Romain and I jump at any opportunity we get to leave Paris for the weekend. Between Romain starting his new job and my visit to the US we’ve stuck pretty close to home this fall. When Veteran’s Day landed on a Friday we jumped at the opportunity to take a weekend trip to Normandy. This part of Normandy is truly one of my favorite areas in France. It would be a wonderful add-on to a trip to the D-Day landing beaches and memorials, Mont Saint-Michel, or both!
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How to Get to Granville, Normandy
On this trip we drove from Paris to Granville. While you can take the train (and it usually ends up taking less time) you really need to have a car when you visit to maximize the experience.
Usually the drive from Paris takes about three and a half hours, but because it was a long weekend we ran into a lot of traffic and it took us five hours. The drive back to Paris after a long weekend can take even longer, especially if you leave at exactly the wrong moment to pick up traffic from Bayeux, Honfleur, Deauville and Trouville along the way.
Marché de Jullouville
Since we arrived on a Thursday night we got to catch the Jullouville market, which is on Tuesdays and Fridays (there’s also a small amount of vendors on Sunday – but not worth it IMO). The Friday market is the biggest and best. We always check out the seafood area which has four vendors selling various fish, oysters, shellfish, and if we’re lucky the famous blue lobsters. Since the seafood is so incredible in the area this is usually the base of our meals.
The next stop is our favorite cheese and dairy man. He sells raw crème fraîche made on the farm, soft goat cheeses rolled in local herbs, free range chicken eggs for the best price imaginable and more. He always has a line, and it tends to be the longest in the whole market. We didn’t have to wait at all, so I suppose coming early and in the low-season has advantages.
While I was ordering our cream, cheeses and eggs an organic baker caught Romain’s eye. He immediately locked in on the Pepito, which is kind of like a pain au chocolat, except the chocolate is in small chips instead of long sticks with a crème pâtissière holding everything in place. It looked incredible, but I didn’t get a chance to try it before he ate the entire thing. We also got a perfect baguette that Boomer nipped at from the market basket and then again from the table. He couldn’t resist apparently.
Our next stop was the butcher to buy saucisses aux oignons, which we bring back to Paris and freeze every time without fail. They’re a local specialty and I’ve never found them in Paris or anything even close. I think it’s basically a sausage with onions and a little bit of cream to bind everything together. Very Normandy and very delicious.
Boomer on the Beach
We were so excited to see how Boomer would react to the beach and water with a little more age. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve surely seen that he is obsessed with playing and laying in puddles (and just getting dirty in general).
He was immediately taken by the various shells, rocks, and seaweed remnants he found on the beach. These items were so distracting that it took us a while to get him to even reach the water.
He showed no interest in getting in the water. I think the waves scared him a little bit or maybe the water was just too cold (I don’t blame him). However, he loved laying in the sand after the wave retreated. Perhaps Boomer’s greatest discovery was that he could dig a hole and the hole would fill up with water.
We took Boomer to the beach both days in the morning and for sunset. He was truly in paradise running and playing – but not swimming.
The Mushroom Hunt
From September to November in Normandy it’s possible to hunt for edible mushrooms. The two varieties we were after were bolets and cèpes. Armed with knives, a basket, and Romain’s uncle as our guide we were off to hopefully find enough mushrooms to make a meal (or at least a main dish).
I got lucky and started finding the variety we were after right away. Was I nervous that the mushrooms we were collecting were in fact lethal? Slightly. But we had a lot of fun and gathered an enormous amount of mushrooms.
Then it was back to the house to learn how to clean the mushrooms. We decided on a mushroom risotto for dinner on Friday and Romain’s stepdad made an absolutely incredible Saint-Pierre fish with a cream and mushroom sauce for dinner on Saturday.
Musée Christian Dior in Granville
After lunch on Friday, I asked Romain if we could walk through the garden at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville for what may have very well been the hundredth time. The views are absolutely stunning and from the garden you really get a sense of why Granville is called the “Monaco of the North.”
We had Boomer with us and he isn’t allowed inside, so Romain dropped me off for a quick walk through. In a dream world I would’ve loved to have gotten married here, but I don’t think it’s even possible and the weather can either be incredible or terrible, and that was a chance I wasn’t willing to even entertain. Not even to mention how logistically difficult it would’ve been for our American guests. Anyways – I’ll share lots more on our wedding at some point. For now we’re still waiting on photos!
If you’re in the area a visit to the Musée Christian Dior is a must, if only to walk through the garden.
