It’s been ages since we had a summer holiday to France, so it was time to head back for sure. We arrived in Normandy early on a bright Sunday morning, and straight away remembered why we love France so much. The countryside seemed to pop with colour and life.
We had rented a house in the hamlet of St Simeon. It was an adorable thatched cottage, with traditional Norman wood panelling, and a giant garden all around. After unpacking, we were straight out into the garden to unwind and enjoy the morning sunshine. Suzi seemed right at home too. That first morning, we decided to get our bearings and do a small drive around the area. We used the smallest roads, winding through tiny hamlets in between farmland and miles of countryside- golden wheat, cows and horses grazing, forested hills.
The rest of the day we spent in the beautiful garden, the birdsong all around was amazing, and we enjoyed just relaxing in the sun (this was how we would come to spend all afternoons)! Suzi loved the garden too and would spend happy hours sleeping on the soft grass, or hunting the robot lawnmower (whom we called Jeff). And we would enjoy walks and jogs around the area- it was just all so picturesque and unspoilt.
The second day, we headed out after breakfast. Again, we chose the smallest roads, often only wide enough for one car. We stopped at St Georges du Vievre, a really cute village with traditional architecture and flowers. Then we stopped at Noards, a true farming hamlet, since cows seemed to outnumber people there. We took Suzi for a walk there, and every cow in the place came jogging over to see her! It was incredible, she literally was some kind of attraction to them. Some of the cows even gave us licks!
The next day, we started at the village of St Etienne sur Ailer, since we had seen it the day before and it looked very pretty. Here, there was an abandoned chateau in the middle of a wheat field, surrounded by forest. It was one of the most magical things I’ve seen, especially since we had the whole place to ourselves. We wandered in that field, under an impossibly blue sky, Suzi offlead sniffing everywhere. There were haybales dotted around, and I just had to climb one. After a few failed and hilarious attempts, I managed to scramble up (with a boost from Maya). It was a lot higher than I had expected! But you’ve got to do that once!
From there, we drove on, and stopped at the town of Morsan where a Norman fort looked down on the place. You could walk all around the ramparts, and enjoy views of the whole town and surrounding countryside. Another special find. We tortured Suzi that afternoon with photos, walking deep into the fields of wheat and corn… the epitome of European summertime.
Our last day. We found another circular route to do, passing through Martianville, whose name cracked us up. And then stopping at Fort Moville, which looked almost Alpine, with the timbered houses and rolling valleys backed by thick forest. There was an interesting nature walk to do there, and Suzi enjoyed that and we enjoyed the views. A short while later we stopped near the hamlet of Triqueville where a herd of semi wild cows was grazing. They had such a magical spot, in the dip of a valley. We spent a few minutes there before heading back home.
All too soon, our trip was over. We had another lovely time in France, soaking up the summer sun and the peace of the countryside. Suzi loved her stay too, she smiled everyday and had loads of energy! We are already planning our next trip back…
Practical information
Where to stay- We booked our place through Gites de France, a great website with lots of choice and very reasonably priced, even in the summer months. Our house, La Chaumerie was a great find, well equipped, clean and spacious with an amazing garden.
What to do- explore by car, and you’ll find all kinds of beautiful places to walk and picturesque villages, like we did. If you want to visit the famous landing beaches of World War Two, these are about an hour away.
When to visit- any time of year! But for a similar experience to us, it has to be summer! We were lucky with the weather, not too hot, lots of sun, but come prepared with rain gear anyway, as this is Europe after all!
Thanks to Maya for the beautiful photos and the fun xxx and to Suzi for being adorable xxxx
