The stories of my life on a little island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea ... and my occasional adventures beyond these shores.

Thursday 28 April 2016

Le Vaumicel

We could have stayed in a hotel, of course, but, on this trip, we wanted to do something different. It was Jeanne who introduced me to AirBnB when she wrote about a charming cottage in New Hampshire that she stayed in last summer. Jeanne's blog, Collage of Life, is always a source of inspiration and, if you're not already a reader, I suggest you head over there and subscribe today. But back to where I started. So what is AirBNB? Put simply, it is a website where people can list, find and rent lodging. The concept is to find a home away from home and the cool thing about it is that no two listings are the same. In my opinion, the best thing about AirBnB is that there are some very unique properties in which travellers can stay.
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After a rather long search, our choice fell on a charming apartment situated on the grounds of Le Vaumicel - a manor built in 1551 by Guillaume Canivet - and whose farm buildings today house a stud farm.  The apartment is located on top of what was once probably a barn and it is full of natural light. We did have to drag our luggage up one flight of rather narrow, wooden steps to get to it but it was worth the temporary inconvenience.There were two things that I immediately fell in love with: the wooden floors and the absolute absence of any noise.
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Apart from the light, the windows provided gorgeous views of the manor and its spacious, well-tended grounds. The apartment comes with its own private garden, which we did not make use of because it was cold and rainy but it would have been perfect for a summer vacation. Valerie, our hostess, let us have all the privacy that we needed and although I know that my friend the Contessa would have somehow contrived to invite herself over to the manor for coffee, I decided to resist the temptation and satisfy myself by peeking out of the windows at the building, just a stone's throw away, that seemed to be conjured into reality right from the pages of my story-books.
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The apartment itself had a few flaws, of course (nothing is ever perfect). We could not get the stove top to heat up properly (not sure whether it was defective or whether we are so used to a gas top that we were too impatient to wait for it to reach the required temperature) and the WIFI connection was mostly erratic but they were minor inconveniencies and our overall experience was very positive - especially with a view like this:
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Le Vaumicel is located in the little town of Vierville-sur-Mer, just ten minutes away (at most) from Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. This area of Normandy is quite isolated and renting  our own transport in the shape of a snazzy little Renault Captur was a definite must. As I mentioned in my last post, March is off-peak season in Normandy, so parking was never a problem and the biggest crowd of people we ran into was a bus-load of students visiting the American Cemetery with their teachers. When you come from an over-populated island, isolation sounds like a special kind of magic and Le Vaumicel, located somewhere in the countryside of Normandy, provided us with just the right dose we needed to calm frayed nerves and organise chaotic thoughts. We could not have chosen a better place for our short stay  in Normandy.Normandy 110
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Some information on Le Manoir du Vaumicel:
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Places of interest in and around Vierville-sur-Mer (about 10 minutes away):
Omaha Beach
Les Braves monument
Overlord  Museum

Further afield (30 to 45 minutes):
St Mere Eglise (the first town in Normandy to be liberated in 1944)
Bayeux
Arromanches

Related links:
Le Vaumicel, Vierville-sur-Mer, Basse-Normandie, France

9 comments:

  1. Some lovely spots you've visited. Thanks for sharing these wonderful glimpses of places you've been to see.

    Wishing you a beautiful weekend ahead...
    Brenda

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  2. Le Vaumicel looks out of a fairy tale of magical places. Your description brings it to life. Beautiful place.

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  3. How lovely ! that's exactly the kind of place which I would have chosen too ! It looks so romantic ! I'll check the link now.

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  4. Not all that far from the D-Day beaches is Bayeux, with the amazing unicorn tapestries. Wonderful to see.
    We are renovating some apartments in Carcassonne to list on AirBnB and other sites. One tip to people: make sure the place you choose has been inspected, licensed, etc. There are a lot of listings that aren't very legit.

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  5. OF COURSE, I would have FOUND A WAY!!!!!!!!!The things I need to teach YOU!
    I know JEANNE and follow HER BLOG........I'm going to MISS CHATEAU MANGO but just think she will be in MY COUNTRY NOW!I have spoken to her on the PHONE TOO!!!!!What they are doing to that property on the EAST COAST is just MAGICAL!
    Sounds like a wonderful TRIP.........the BOY got to see some HSTORY and MOM and DAD got to relax a bit.SOUNDS like a wonderful getaway!I was gone for the past THREE days and decided to TURN OFF all of this internet stuff................thats WHY I AM SO LATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!XX
    THANK YOU for thinking about ME!You made MY DAY!

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  6. That sounds (and looks) like a magical place :)

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  7. What a great place to stay, so unique. The manor does look like something from a fairy tale. I enjoyed reading about your experience. :)

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  8. Oh Loree- this looks fabulous. What a great way to vacation. If I ever travel will check out this network. Sounds like you really enjoyed your time there. Glad you got to have some quiet and rest. Hugs!

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  9. What a gorgeous manoir you stayed in!! We were near all those places - St. Mere Eglise, the American cemetery and Omaha Beach as well - we must have crossed paths in March!

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Thanks for stopping by. I read and appreciate every one of your comments. I will do my best to reply whenever I can.

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