The Granville Raid
We wanted to walk with Boomer and since it was Veteran’s Day decided to go walk around the site of the Granville Raid. For anyone interested in WWII history this area would definitely be of interest – you can see various bunkers and weapons in a very well-preserved state. Plus there’s a walking path that can take you all the way down to sea level.
Saturday Shopping
On Saturday morning we set out for a coffee for me, pain au chocolat for Romain, and scratch-offs for us. As we walked inside I noticed a sign for a vide-grenier, so I decided to keep my 5€ in winnings in cash in case I saw anything I just had to have.
Vide-grenier literally means empty the attic. Of any type of antiquing or brocanting you’ll do in France vide-greniers are usually where you find the best prices, but also have to weed through a lot of junk. It’s the French equivalent of a garage sale. We caught the second of two weekends, so there really wasn’t much left but it was fun to look.
We went home for a lunch of fresh pink shrimp and langoustines with homemade mayonnaise – the ultimate treat. Romain tried to lean into an afternoon nap but I told him we had more shopping to do.
The first stop was at Emmaüs Granville, only open on Wednesday and Saturday so we were in luck. Emmaüses are all over France and are a bit like the Salvation Army. If you ever see one that’s open and have a few minutes to spare you should stop. They have everything from furniture and clothes to dishes and glassware and beyond. It’s big and kind of overwhelming (and always buzzing with people). Now I just check the glassware, dishes, silverware and linens. Things that I almost couldn’t live without included five oyster serving plates for 3€, a stack of 18 gorgeous floral dishes for 15€, and five Christofle forks and spoons for 5€. We have less than no room in our apartment and are in the process of trying to move, so I left everything behind.
Next was the pet store for Boomer. We are crazy pet parents and let him pick out two new bones. When we were checking out I saw a dog advent calendar which I obviously couldn’t resist.
Next door is Action, which is the French version of the Dollar Store and probably one of Romain’s favorite stores in France. He always finds the most random things and it makes him happy to fill up the car going back to Paris knowing how much money he’s saved. To each his own.
Back to Paris
The next morning we loaded up on our absolute favorite croissant for me, pain au chocolat for Romain and mini croissant for Boomer at Le Friand. Everything is homemade and delicious and it is truly my favorite croissant in all of France.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, but the Sunday of a three day weekend. I might forever be traumatized by the time it took us seven hours to get home (I was driving, of course) on a long weekend and told Romain we were not risking it. So we sadly left that morning and headed back to Paris, already dreaming of our next trip.
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How to Get to Granville, Normandy
On this trip we drove from Paris to Granville. While you can take the train (and it usually ends up taking less time) you really need to have a car when you visit to maximize the experience.
Usually the drive from Paris takes about three and a half hours, but because it was a long weekend we ran into a lot of traffic and it took us five hours. The drive back to Paris after a long weekend can take even longer, especially if you leave at exactly the wrong moment to pick up traffic from Bayeux, Honfleur, Deauville and Trouville along the way.
Marché de Jullouville
Since we arrived on a Thursday night we got to catch the Jullouville market, which is on Tuesdays and Fridays (there’s also a small amount of vendors on Sunday – but not worth it IMO). The Friday market is the biggest and best. We always check out the seafood area which has four vendors selling various fish, oysters, shellfish, and if we’re lucky the famous blue lobsters. Since the seafood is so incredible in the area this is usually the base of our meals.
The next stop is our favorite cheese and dairy man. He sells raw crème fraîche made on the farm, soft goat cheeses rolled in local herbs, free range chicken eggs for the best price imaginable and more. He always has a line, and it tends to be the longest in the whole market. We didn’t have to wait at all, so I suppose coming early and in the low-season has advantages.
While I was ordering our cream, cheeses and eggs an organic baker caught Romain’s eye. He immediately locked in on the Pepito, which is kind of like a pain au chocolat, except the chocolate is in small chips instead of long sticks with a crème pâtissière holding everything in place. It looked incredible, but I didn’t get a chance to try it before he ate the entire thing. We also got a perfect baguette that Boomer nipped at from the market basket and then again from the table. He couldn’t resist apparently.
Our next stop was the butcher to buy saucisses aux oignons, which we bring back to Paris and freeze every time without fail. They’re a local specialty and I’ve never found them in Paris or anything even close. I think it’s basically a sausage with onions and a little bit of cream to bind everything together. Very Normandy and very delicious.
Boomer on the Beach
We were so excited to see how Boomer would react to the beach and water with a little more age. If you follow me on Instagram you’ve surely seen that he is obsessed with playing and laying in puddles (and just getting dirty in general).
