21 September 2007

Brittany and Normandy

Just got back from a week in Brittany and Normandy. Spent the first few days in Dinan, which was a really nice city that didn't feel overly touristy even though it was full of tourists.


From there we went along the Brittany coast from Cap Frehel to Dinard, St. Malo, and Cancale. Had some good gallettes and also scallops. It's been so long since I've had scallops.


The scenery was really great. St. Malo, though, was a bit of a disappointement. It's a really well preserved walled city, but it's so touristy that it's not really a place you want to stay for very long. But, it is still worth seeing.


Next was a rainy day trip to St. Mere Eglise to see the Airborne museum and to Caen to see the war memorial.

Then was a day touring Mont St Michel and then the D-Day beaches from Utah to Pointe du Hoc and Omaha.

Mont St Michel is a fantastic site and greatly preserved. However, I think of it as Carcassonne except uphill; meaning that it is a beautiful site, but crowded with souvenir shops and tourists.


Also visited Bayeux, which was a nicely preserved old town. Of course we saw the tapestry, which was an impressive site considering that it's nearly 1000 years old. The last stop of the trip was Rouen, another nice city and site of Joan of Arc's demise.

The food, of course, was excellent, but I'm glad to be back on less rich rations. It might sound like I was a bit negative on many of the places, but that's just because I don't like crowded tourist spots. These were all sites worth seeing.

The pics are here, here, here, here, and here.

01 September 2007

Bloemencorso

Today I went up to Aalsmeer where they were holding their annual flower parade. I went to it last year and it was pretty fun, so I went again. This year is apparently the last year they are doing it, but I'm not sure why. Just like last year, the floats were huge and each with a different theme. They all had their own sound systems, generators, and many had their own dance floors. I think the people in the parade have a lot more fun than the people in them.




The rest of the pictures are here.