Normandy for Father's Day? Oui, oui!
Fancy a family holiday that will tick everyone’s boxes, from sports to snakes to castle adventures? Look no further than Normandy, France, writes
Father’s Day is tomorrow. After a magical week in Normandy, the three boys and I have been working on the perfect gift for their dad.
Well, short of blindfolding him, driving onto the ferry, and hightailing it back there, the gift we’ve been working on is a photo album of our time together, la famille ensemble en France.
What an incredible trip it was. Putting the album together, packaging the memories for dad (and us) to cherish, is a great way to remember one of our best family holidays yet.
When he opens his gift tomorrow, he’ll flick through memories of the cycling trips along the picturesque Cotentin Pensinsula, the perfect beach days in Granville, the marvelous day we spent at Mont-Saint-Michel, the afternoon spent wandering around William the Conqueror’s Castle in Falaise, the picnic we had at the outdoor zoo, Parc d’Ecouves in Orne.
For the kids, I find out as we paste the photos into the book, the highlight of the zoo trip wasn’t the bison or the monkeys or the birds, or even the ice-creams at the end, but the sip of beer they each got at lunch.
I swear the adults only had one bottle each but the thrill the boys got and the delighted lipsmacks rather than the grimaces we were expecting was, frankly, quite worrying. But hey, when in France, oui oui?
There are a whole ream of photos from the wonderful day we spent hanging out with horses at the Haras du Pin national stud. More of the boys playing the racing games on the ferry, in the playground in Orne, playing tennis next to the gite in Le Mesnil de Bas, trying out the hot tub in our Goulet gite... in fact, it’s hard to believe we were only there a week, we fit so much in.
But the most important thing is the bits in between the grins and the thumbs up and the dabs for the camera. The hanging out, the chats, no schedules, having the time to just enjoy each other’s company. Silly things like going grocery shopping together - we never do that at home. Don’t worry, I didn’t take a photo of us in the diary aisle of the supermarche, that would just be weird.
When we were planning the trip, we decided to keep it a secret from the kids, deciding a big surprise was the best way to go.
We already knew we wanted to go by ferry, having had a hugely positive experience the last time we traveled to France three years ago. The fabulous thing about the ferry, besides all the leg room, is the holiday feels like it starts as soon as you get in the car.
The adventure of being on the high seas adds to the fun, all of us sleeping in one big cabin, the novelty of us all in bunk beds, this time, we even had a shower in the cabin, so we were fresh and ready for our sojourn before arriving on French soil.
Getting there is sorted, so organising the accommodation, furtively, after the boys were in bed, was the main concern. A French friend suggested staying in a gite.
I nodded sagely and agreed that sounded like a great idea while surreptitiously googling “What is a gîte?” under the table. We booked two ‘rural holiday rentals’ or ‘gîtes’ if you prefer, one, a uber modern, refurbished three-story house in Goulet, near Argentan, complete with balcony, bbq, sauna, hot tub, and every modern convenience.
Two hours from Cherbourg, it was in a secluded peaceful spot, and nicely located for us to explore Orne and lower Normandy.
After three glorious days, we move to the Gîte du Menils Bas in the Manche region of Normandy. It’s a more traditional home, bright and spacious, a huge garden and to the boys’ delight, our very own tennis court.
It was a great way of independent travelling, really getting to know the Normandy area and spending time together.
As we’re settled back into our routines of school and activities and work, I reckon the memories of that week wll be the best Father’s Day gift yet.
GETTING THERE
The Stena Line Rosslare to Cherbourg service offers a direct link from Ireland to France on the Stena Horizon from €109 for a single car plus driver.
The crossing time is approximately 18 hours with a choice of three sailings a week. The Stena Horizon offers a range of facilities including free WiFi, ensuite cabins, great value meal deals, retail shopping in the onboard shop with up to 50% off on big brands, free movies and lots of fun for kids.
To make a booking, click on www.stenaline.ie and check out the Stena Line Low Fares Finder. www.facebook.com/StenaLineUKIE or on Twitter @StenaLineUKIE
Summer sailings 👌 pic.twitter.com/a2MsCVz7Em
— Stena Line UKIE (@StenaLineUKIE) June 11, 2018
WHERE TO STAY
Gîte Le Loft du séchoir à lin, Haras de Fontaine, 1 Lieu Dit Fontaine, 61150 GOULET +33 6 42 01 09 22. www.gites-de-france-orne.com
Gîte du Menils Bas in the Manche region of Normandy Le Mesnil de Bas, 50290 BREHAL +33 6 69 15 94 97 | www.manoirdumesnil.fr
THINGS TO DO
Visit the family horse riding show at the Haras du Pin, it’s on every Saturday at 3pm, the boys loved it. Afterwards you can meet the stars of the show, both two-legged and four.
The national stud tour is very interesting as well, it’s known as the ‘Versailles for horses’, for good reason. Haras National du Pin, 61310 LE PIN-AU-HARAS +33 2 33 36 68 68
Definitely worth a trip to Falaise is William the Conqueror’s Castle. You get interactive tablets so it’s a self -guided tour which works great when the kids want to go at their own pace. It really brought history alive. Château Guillaume-le-Conquérant, +33 2 31 41 61 44 (www.chateau-guillaume-leconquerant.fr). Open 10am-6pm.
We were a bit dubious about visiting Mont-Saint-Michel with a three-year-old but it was one of the highlights of the trip.
What a magical place, it was a wonderfulexperience. If you’re going, make sure to get there early. The car park is on the mainland (€11 to park for the day) so park and walk or if you have kids who are going to moan about it, take the free shuttle bus (navette) to the mount, they leave from next to the P1 car park and will take you all the way to Mont-Saint-Michel.
If you fancy going inside the Abbey, be sure to take the route via the ramparts, it’s quite a climb but so worth it, the views of the bay are breathtaking and you avoid the central street which can be crowded.
Bring a picnic, you could be queuing a while for lunch and it’s a bit pricey. Le Mont Saint-Michel +33 2 33 89 80 00 (www.abbaye-mont-saint-michel.fr)
Not even a five-minute drive from St Michel is Alligator Bay. Not for the faint hearted, if reptiles aren’t your thing, but the boys adored being able to pet the giant tortoises, and getting up close to the alligators. They have a really cool set up where the kids can climb in under the snake area and come up in a little glass enclosure so they are RIGHT NEXT to humongous snakes.
I’m talking eat- a-goat- alive big. It put years on me but it was fascinating. Try to time it for feeding time, the lads seeing a rat (no goats) consumed kept us talking all the way back to the gîte.
Alligator Bay, 62, rue du Mont-Saint-Michel, 50170 Beauvoir +33 2 33 68 11 18 alligator-bay.com
See normandy-tourism.org for more information on all of the above.
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