Have Mur-see

The french language can sound so beautiful, rolling off the tongue, spouting bits of love, and don't foget those double cheek kisses. When your import someone like Donald who has basic elementary school mastery you get odd pronunciation, blank stares and a giggle every time someone says le baguette....this is actually JC's fault. Other blunders yesterday included asking for the salle de bain....the kind waiter shook his head and pointed Donald to les toilettes, mumbled thanks that sounded like mursee, instead of merci and a big booming, comical farce BONJUR as we entered  Chateaux grounds. But to be fair he is trying it and we haven't been kicked out of the country yet! So onto our 10 walking tour yesterday of most of the Pays D'Auge.

No good morning starts off without a breakfast and we went again to the hotel as we had not had a chance to do our marketing yet. We had plunger coffee....that's for you Olivia and Nahleen....read french press.....orange juice, yogurt, granola and fruit compote, toasts, toasted croissant, brie and some other cheese. Our waiter Reese is on a working holiday from England and we have invited him and his girlfriend back to Canada to WOOF as he has never been! Bellies full we went off in search of the Livarot market and cheese factory! My skills at ordering in the marche turned out to be pretty good and successfully managed to nab us some tomatoes....coeur de boeuf....local goat cheese....chevre de la pays....les pommes....can't remember the varieties but they are different than home and then we went in search of le baguette at a boulanger and got one as well as a pain de campagne and a quick poke into a patisserie got me a baba au rhum with pastry cream.....mmmmmmmm. The Graindorge cheese facory was super cool, you watched subtitled films about each process in making the cheeses....brie,camembert, livarot and neufchatel. Basically all soft cheeses with different ripening times. gift shop was way too packed with tourist so we will go back at the end of the trip for cheesy gifts...teehee.

 Back in the vehicle and onto the town of Lisieux for a quick stop at the grocery store for some essentials...which we did not get....we got distracted by the 2 euro wine and beer. Here is what our haul looked like after market and store. Onto lunch and at a cute little town we stopped at Luca Pizza. Best lunch ever. Pizza so fresh..and sadly with sausage and pepperoni for Donald and a fresh tomato, basil and mozzarella salad for me.

While we were enjoying the beautiful lunch the weather took a drastic turn to cloudy skies and eventually pouring rain. The chef, undaunted by such obvious turns in weather....or they have the weather network here too....had a fire conveniently laid and lit it, while we sipped our wine and beer and waited for it to pass, which it did. Back into the trusty vehicle and we set off for Caen, home of the fortress ruins of Guillaume the Conqueror....brother of William or perhaps his dad...we would find out. This town is set on a neat river system of locks and there were boats a plenty as we crossed tree lined streets to the bridge and into the centre-ville. Gothic churches abound and the fort remains in the very center reminded me of a cleaner and more modern Edinburgh. We stopped in one of the beautiful churches and I lit a candle for my Uncle David, who passed away the day before we left on vacation. Although bigger and a bit more intricate, it was just as beautiful as the church in Point D'Eglise on the French Shore at home.....I have a feeling Notre Dame may eclipse them all though! By this time I had to pee again....yes I have become a typical tourist in search of les toilettes and once again it was a hassle to find one....not that they aren't readily available...unless you think every restaurant and cafe should have one...then you would be shit out of luck..no pun intended....Donald under the guise of going to the museum, made it look like we were going to buy tickets while I ducked into the washroom. What a mood lifter, lighter than air and ready to conquer anything!So why not have another espresso and build up the pee stores again! Side note to Meghan...France is just like England, you cannot get a fricking coffee, just espresso, not even an americano and there are no Starbucks on every corner....Donald is getting a bit crabby about this. We wander the closed to traffic streets that are made of cobble and lined with every type of store imaginable, a true shoppers paradise from boutiques to mall stores and small independents, patisseiries, boulangers, brasseries, cafes and restaurants. It makes it so hard to choose but we eventually stumble upon a little side street with a sign that says Greedy Guts that reminds me of Julie...not the greedy or the guts part but the look of it....and it says vegetarian so why not! It is only a room about 14 X 20 and full of kitsch, dolls, and smurfs, pin up girl posters, anarchy signs, skateboarding books, various monster type things, kitty cat tins, jars of marmite and lots of other cool stuff to stare at. The waitress is kind as we order just a hot chocolate, ice tea and pancake/crepe thing covered in dark chocolate and almonds. Delicious. Chocolatey. Rich. I take a few milk pills.

 Full, a bit ill actually from the sin of wine chocolate and cheese in a 2 hour time frame we drive on to the beaches of Deauville and Trouville, the home of the rich and poor summering folk of France. We are not disappointed. The vista is spectacular. Sweeping beaches, stunning summer homes more like mansions....sadly boarded up for the season...a casino on the beachfront, sandy and clean and ice cream, creperies and restaurants as far as the eye can see. I wish I could describe the smell. It isn't like our side of the ocean, this is more sea-ey. Not like low tide but salt and mouthwatering. It is time for some pommes frites.

After a walk on the beach and a bit more exploring this beach side town we hop back into the car/truck/suv/minvan...we are undecided what it is exactly we are driving.....see pick below of hot guy and ride and you tell us....and head to Honfleur for some dinner. This town is known for its beautiful multi-story homes perched along the waterfront and all housing different restaurants at the bottom of each. The quay is full of boats of every type and size and a sweet carousel sits at the beginning of this picturesque stroll. We wander by all the eateries and read each menu and it is quite obvious I am going to have be a pescatarian tonight. I have been know to eat a scallop but usually limit myself to once or twice a year because no one cooks them like I like them and I don't want my house all stinky....there should be some animal argument here but as they don't have mothers, eyes or any identifiable part and I can't quite figure out their purpose in life I don't feel too guilty. So we have dinner. Donald orders crevettes.....shrimp...full bodied shrimp with eyeballs and tentacles and shells.....he hasn't done this before, neither have I and the ensuing battle of man vs. crustacean is pretty funny.

 But he gets the job done and declares them delicious. My coquilles st. jaques is served with a side of tagliatelle and minced green onion and leek is divine. The scallops are cooked a bit longer than I like but are fresh and light and the pasta is velvet in the mouth and simply adorned with a parsley butter though I think the pasta was cooked in stock, it is that flavourful. On the side are pinky clawish looking bits, that we are later informed is some type of fish...I handed it over to Donald who said it was like lobster, but not as good as lobster and had a weird texture. Donald also had mussels and fries...a completely normal combo over here and though they were small, he said they were good but not the same as at home. We also managed to polish off a bottle of wine and still find room for dessert, coconut and lemon sorbet for me...a bit of heaven...I could really write a whole page about the coconut....and an apple crepe for Donald. Drunk....mostly me.... full and very tired, we head for home and crash. Another beautiful day.