Dorset & Normandy - Day 6

We all managed to survive the night couped up in our little cabin together and even all get ready for the day ahead. Disembarking the ferry was a bit bizarre (a bus to take us 50 yards, really?) but we got through immigration, collected our bags and right outside the door was Peggy, Gib and Cherrie's longtime friend and, along with her husband Patrick, our host for this part of the trip.


After settling in, a spot of breakfast and a nap we all bundled into the car for a trip to the city of Rouen. The Normandy countryside is beautiful, green and lush like its Englush counterpart, but also more compact feeling.


We only got a little bit of time in Rouen, but it was enough to see the Joan of Arc church, le grand horloge, the Notre Dame Cathedral (yes, another one!) and walk a bit through the old city. I also managed to convince the group to let me take a mini maccaron pit stop for "goûter".

Then it was back to Peggy & Patrick's to get ready for a dinner party. They'd invited another 2 couples - Jean-Michel and Jennifer and Grace and Howard - as well as their son Timothy, a few years younger than us. Peggy went out of her way and prepared a veritable feast! A lovely tomato & feta salad, paella, an incredible selection of local cheeses (St. Agur, Pont l'Eveque, Chevre, &  Neufchâtel) served with salad and strawberries with meringue. Patrick curated the wine and again went above and beyond with champagne for an apperitif, a stunning Haute-Medoc with mains and another red I didn't quite catch with the cheeses. All in all it was an incredible meal both from a gastronomic as well as companionable point of view. We kept up a good flow of talk (in 2 languages! though some of us were more successful than others - suffice it to say I could use an immersion course for French) and really enjoyed ourselves. 

Needless to say that kept us busy late into the night and there wasn't much left after that, but to help clean up and go to bed. But we went to bed very happy campers.