He was immediately taken by the various shells, rocks, and seaweed remnants he found on the beach. These items were so distracting that it took us a while to get him to even reach the water.
He showed no interest in getting in the water. I think the waves scared him a little bit or maybe the water was just too cold (I don’t blame him). However, he loved laying in the sand after the wave retreated. Perhaps Boomer’s greatest discovery was that he could dig a hole and the hole would fill up with water.
We took Boomer to the beach both days in the morning and for sunset. He was truly in paradise running and playing – but not swimming.
The Mushroom Hunt
From September to November in Normandy it’s possible to hunt for edible mushrooms. The two varieties we were after were bolets and cèpes. Armed with knives, a basket, and Romain’s uncle as our guide we were off to hopefully find enough mushrooms to make a meal (or at least a main dish).
I got lucky and started finding the variety we were after right away. Was I nervous that the mushrooms we were collecting were in fact lethal? Slightly. But we had a lot of fun and gathered an enormous amount of mushrooms.
Then it was back to the house to learn how to clean the mushrooms. We decided on a mushroom risotto for dinner on Friday and Romain’s stepdad made an absolutely incredible Saint-Pierre fish with a cream and mushroom sauce for dinner on Saturday.
Musée Christian Dior in Granville
After lunch on Friday, I asked Romain if we could walk through the garden at the Musée Christian Dior in Granville for what may have very well been the hundredth time. The views are absolutely stunning and from the garden you really get a sense of why Granville is called the “Monaco of the North.”
We had Boomer with us and he isn’t allowed inside, so Romain dropped me off for a quick walk through. In a dream world I would’ve loved to have gotten married here, but I don’t think it’s even possible and the weather can either be incredible or terrible, and that was a chance I wasn’t willing to even entertain. Not even to mention how logistically difficult it would’ve been for our American guests. Anyways – I’ll share lots more on our wedding at some point. For now we’re still waiting on photos!
If you’re in the area a visit to the Musée Christian Dior is a must, if only to walk through the garden.
The Granville Raid
We wanted to walk with Boomer and since it was Veteran’s Day decided to go walk around the site of the Granville Raid. For anyone interested in WWII history this area would definitely be of interest – you can see various bunkers and weapons in a very well-preserved state. Plus there’s a walking path that can take you all the way down to sea level.
Saturday Shopping
On Saturday morning we set out for a coffee for me, pain au chocolat for Romain, and scratch-offs for us. As we walked inside I noticed a sign for a vide-grenier, so I decided to keep my 5€ in winnings in cash in case I saw anything I just had to have.
Vide-grenier literally means empty the attic. Of any type of antiquing or brocanting you’ll do in France vide-greniers are usually where you find the best prices, but also have to weed through a lot of junk. It’s the French equivalent of a garage sale. We caught the second of two weekends, so there really wasn’t much left but it was fun to look.
We went home for a lunch of fresh pink shrimp and langoustines with homemade mayonnaise – the ultimate treat. Romain tried to lean into an afternoon nap but I told him we had more shopping to do.
The first stop was at Emmaüs Granville, only open on Wednesday and Saturday so we were in luck. Emmaüses are all over France and are a bit like the Salvation Army. If you ever see one that’s open and have a few minutes to spare you should stop. They have everything from furniture and clothes to dishes and glassware and beyond. It’s big and kind of overwhelming (and always buzzing with people). Now I just check the glassware, dishes, silverware and linens. Things that I almost couldn’t live without included five oyster serving plates for 3€, a stack of 18 gorgeous floral dishes for 15€, and five Christofle forks and spoons for 5€. We have less than no room in our apartment and are in the process of trying to move, so I left everything behind.
Next was the pet store for Boomer. We are crazy pet parents and let him pick out two new bones. When we were checking out I saw a dog advent calendar which I obviously couldn’t resist.
Next door is Action, which is the French version of the Dollar Store and probably one of Romain’s favorite stores in France. He always finds the most random things and it makes him happy to fill up the car going back to Paris knowing how much money he’s saved. To each his own.
Back to Paris
The next morning we loaded up on our absolute favorite croissant for me, pain au chocolat for Romain and mini croissant for Boomer at Le Friand. Everything is homemade and delicious and it is truly my favorite croissant in all of France.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, but the Sunday of a three day weekend. I might forever be traumatized by the time it took us seven hours to get home (I was driving, of course) on a long weekend and told Romain we were not risking it. So we sadly left that morning and headed back to Paris, already dreaming of our next trip.
