1944

One of the main reasons we came to Normandy this year was to participate in the events to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day on June 6th.  As a retired Major in the Canadian Armed Forces, Karl was especially keen to walk some of the landing beaches and take in the tattoos, fly-bys and fireworks, paying tribute to the soldiers who fought and died so valiantly, so many years ago.  In a few years, I don't think there will be too many remaining veterans from the Battle of Normandy.  We made our way to Domfront, the closest Tourist Information, to get all the details.

Eric was an amazing source of information.  Unfortunately, he doused some cold water on our plans.  From Utah and Omaha, to Gold, Juno and Sword, representatives coming from all the participating countries will be invading the beaches and museums to deliver speeches and participate in a multitude of planned events.  The Queen of England, Prince Charles and Camilla, Prince William and Kate, US President Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Harper, the Prime Ministers from Australia and New Zealand, the Queen of Denmark, veterans from various nations and various levels of dignitaries will join French President François Hollande to make this anniversary a very special occasion.  Many sites will be accessible by invitation only, some major roads will be closed altogether, a sticker will be needed to even access certain roads, and definitely stickers from the "prefecture" to park.  Everyone has been warned of lengthy delays.  Just think of the problems of getting to a toilet or waiting in line for a coffee.  It sounds a bit like a nightmare, actually.  We have decided to forsake the exact commemoration day and visit at our leisure a few days later.  Many TV channels will be broadcasting the events live, then rebroadcasting in both French and English.  It may actually be more comfortable to sit on the couch with a lovely glass of wine and watch the highlights coming from many different sites. 

To deal with our disappointment, we headed to l'Auberge du Grand Gousier in Domfront for a delightful dinner.

 

 

Grand Gousier is a character created by Rabelais (refer to my previous posts in "Thouars", under Chinon).   He was a man with a big appetite!  Perhaps "gousier" is an older form of the word "gosier", translating as gullet, throat, and by extension stomach.

What a great little restaurant, and very quiet for mid-week.  

I started with a salmon lox appetizer with espelette, a mild pepper originating in the Basque country.  This is one of the spices I bought when I got here and will be pleased to bring back to Canada to try in various recipes.  Please note the little lemon squeezer that looks like a mini teapot.  You squeeze as needed and pour.  I MUST find one of those!

Karl had the duck pâté with balsamic reduction and some fancy greens.

We both enjoyed a steak with mushroom peppercorn sauce and some miniature veggies.  Tender and tasty!

Then along came the dessert trolley with more choices than we had room to indulge...  I limited myself to the Baba au Rum, but Karl took both the strawberry "Baked Alaska" and a piece of St. Honoré.  Rich and delicious!

Drinks included a Crémant poiré for Karl, rosé wine for both of us, and a coffee finale.

Despite the change of plans for D-Day and the overcast skies, this was still a terrific day!  We're in France, after all.