Euro Trip 2014: Belgium to Le Mans

We wanted to break up the drive from Belgium to Le Mans. I asked my French travel advisor (colleague in next office). He said we should stop in Honfleur a little town on the Norman coast. Unfortunately there were no hotel rooms available, which should have probably told us something. So we decided to stay in Rouen a larger city about and hour or so inland from Honfleur which actually worked out well and had we not stayed in Rouen my favorite day of the trip would not have been as cool.

On the way from Belgium we stopped in a coastal French resort town called Neufchâtel-Hardelot for lunch. I had some more moules et frite, the last of the trip. The town seemed like what I would imagine the Jersey shore on the off season would be like. A little ghost town-y resort area that was slightly run down (older). After lunch, some gelato, and a walk down to the beach we continued on toward Rouen. Rouen is a decent sized city with an old town that has some very interesting architecture. Once we got checked into our hotel we took a little walk around the old town and found a little park so Oliver blow off some steam. Not wanting to go back to the hospital for infected fingers we kept a keen eye on Oliver, but he was glad to get out and run around.

Moules et Frite...YUM!

Oliver and I looking for shells

Lindsey and Meme near the beach stairs

Rouen Architecture

Cathedral in Rouen

Poppy and Oliver riding on a merry go round

The next day was my favorite day of the trip outside of the racing. Why? Hard to put my finger on it. It was very road trip-y. We saw some cool things that one would have never saw unless you were driving across France. The goal for the day was to make our way to Honfluer to check it out. Between Rouen and Honfluer winds the Seine River and along the river abbeys were built (Route des Abbayes). We followed the river to one of the more impressive ones, Abbaye de Jumièges. Abbaye de Jumièges was founded in the 7th century and its existence as a monastery ended during the French Revolution. Now all that exists are impressive ruins. It resides in a tiny little town, not even one stop light or round about. We checked out the ruins of the abbey in a park like setting. Oliver was able to run around while we walked amongst the ruins. When we were done at the abbey we found a little tavern (La Taverne Des Moines) for lunch. When the waitress delivered our charcutrie et fromage (meat and cheese) plate the first thing Oliver did was pick up a good size piece of Camembert cheese and start munching on it. Frog legs, Camembert that's on every kids menu, right? After some Trappist beer, some fabulous cheese and meats we hit the road towards Honfluer.

The Abbey Towers

Abbey Ruins

More Ruins

Oliver trying to stand like Poppy

Eating Camembert for Lunch

OH MY was Honfleur busy no wonder there were no hotels. There was a festival going on, Fete des Marins or Sailors Festival which has been occuring since 1861. So, there were people everywhere. Luckily we were able to find parking spot not far from the main 'square', which is actually an old dock area surrounded by picturesque shops, restaurants and houses. We had told Oliver that there was a merry go round and if he was good he could ride in it. He was good all day so first thing was first, merry go round rides (no need to have a Paris repeat). After we finished there we took a break in a cafe where we got a little ice cream and a beer. Then we headed outside and Oliver spotted another merry go round with helicopters and motorcycles, so he had to ride on that as well. It was about that time that we noticed the boat parade leaving the harbor and a fire boat spraying it's canon into the air, so we watched some boats go by. On our walk back toward the old dock area we ran into a park and let Oliver play some. I texted my French travel advisor and asked him were we could find a tower o' seafood.

**Side Note** A couple years ago while planning our first trip to France we watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" on the Breton area of France. In that episode Anthony obsesses over a seafood tower and becomes a bit confrontational with his producers wondering when he gets to take one on. So we (Dad and I) decided that while in the town of St. Malo, in the Brittany region during our first trip, to take on a seafood tower or plateau de fruits de mer (which literally translates to platter of fruit from the sea). Basically a huge plate/tower of various shellfish. We decided to try the same thing in Honfluer.

