France: Bayeux to Mont Dol

STYLE OF TRAVEL

Some of you may wonder about our lodgings on this trip.  They are Bed and Breakfast places, but carefully curated ones.  Each one is distinctive and different in its own way.  They are run like inns and may have six or eight rooms available or, like our place outside Bayeux, only two rooms.  In each case so far, the rooms have been tastefully decorated and sometimes even with a bit of whimsy.  Le Manoir du Senot is a medieval house with very thick walls (no hurricane would blow it over!), absolute quiet, and the most modern plumbing we’ve experienced.  Good hosts like people and entertaining, at least entertaining to the point of providing an ample breakfast.  Walkyrie here has tempted our palates each morning with a different local cheese, cider or freshly squeezed orange juice,  grapes or pineapple, and some sort of homemade custard or cobbler.  This is in addition to croissants and bread to go with the standard coffee and tea.  

The advantages of this approach to travel are staying in quieter places, often in the countryside, and getting to meet local people as well as other travelers. The disadvantage is that more driving is involved as going to the center of town or even out to dinner requires getting in the car again.  As I’ve noted, we are becoming quite adept at operating the various kinds of parking ticket kiosks and finding our way to and from the current B&B.  We are indebted to Laura and Emilie of France Just for You for creating this marvelous itinerary!

LAST DINNER IN BAYEUX

After our day in town and some time at the B&B, we returned to the center of town to a restaurant near the cathedral.  Le Pommier was already open and humming with diners before 7:00, so we went in and got our table a few minutes early.  This was another satisfying meal!  Both a menu option with choices and the a la carte menu were on offer.  We did a combination of the two.  The Chief Penguin had the silky foie gras terrine to start, while I ordered smoked salmon.  Both were delectable!  His main course was the lamb that was cooked for seven hours and served with potato gratin.  Lovely!  I decided to try a dish I’d now call country comfort food.  It  was  poule au blanc or two pieces of boiled dark meat  on the bone in a simple white sauce served with fries.  It was perfectly fine, but not quite what I expected.  Dessert was an apple affair for CP and three boules of sorbet (chocolate and two cassis) for me.  

ON THE ROAD TO MONT DOL

Our drive from Bayeux to Mont Dol was not a long one which meant we had time for lunch plus a leisurely stroll around Granville. It’s a seaside town probably more dependent on tourism than fishing.  In earlier centuries, it was a center for cod, and even now, more than 60 trawlers and other boats bring in shellfish.  In the mid-19^th century, it became the place during the bathing season, and for those summer months was like an extension of Paris.   It’s also the birthplace of Christian Dior and one can visit his house, although we did not.

Granville was crowded, perhaps because it was Saturday, so it took us a few blocks to find a restaurant that looked to have seating. We ended up at a casual place called La Bolee Normande.  It was our first time ordering galettes or buckwheat crepes that are filled and then folded up in a square shape. They cover the entire plate and sometimes come with a mound of greens.  

The Chief Penguin had one with ham and cheese and I the smoked salmon norvegienne version.  They were very good and made for the light lunch I desired.  We provided some entertainment for the couples on either side of us (tables were close together) as the CP pantomimed what he wanted, and I contributed clarification with my modest French.  It all became quite convivial when after his cappuccino arrived, the waiter then landed his two boules of chocolate and vanilla ice cream smothered in whipped cream in front of me.  Everyone had a good chuckle.  

We had extra time before our stated arrival in Mont Dol.  We, therefore, stopped in Dol de Bretagne to see the impressive Saint Samson Cathedral and walk the main streets.  The cathedral is magnificent and the town was lively with many more eateries and shops than you might expect.

Note: There is only one photo in this post because the Wi-Fi at our newest place is very, very slow. It makes even composing text difficult. Header photo shows the casino overlooking the beach in Granville.