Stop for a taste of locally made Calvados, distilled from cider rather than wine, but with similar “secrets of the terroir” that make French vintages distinctive from region to region, where the soil, fruit and customs can differ. Typically, Calvados is made by farmers who grow their own apples for their brandy, adding in a little mint and cinnamon for complexity, and surprising with clarity, purity and a sip of fall. Enjoy! Return to ms Swiss Sapphire for lunch and your relaxing afternoon cruise to the twin towns of Les Andelys, strategically located on a picturesque bend of the Seine. Meals BLD
70 years ago, on June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied forces – Canadian, British, French, American
and Polish among them – landed on the beaches of Normandy in a top-secret invasion that caught Nazi Germany off guard. It marked the beginning of the end of World War II, but its legacy will last forever. A visit here is a poignant tribute to all the lives lost and liberties won, where history and heroism are etched in the sands, on headstones and in memories undiminished by time.
Nazi Germany. The wartime code names for the beaches along this 50-mile stretch still exist – Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword – paying proud tribute to the heroism of the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives here. Your visit here today includes stops at Arromanches, situated along Gold Beach, Omaha Beach, bordered at each end by large rocky cliffs, and the American Cemetery, located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach, eternal resting place for some 9,300 American World War II soldiers. Return to your riverboat after lunch. Meals BLD
7. ABBEY ROAD & A CALVADOS TASTING Have you ever tasted apple brandy? It has been a specialty here in the landscapes of Normandy since the days of Charlemagne and today you will find just how proud the locals are of “Calvados” when you drive along the Abbey Road to Breuil-en-Auge for a tasting and look at some of the beautiful abbeys in this region. Visit Jumièges Abbey, once one of the great Benedictine abbeys of France. First built in 654, this wealthy limestone abbey grew to house 700 monks and 1,500 lay brothers in its first 50 years. Destruction came in waves when it was attacked by Viking raiders between 841 and 940, rebuilt in the 11th century, then razed again in a succession of French wars. Today it reigns unrivalled in a parklike setting that evokes memories of its former grandeur, giving measure to what Victor Hugo called “the most beautiful ruin in France.” Drive along country roads past churches and châteaux in various states of repair seeing other Norman abbeys resplendent still.
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8. CHÂTEAU GAILLARD & A SIP OF CIDER Taking full advantage of its hilltop perch overlooking the river, the Château Gaillard is the crowning centerpiece of Les Andelys. Built in 1197 by Richard the Lionheart, King of England, during a power play with France’s King Phillip II, Château Gaillard was lauded as the strongest castle of its time. It earned this designation for its innovative military-style concentric construction that was designed to confound invaders and for its use of machicolations, holes in the flooring that enabled castle occupants to drop stones or other heavy objects on attackers at the base of a defensive wall. The limestone castle consisted of three enclosures separated by dry moats, with a keep in the inner enclosure. Unlike other castles of its time which took a decade or more to build, Château Gaillard was completed in just two years by some 6,000 laborers under the watchful, and often impatient, eyes of its king. What remains today evokes images of how this medieval castle looked and operated at its height of power, with the riverside views affording you the same vantage point coveted by its royal inhabitants. Pommes, apples in English, play an important part in the history of Normandy, with apple orchards taking root in Roman times. While the first cider was said to have been distilled in 1553, before that the Norman apple was used in poultices, ointments and cosmetics (hence the term “pommade”). With over two thousand varieties of apples, Normandy is naturally proud of its cider and of its
See why Victor Hugo called Jumièges Abbey “the most beautiful ruin in France”
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