This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)

Getting to the beaches of Normandy was a goal, indeed a matter of principle. However, the photos are in the previous article, the fault of the algorithm.

Fourteen years earlier I had taken my first solo trip of which one of the key destinations was supposed to be Normandy. Specifically for the beaches where there was the Allied landing during World War II. That historical event had always interested me, and in general I had always been passionate about the events of World War II, ever since I used to ask my grandfather what nation my toy soldiers were from, which he recognized from the uniforms.

In the late summer of 1996, naive, unprepared and ignorant toward a subject I was passionate about but had not studied, I took a resounding topicality by going to the parts of Calais.

I basically made the same mistake as the Nazis, convinced that the landing would be at the closest point to England. Years later I found that it is even visible to the naked eye at night.

Getting to the beaches of Normandy, but not only

This time, however, I was prepared, and I was finally able to walk those famous beaches, among the tombstones made famous by Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan , and visit some of the many museums. At the time, I did not venture out on my own with rental cars (there were no navigators) and with public transportation I was quite limited, but I fully satisfied my curiosity.

A nice surprise was the museum in Bayeux where the fantastic 68-meter-long tapestry is housed. It is actually an embroidered fabric, made in the late 11th century and still in excellent condition depicting another historic invasion, this time of England, by the Normans in 1066. Sooner or later I will return there, renting a car, to visit the area in more detail and to match it with Brittany, which I skimmed.

Flat tires looking for Obelix

In Nantes I got a taste of the glimpse of castles that awaited me shortly thereafter. But mostly I visited the nearby archaeological site of Carnac. I was excited about biking around the largest concentration of megaliths in the world.

There are more than 3,000 menhirs, they date back 7,000 years and are incredibly and perfectly aligned. It is not yet clear either by what technique they were moved or why. I like to think that, as one legend says, they are either from petrified Roman legions or that Obelix moved them. Too bad that halfway through the tour I found both tires of the rented bike on the ground, both punctured, and so I had to walk back under a blazing sun and without Panoramix’s magic potion. In this link an amusing in-depth look at an all too beautiful and clever comic strip.

Castles yes, but without exaggeration

From Nantes I went up the Loire; beautiful castles, but visiting three/four is enough. I also liked the cities I used as a base such as Blois and Orleans (also with castles).

In Nantes my status faltered. At a place that served tasty crepes, even savory ones, I found both waitresses irresistible. I did not even speak to them, but if one of them had given me a signal, I would not have hesitated for a second. This thought planted a woodworm in my mind, which continued to work its way through the days.

I did not sleep in dorms or take tours, nor were there sites and apps yet. So it was the most associal and encounter-free trip of my life, but the time between visits and travel flew by.

I became convinced that unlike in Italy, where sometimes you can eat better in simpler restaurants, in France if you are not penniless as in my first trips, you eat very well!

I remember in Bordeaux a place where the menu was set, and in addition to a half bottle of remarkable house red, I ate their steak with secret sauce that I filed away as memorable. The city did not excite me; it is probably another area that should be visited more independently. While Toulouse I did not enjoy it at all partly because I was not well.

I recovered for the grand finale, which I enjoyed very much instead; the south of France, which I had not visited before and in particular Lyon, Marseille, and Carcassone.

Home trip Traveling trip to France

Next stop Wrong company on the road

Trips taken, travel stories divided by continent

Countries visited in my travel stories

Anecdotes, divided by type in travel narratives

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Fabio Viroli

Ho sempre avuto tante passioni, ma da sempre più o meno latenti, le principali sono viaggiare e scrivere. Tra le altre cose ho una laurea in psicologia; ho fatto per più di 30 anni l’allenatore di basket; leggo tanti libri; sono stato molto appassionato di sport e di musica rock; e faccio improvvisazione teatrale. IL mio primo romanzo, che non parla di viaggi, si chiama LE TUE GAMBE SONO BELLE COME LE TAGLIATELLE

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