Normandy Day 3: a long day with some ups and downs (mostly ups!), but that is travel.
We woke up early to return to Mont St. Michel, hoping we would see it with the tide in, surrounded by water.
Unfortunately, the tide was out again, but this time at least the clouds had lifted and there was a beautiful blue sky to serve as a background for final pictures. After some last photos, and checking out of the hotel, it was off to Caen.
We arrived there in late morning, parked, and found our way to the center of town. We enjoyed walking up and down the main streets, and even were able to do a little shopping for our daughters. We also found a delicious bakery, with three lively and friendly ladies working behind the counter.
After that, it was back in the car, headed towards Honfleur. We did make time to drive through Trouville, which looked pretty and interesting, but there just wasn't time to stop!
By the time we arrived in Honfleur it was after 2pm and we wandered up and down the narrow cobblestone streets, did some shopping, and had coffee in a café by the harbor. Such a gorgeous city! I could see us going back there, if we have more time.
I almost forgot, we took a wrong turn at one point and ended up at Pegasus Bridge. We had to stop for ten minutes while the bridge was up to let a boat pass. I had read about this bridge and the role it played in the D-Day invasion, so it was a pretty cool outcome for our accidental detour!
So the day was going well up until then, but we needed to head towards our final destination, in Rouen. Things were uneventful, until we neared the outskirts of the city, and I started to look for somewhere to fill up the car with gas before we needed to return it.
Our first attempt was less than successful (an understatement!). We tried three different pumps, and each of them rejected our efforts. Eventually, the machine said that my credit card was locked and could not be used. Additionally, I had managed to step in a puddle of gasoline, and now I was slipping on the concrete and my shoes smelled horribly! I found a sympathetic driver, and using broken French managed to convince him to pay for us with his card in return for cash. But he had no success either! After wasting 30 to 40 minutes there, we left with no gas. A few miles up the road, we found another gas station that had an attendant, and were finally able to gas up. Frustrating, but such is life.
But the adventure continued. Up until this point, we had used Waze for navigation with success, but it could not find our hotel, repeatedly leading us down the streets that were only for pedestrians. Finally, we turned on Google Maps, and were able to find the entrance.
After dropping off my wife, I headed to the train station, where I needed to go to return the car. It was after hours, so I knew I was supposed to look for the car rental parking lot, and leave the key in the dropbox. Easier said than done! Upon entrance to the parking garage, the signs stated that the return was "Niveau - 2" and so I wound my way up to the second floor. Not finding any markings, I went up to the third-floor, down to the second floor, down to the first floor, back up to the second floor, and then parked in frustration. I tried calling the rental car company, and it took three different numbers before I found one where a human being would answer the phone. From there, I learned that this sign didn't say "Niveau DASH 2" but instead "MINUS 2". I realized that I was on +2!
I haven't mentioned yet, that the ramps that led from one floor to another were the most narrow that I've ever seen in my life! Driving up or down each of them at approximately 2 km/h, I felt close to scraping the walls at every moment, and my car's proximity sensors were beeping nonstop no matter how far left or right I steered. Luckily I was driving an automatic, as this would have been impossible to navigate with a manual drive!
Finally arriving on the correct level, I found an open spot, and carefully squeezed into the very narrow space. I only fit with the help of the backup camera and folding in the mirrors on both my car and the one next to me. There were about six inches on the right side and just enough on the left for me to squeeze out. After five minutes wandering around looking for the lock box, which nobody had ever instructed me as to its whereabouts, I realized that it was probably in the main terminal of the train station. Lo and behold I was right, and I found it after trekking across a bridge and through the terminal. Instead of arriving at our hotel around 6/630 as planned, it was 830 by the time we reached our room.
Luckily a wonderful room was waiting for us. We stayed at the Hotel De Bourgtheroulde which is far nicer than we probably would have chosen normally, but my friend has premier status with Marriott, and kindly offered to book our room so that we would receive a guaranteed upgrade and free breakfast. The room was gorgeous, huge, and very centrally located.
After a bite to eat, we finished our long day with a walk to the cathedral in the center of town, where there was an incredible (and free!) light show that started at 11 PM. These pictures and short video do not do it justice, but the animation and art were really spectacular, especially projected upon the beautiful Cathedral.
The next morning we caught a late morning train to Paris, and spent a lovely Shabbat there at the Victoire synagogue.
Pics from Day 3:
http://imgur.com/a/a9rpu