He texted me back with a restaurant (Restaurant Les Deux Ponts) and when Oliver was thoroughly tired out (who am I kidding that kid would have played until he passed out) we made out way to take on the tower. We ordered the tower o' seafood, I had a pretty feminine looking drink with Calvados (kind of like apple whiskey) and prepared my head for what was about to come. The tower was delivered and oh what a sight is was oysters, lobsters, langoustine (small lobster), 2 different kinds of shrimp, clams, whelks (sea snails), and periwinkle (smaller snails) all made an appearance on the tower. It was all tasty stuff, but it's a lot of work prying the various edible portions from the hold of their shells. I'm not sure it was a positive calorie meal. Would I do it again? Probably. When the memory of the work it took fades and the coolness of a tower o' seafood sitting in front of you takes over. When Dad and I finally waved the white flag (common in France) on the tower o' seafood we made our way back to the car and hit the road back towards Rouen. The next day we packed up and headed to our final stop, Le Mans.

Oliver and Mommy on the Merry-go-round

More Merry-go-round

Sundae Time

Merry-go-round 2 - Flying copters is serious business

Boat Parade

Swinging with Poppy

My green drink

The weapons use to attack the tower

The Tower...Attack

White Flag

Euro Trip 2014: Belgium

The last time we went to France was for the 24 hours of Le Mans. After the race we went to Brittany followed by the D day beaches of Normandy. This time we decided to try something different. We decided to check out the Northern Belgium cities of Bruges and Ghent, followed by a stop in the Norman cities of Rouen and Honfluer (to break up the drive to Le Mans), and finally our final destination Le Mans for the historic 24 hours. I know what you're asking yourself, "do you have to go to a race to go on vacation?" Well the answer is why not? The races we choose are not like going to you're local NASCAR or Indycar race. They're events. A quarter million people don't go to central France every year to just see cars go in circles. Anyways. Back to Belgium.

My dad and I got up early to take two trains needed to get to Garre de Lyon where we picked up our rental car. When traveling with four adults and a kid we've found renting a car is the way to go. Dragging luggage around airport and train stations, while corralling a toddler sounds like a nightmare (maybe not quite colon cancer level nightmare, but I'd imagine a close second). So Dad and I successfully got our car, a VW half wagon half van with an automatic (first automatic I've driven in Europe, they tend to like manuals) and made our way to the apartment to pick up the rest of the crew. We successfully navigated back to the apartment through Paris rush hour, packed the car and set of towards Belgium.

I love road trips and road tripping in Europe is no different. Around lunch time we stopped at a French road stop. French interstate system is a bit different than the US one (at least out West). First, they cost money to drive on and second, exits off of them are far and few between. So, every so often there is a road stop consisting of gas stations, a convenience store, and a restaurant or two (actually alot like the road stops in New York state, but with bettter food). After a tasty little lunch and some caffine we got back on the road. I will say that I wish American drivers would take some lessons from their European counterparts. Why? Because nothing gets under my skin quicker than 5 lanes of traffic on 880 all going 63 mph. The Europeans use the left lanes as they suppose to be used, as passing lanes.

We finally reached Bruges, checked into the hotel, got settled in our rooms, and then headed downtown for some exploring and dinner. It's strange walking through a touristy  downtown area in europe around dinner time because everything is closed. With the later European dinners (7pm-ish) and most shops closing around 5pm it's strange for us Americans who are use to stuff being open all night long. First order of business in Bruges some moules et frites (mussels and french fries) and Belgian beer. After a tasty dinner we made our way back to the hotel room for a little sleep.

Oliver waving to the canal tour boat on the way to dinner

Checking out some of the shop windows

Sushi chef nutcracker...how cool

My drink and Oliver's

Bruges Bell Tower

Lindsey, Oliver and me with the Bruges canals and bell tower in the background

After breakfast we made our way to the Church of Our Lady to check out the Madonna. Supposedly the Madonna in Bruges is the only statue by Michelangelo that left Italy in his lifetime. During WWII the Germans stole the statue and brought it back to Germany in hopes of putting it in the Fuerher Museum, but the war ended the Russians and the Americans were both looking for the stolen antiquities. The Russians were bringing the ones they found back to Moscow and the Americans were bringing them back to their owners. Luckily the Americans found the Madonna statue first in a salt mine in Austria and returned it to the rightful owner the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. We made our way back to the main square for lunch. I had more moules et frites and of course Belgian beer, I'm not sure a day went by in Belgium that I didn't have moules et frites.

