Normandy Itinerary

One of the things I am always looking for is how to travel at a reasonable cost, this is to fund my very strong travel addiction.

So, after spending hours trolling the web this is what we ended up doing.

First, we live in Germany along the high-speed train line, so it is easy for us to use the train systems.
A high speed train to Paris
Stayed at the Holiday Inn at Paris Est - military rate - ~100 Euro / Rm (needed 2)
Next day we headed to the trains Paris Saint Lazare to Rouen Rive Droite - 6 people tickets purchased in advance 172.50 Euro (this included our return trip) made on: VOYAGES-SNCF.COM

We picked up the Hertz rental car after seeing some of the sites in Rouen (this is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake) unlimited milage (you must be a US Hertz member to get the unlimited milage) that could seat 6 for 350 Euro (our insurance covered us because we are stationed in Germany; plan to not be covered for rentals in Europe if you are just traveling here)
We thought we were going to need to rent a GPS, but our car actually had one in it and with the help of google translate we were able to change it to English (returned the Hertz never lost system).

We stayed in Bayeux for 4 days and decided on Hotel Le Bayeux - location is excellent, service and breakfast are wonderful.  We only paid for breakfast on the days we really needed it (the bakeries are just so much better).  So, I don't recommend actually paying for breakfast in advance.  Make sure you get it on a Sunday AM (everything is closed) and then if you schedule a tour get it that day too, so you are ready to go.  They also informed us that if you call them directly and quote the amount found on the internet they will beat that price, this is true for most hotels.  They do have english speakers there.  The rooms were comfortable, not luxurious, but for the 9 hours/day we spent in the rooms they were perfect.  Could walk to everything in town easily from here also.

Our tour guide, full day, was American D-Day private tour with Bertrand Sanders (he is French) and he has loved WWII history forever and gave us an incredible tour with all of the little touches. He drove our car and saved us a couple of hundred Euro.  He worked well with the kids (12 and 9) too.

Our next stop would be Au Bon Accueil <brittanybnb@free.fr>in St. Marcan close to Mont-Saint-Michel, but we were lucky, they steered us to St. Malo.  Ok, where do I begin to rave ... firs they are British, so we were greeted with warm welcomes and promptly given hot tea.  Then the maps, tour books, and well just love and enthusiasm for the area was pouring out in every direction.  When asked why they bought this place, they said, we love to vacation in France, so why not?  I think that Jane and I are somehow related.  By the end of our stay I felt like I was leaving my sister behind, but fortunately, she will welcome me back anytime.  We LOVED it there and I think their love of the area was so infectious that it was definitely our favorite stop.  Oh, and contact them directly too, after looking up their listing on booking.com, because while our first night was the booking.com price, they added a 2nd night at their you emailed me price.  A little less.  It is cash only!

Because we don't ever ask our kids to sit in a car for more than 6 hours (8 if there is bad traffic) we planned a stop in Lisieux for the trip back to Rouen and it was a great decision.  We stayed on the outskirts (Ibis Budget)  The kids loved the rooms - a double bed on the bottom and a bunk over top for them to sleep on.  A triple for under 75 Euro - with an ok breakfast.  Great!  The Basilica of Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux was fabulous and worth the walk.  St. Therese is not Mother Theresa.  This is not a busy town, but the food and shopping and sites to be seen were worth the day spent there.

Finally back to Rouen.  We didn't explore the city as we had originally planned, but that is ok, because we can get there by train on another day.

Train back to Paris and we stayed in the gem of a hotel - Hotel de la Herse d'Or in the Bastille area.  If you go to Facebook page and make your reservations there - best rate and in a great location!  http://www.facebook.com/Hotelhersedorparis
Again, this is not a hotel where you are there for the hotel, this is a place where you are there to sleep and shower.  The rooms are small and clean.  Some of a bathroom en suite while others share the bathrooms.  Given that we just sleep in our rooms that is all we are looking for and it has been great!

Hope that this helps someone, some time have a great vacation in France: Paris, Normandy and Bretten.