She definitely remembers “running” after a little boy who would tell her to “go back to France” and they called him “Stinker”. Well, that would be Travis! The memories are there, but the names have to be repeated. It is not a problem though and we enjoy the visiting. Introductions were made and Edna and Renee showed them the film that Edna had made from an old video that has their Mama and Papa in it. We then showed them this blog which has pictures of their sister, Francois. It was a sweet time. We then drove way out in the country to the town of Crepon. The restaurant is named La Ranconniere and is an old farm from the 15th century and also a hotel. It is a long time favorite of Ton Ton Jean. Marie-Helene and her husband Albert met us with two of their children, Noami (13), and Alice (8). Their son, Carontan (14) is in boarding school and was unable to join us. We had such a good meal and a great visit with the Saulnier family. Our memories of Bayeux are so precious to us and we teased Ton Ton Jean and cousin Marie-Francois that on THIS trip, they did not have to take us to the American Cemetery or Mt. St. Michel! We thought they would be relieved, but they almost seemed disappointed. Ton Ton Jean said it is an opportunity to visit these places and is always happy to take us. The evening once again was a late one and we have a train to catch in the morning so we said our goodbyes at the restaurant and came back to the hotel for sleep. Until tomorrow!

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