History 101
World's worst trip?
Bad choice of destination? Poor accommodations?
No amenities? Unfriendly people?
Our miserable unwilling traveler had, however, just one good thing.
An enormous stomach for the unexpected.
And so it was, he ended up making the most famous trip in human history.
How to Get Even More from a Normandy Visit
Cabourg is one of Normandy’s smaller resort towns. It is much quieter than most and worth adding to your itinerary, if you have a day. Marcel Proust was a frequent visitor. He stayed in a local hotel on what is now called (Quel surprise!) Promenade M. Proust. Avid readers should note that Proust's In Search of Lost Time recreates Cabourg to some extent as the fictional Balbec.
Calvados, delicious apple brandy, is part of the Norman heritage and readily available in Normandy. But for a special occasion—let's say an anniversary while you're in the area—an excellent dining option is the Hostellerie Moulin du Pre, in a lovely setting between Caen and Honfleur. The proprietors make their own brandy. Tel: 33-2-3178-8368.
Miraculously, Honfleur escaped damage during World War II, so it’s no surprise that it boasts the best-preserved flavor of Old Normandy. Indeed, the Old Harbor has lots of authentic, oddly shaped houses, and the still-active fishing port’s many charmed streets are lined with timber-and-slate buildings, as well as the ghosts of generations of villagers. All fodder for painters, photographers, and storytellers.
On our last visit to Normandy, we loved dinner at L’Assiette Gourmande in Honfleur. Dinner for two, without wine, ran about $150. Quai Passagers. Tel: 33-2-3189-2488. Other good choices in nearby Caen are Le Pressoir (dinner for two, without wine, about $100; 3 Avenue H. Cheron; Tel: 33-2-3173-3271) and Les Echevins (dinner for two, without wine, about $110; 35 Route Trouville; Tel: 33-2-3184-1017). Eight miles away is the wonderful Manoir d'Hastings et la Pommeraie. Dinner for two, without wine, about $120. Tel: 33-2-3144-6243.
Also in Caen, see regional arts and crafts that date from the time of Gaul at the Musée de Normandie. While there, ask about the guided tours of the Castle of Caen, seat of William the Conqueror and his son, Henry I Beauclerc. Archeologists recently unearthed secret underground living quarters there—a surprise even to the locals.