France: Arrival in Bayeux

It was another early morning for us so that we could eat a good breakfast before traveling by car to Le Mans and then to Bayeux. Other than construction on the autoroute (interstate) which required some rerouting, our travel was uneventful. We even enjoyed the alternate route as we had to exit the autoroute and drive through little towns on our way to reconnect with the autoroute. We decided that we had the best of both worlds in our driving experience today. We arrived in Le Mans at lunch time and picked up Marie-Noelle. We ate lunch at the Novotel and had a very nice meal. Hallie, Noah and I ate Magret de Canard (duck breast) which was good but Hallie's Pepper sauce was better than the Bearnaise that Noah and I ordered for this dish. Danny ate a club sandwich. We took Marie-Noelle back to her home to collect her cell phone and then we drove on to Bayeux. We arrived in Bayeux in time to visit with both of Danny's aunts. Tata Renee is staying at a nursing home that is within walking distance of our hotel so Marie-Francoise met us at the hotel and walked with us to visit. Tata Renee no longer knows us and has also had a stroke so we did not expect much of a response from her. We were pleased that she opened her eyes and looked at us since she was asleep when we arrived. We had a short visit and walked back to the hotel to drive to where Tata mimi and Tonton Jean live. They have recently sold their family home after moving into an assisted living facility. The facility is very clean and they are well cared for. Tonton Jean greeted us with a giant smile and laugh. He is 92 years old! We were surprised at his age as he appears younger than that. Tata Mimi does not know us anymore and is very quiet but she looked at us intently as if trying to figure out who we were. Marie-Francoise showed us the wedding pictures of Marie-Noelle's son Fabrice to his wife Anna. Marie-Noelle also has a new grandson named Lucien whose parents are Fabrice and Anna. He is a real cutie! After our visit, we returned to the hotel and took a walk to see the beautiful Cathedral Notre-Dame de Bayeux. I have been there several times and never tire of seeing it's stunning green domed top! There was a service in progress inside so we were quiet as we moved around and looked. This Cathedral was a favorite of Tata Renee and I always think of her looking out of her window at it when I see it. We ate supper at Le Garde Manger, located around the corner from the hotel, and enjoyed our meal. Danny ate Camembert with Calvados and Chicken with a cream sauce. I also had the Chicken and the French Onion Soup. Noah ate French Onion Soup and Tagliatelle Carbonara. Hallie had a Caesar salad with a very very strong anchovie dressing. None of us could eat it as the dressing was so strong and fishy. She also had buckwheat pancakes with camembert and andouille sausage that she said was delicious.  She had apple tart for dessert, Noah had creme brulee and Danny and I had Moelleux au chocolat. Tomorrow we have another early day and I'm afraid they will probably all be early as we try to fit in our plans. So far we are managing pretty well with that plan. Until tomorrow....