Having seen many photos and posts on social media about the beautiful Mont Saint Michel, we knew we had to make the effort to head to this amazing island before we left Europe. Our housesit location set us up well to travel north, via Le Mans for a rainy coffee stop and leg stretch, and then – because we were so close – I suggested we must try and find Chateau de la Motte Husson, featured in that wonderful series “Escape to the Chateau” with Dick and Angel. We knew it was closed to visitors, but having watched it transform over many series, to see it in its finished state intrigued me. We stopped at the gates to view this renovated chateau, take a couple of photos and grab a free postcard left by the owners, and wonderfully, Dick arrived after doing the school run with their kids and stopped for a chat. We passed on greetings on behalf of NZ and took a couple of additional photos we hadn’t expected to. It was only a short detour, but it had us buzzing for the next stage as we headed north to Dinard, on the coast looking over the estuary towards Saint Malo. Being off season, we had scored an amazing apartment stay overlooking the bay, at a very good price (staying in the peak summer season would have been 4 times the price we paid) for our four night stay. We were looking forward to exploring the pretty and historic area of northern France and this was an excellent base for us.

There was so much to see and explore here, but our main focus was to visit Mont St Michel further along the coast. We set off early to drive and park in the nearby town, walking over the causeway to this stunning landmark. Dating from the 11th Century, this monastery, church and the village that has evolved around it has been well preserved and was definitely worth the visit. There was so much to see – climbing through the narrow streets towards to monastery, avoiding the touristic shops and other slow tourists, we climbed up and entered the chapels and cloisters at the top, allowing us great views across the estuary and of the town below. There is still a small community of monks and nuns living here, worshiping in this glorious and once secluded Abbey. We spent a good few hours wandering and taking in the sights, but avoiding spending any extra $ to eat or drink in overpriced cafes, preferring to wait until we had crossed the causeway again (this time in a bus after all the walking and climbing!).

We enjoyed exploring the towns nearby, St Malo, Erquy, to name a couple. Dinard itself had plenty to offer with walks around the coast (at low tide… high tide became very risky on the narrow rocky path) and enjoying a few days being settled in one spot for a change. Visiting in mid-November was great, the weather, although cool, was pleasant enough and meant there weren’t the summer hordes in places we wanted to visit.

Our days in Europe were coming to an end, but we managed a few more wonderful locations – Rouen was a magnificent city to explore, so much beautiful architecture and again, wonderful French food. We stayed out of the town and used public transport to get in and out of this lovely city, enjoying wandering the streets and soaking in the atmosphere.

Our last gasp in Europe was to be Champagne, briefly tasted over 20 years ago, we decided we must spend a few days exploring in more detail. We found a lovely apartment in the centre of Ay to base ourselves for three nights. We could wander around the corner to a bakery, and around the village spotting champagne houses. We took ourselves on a day trip to Hautvillers and enjoyed a tasting at G Tribaut, splurging on a bottle to take home for our family Christmas, feeling somewhat cheap compared to the Belgians filling their cars with cases of Champagne to take home. This was a great end to our adventures in the UK and Europe – but there was one more treat to come on our way home…