Lindsey and Oliver checking out Michelangelo's Madonna

The Madonna

Oliver lighting prayer candles

Lunch time, Moules et Frites down the hatch

When the moules and beer were gone, we set off for the De Halve Maan brewery to drink more beer. The De Halve Maan brewery is one of the oldest in all of Belgium. We took the tour which was pretty cool (highly recommended for anyone visiting Bruges). They bring you to the roof of their building which gives you a great overview of Bruges. After a dinner not worth discussing we hit the sack.

Screwing around on the way to the Brewery

Hey there's a moon

Time to drink beer!!

Don't worry just apple juice

The next day we got back in the car to visit another Belgian medieval town called Ghent. I was impressed by the parking lot. illuminated signs telling you how many spot were available down each row. Then red and green LEDs above each spot. Red meaning occupied and green meaning open. As you pulled into the spot the LED would turn red. Awesome, if it eliminates the jack ass that goes 2 mph down each row not wanting to miss a spot. Ghent wasn't crowded that day so we didn't witness if it really worked, but a solid idea none the less. Anyways, we did go to Ghent to see something other than a parking lot.

Yes I'm a nerd I took pictures of the parking signs

Green = Empty, Red = Full pretty cool

Ghent is famous for the altarpiece in St. Bavo's Catherdral. It was very detailed for the time period and another of the antiquities that the Germans stole that was returned by the Americans. After checking out the altarpiece, visiting another cathedral, and lighting a prayer candle (Oliver was a fan of lighting the candles), we found a place for lunch. When our stomachs were full we visited  Gravensteen a castle. Oliver was really excited to see where the knights lived. While we found a mannequin being drawn and quartered (not exactly something we wanted to explain to our three year old) all we could find were swords and suits of armor. No knights to be found. Oliver was definitely a fan of the Castle. After we saw the castle we found some proper waffles. In my opinion the waffles billed as Beligian waffles here in the states kind of suck. They are bland unless you heap on gobs whipped cream and strawberries. We found Liege (a town in Eastern Belgium) waffles. They are awesome. A yeast based dough with sugar pearls mixed in and the sugar pearls on the surface that touch the waffle iron caramelize. Fabulous. Also got some Ghent noses, jelly bean like candies that you can't export out of Belgium due to their short shelf life, that are pretty tasty as well. When we were all done in Ghent we made it back to Bruges and had some more moules et frites.

Oliver and Me in one of Ghent's cathedrals

Sante

Another cathedral another prayer candle

Lindsey and Me with Castle Gravensteen in the background

Liege waffles and Ghent noses on the far right

Oliver can't wait to take a bite

View from the top of Gravensteen Castle

Knight's sword

King of the castle...king of the castle

Castle Gravensteen

Oliver looking over the parapets

Climbing in Castles is tiring

More moules

The next day we decided to check out the Chocolate and Frite museums as well as go for a canal boat ride in Bruges. We started at the chocolate museum which took you through the history of chocolate and history of Belgian chocolate. The tour ended with a little chocolate making demo and of course some sampling of chocolate. Then we had a little lunch and made our way to a canal boat ride. The canal boat ride was a good way to get a little history lesson on Bruges and it's unique architecture. Then we found the frite museum which Oliver loved. He's has much more of a savory pallet than a sweet one. One top of that they had a fun little paly area that he was sad to leave when it was time. After sampling some more frite we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Lindsey and Oliver at the Chocolate Museum

Testing the chocolate

Bruges tower from the canal boat

Oliver trying to touch the tunnels on the canal boat ride

All of us on canal boat

Oliver cooking some frites

Waiting for our chef to cook our frites

Dinner was at a little grill right on one of the canals. It was a beautiful evening and what do you have on a beautiful evening in Belgium? Yes that's right frog legs. They were prepared really nicely and sort of taste like chicken. Even our adventurous little eater took part and had no problem devourering a pair of legs himself. After dinner we took a little sunset walk along the canal and made our way back to the hotel to pack up as the next day we were heading back to France.

Frog legs

Lindsey eating frog legs

Oliver eating frog legs

Last night in Bruges