normandie trip: day #2

we started the 2nd day of our Normandie trip with breakfast at the hotel, which was amazing. they had so much great stuff to eat! i had trouble deciding on just a few things, haha. but yes, it was really great. the hotel was just amazing...CEA was really good to us for choosing that hotel.

and this wasn't even all of it! haha

i really wanted to steal this mug, but i stopped myself

haha...WHAT?

they gave us our room-keys in this

we checked out pretty much right after breakfast, and went to the Château du Breuil distillery...where they make calvados, an apple liquor, as well as apple cider and things of that sort. we took a tour of the distillery, the aging cellar, and then we got to sample a few of the different things they make. i really enjoyed that part. ;) after that, they let us try this awesome apple pie/quiche thing that they make there. it was amazing, by the way. the apple cider wasn't bad either. it was a great experience.

the distilling machines

the aging cellar

time for the tasting! our guide was so cute, lol

Calvados = really good

ugh, WHY does it do this to some photos?!

(whatever, you can still see the deliciousness)

apple cider

then we went to a city called Caen, which is a fairly large city in Normandie. we saw some cathedrals, the city hall, and a big street market that they have on sundays. we all got different things for lunch from random vendors in the markets. the girls got lunch crêpes with cheese in them, tom got some Vietnamese food, and i got some Moroccan couscous. we didn't spend too much time there, because we had one more stop to visit.

and our guide said you don't see blue skies in Normandie!

they have a canal here too! just like Paris.

Caen is pretty thankful for the Allied liberation

the cutest little dog ever! i had to snap a photo.

couscous! yum.

Jeanne d'Arc

out on the outskirts of Caen, we went to the WWII museum called Galerie Des Prix Nobel De La Paix. (The Gallery of the Nobel Price of Peace? yep, i think so) it was a museum that told the entire story of World War II, starting from the end of World War I and how it was one of the causes of the 2nd war. it was really interesting, and it had a lot of artifacts and things like that. and it was also very artsy and modern...it felt like a modern-art showcase or something. we also watched a neat movie about D-Day, which showed the Germans preparing on one coast and the Allied side preparing on the other, on two halves of the screen at the same time. it was cool...and once again, very modern.

a map of the D-Day invasion (very cool)

the American Garden

when it came time to leave, our bus wouldn't start...which was kinda' scary, but also hilarious as well. i thought we were going to be stuck in Caen for another day or something. turns out that it only took about half an hour or so to fix it. the trip ended with a 3.5-hour evening bus ride back to Paris. that was brutal...but luckily, my Maïs Frit (corn-nuts) lasted all weekend, for the road. anyway...we were all very glad to be home, but also so thankful for getting to be a part of such an amazing trip!

SO glad to have found a big mug!

(i named it: Normandie.)

- should've studied abroad in Normandie