Normandy -- Day 3 (Last Day)

We checked out of our bed and breakfast in the morning after a leisurely breakfast and drove around the countryside to visit some chateaux and taste some Calvados straight from the source. Our first stop was to Château du Breuil, a well-known Calvados distillery in Normandy.

We arrived 30 minutes before they were to close for lunch, so we only had time for a quick walk around the grounds and a tasting (Grandma generously stayed in the car with napping Emmett). Akung (Grandpa) bought a three-pack which contained three half bottles; an XO Calvados, a 12-year-old Calvados, and a Calvados Liquer.
Next, we stopped at the Château Saint Germain-de-Livet, a beautiful castle recommended to us by the proprietor of our bed & breakfast. We didn't have time to take a tour of the interior, but the grounds were absolutely breathtaking and lovingly maintained: a manicured lawn and elaborate flower garden, lush greenery, a duck pond, and wildlife of all sorts -- we saw black swans, white geese, peacocks (including a white one!), and a friendly cat.

Emmett continued napping in the carseat, so he unfortunately didn't get to see this chateau either! What he really needed was to catch up on some sleep and he ended up napping for about 2 1/2 hours!

After a brief stop at Carrefour, the French equivalent of Safeway + Walmart + Circuit City, to pick up some baby food for the train ride home, we drove back to Caen to explore more of the city. Just as we began exploring the Château Ducal, it suddenly started to rain.

Rather than make the trek back to our car, we searched for a place to sit and wait for the rain to die down -- and we were in luck. We wandered into a museum built on the grounds (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen) and found to our great surprise that admission was free! "Gratuit -- I think that's my favorite French word!" exclaimed David.

We wandered around the museum and because it was nearly empty, we decided to use that as an opportunity to let Emmett out of his backpack to expend some energy. The floor looked clean enough so we let him crawl around the museum. He loved it, but his squeals of joy and glee were heard by the lone security guard who eyed him suspiciously (and us disapprovingly). The guard kept a close eye on us....

After returning our rental car and picking up some take-out Chinese food, we boarded our train later that evening and made it home to Paris by a little after 10:00 p.m.