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Invited by a family he learned in Paris, he traveled by car to Saint-Jean-le-Thomas, north-western France. Normandy is the Normandy of the Normandy Landing Operation. That's why I noticed the American flag flying outside the window.
The family spends their vacations at their mother's house in Saint-Jean-sur-Toma every time their children's vacation, often in a small apartment in Paris.
This time, my mother and aunt traveled to Portugal, and they were happy to accept that the whole family could use the aunt's villa located right by the sea.
According to one of his friends, Saint Coeur de Toma has a tidal flat, beaches, mountains, forests, grasslands, and beautiful villages, filled with cute houses.
In Paris, Normandy is as far from Seoul as Busan. On the way to the national highway, the scenery was so wonderful that I didn't take the highway on purpose, and it took over 6 hours including rest time. On the way it rained again and again. When it rained, I rested for a while near a lake with a beautiful landscape or in a village.
Outside the window there were horses, goats, sheep, cattle ranches and corn fields. By sunset, wild animals such as wild boars and elk seemed to pass through the safari zoo.
Only the yellow cows are familiar. It is impressive to see the cows grazing or leisurely hanging around with their young on the wide meadows, while the lameness of the Korean cattle eating their food in a narrow and cramped space.
Video capture picture taken by child
When we arrived at the destination it rained again.
The weather in Normandy is lower than in Paris and the weather is so frequent that Paris is coming and going. Even though it rains in one day, the weather stops and the clouds are full of clouds.
When I went to the tidal sea near the hostel, I saw Mont Saint-Michel island hidden away in the clouds. The tide is large and can be reached on foot at low tide, but it is isolated in the middle of the sea at high tide. It was a historic site that served as a fortress during the 100-year war against England and a political prison camp after the Great Revolution. The monastic pilgrimage of the pilgrims from the Middle Ages has a legendary origin that the Archangel Michael was ordered by the bishop of Ober, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
I went to Mont Saint-Michel five years ago when I was in France.
The monastery at the top was restricted from entry, and our couple was lucky to get involved in the mass. Although not a Catholic, the holy and spiritual praises of the nuns for the first time had a dreamy and mysterious experience that touched my soul for a moment. It was a beautiful, calm and serene mass. Mont-Saint-Michel was a place he would definitely want to go back to if he had the chance. I had to be satisfied with seeing from far away throughout this trip, but when I went out for a night stroll, the fantastic night view of Mont Saint-Michel, alone in the middle of the dark sea, was a comforting one.
Google images
Fortunately, the next day there was a passing rain, but the blue sky with sun shining continued all day.
Birds hear them at home in Paris, but the birds hear them in the morning light in the countryside, giving a strange peace and feeling. Here I was drinking freshly brewed coffee and looking at the idyllic countryside, so I thought it was a great time to come here.
Aunt villa we have been to
Mother's house
Friends mother house backyard garden
I usually ate at my friend's mother's house, which had a garden and a spacious garden, and it was like shooting three or three meals. I loved the garden, and once I moved to the urban garden on the roof of the building, I was excited to harvest fresh vegetables like beets, lettuce, green onions, and tomatoes to make salads.
When adults were barbecuing and preparing meals, the children ran around eating blackberries and raspberries that were hidden all over the garden. The front and back yards are spacious and two-storey, so the children played back and forth in and out of the houses. That's why it's better to have children in the countryside. Adults were able to relax in the garden after meals because the children were safely inside the fence inside the house.
French meal culture can be relaxed and laid back.
We drank cider, a famous fermented apple in Normandy, with aperitif before a meal, slowly eating with wine, and drinking coffee with chocolate. Of course, authentic French meals have a wider variety of courses between the appetizer entree, the main plat and the dessert dessert. But we cooked together, so we prepared as simple and casual as possible. On the contrary, after eating, he continued to eat baguettes, cheeses, and sweets under the warm sunshine, looking at the green garden and the blue sky. Isn't it a true vacation to eat and relax like this?
Children playing in and out of the house
I walked through the village, walking in the morning and afternoon.
Walking through the alley, blackberry eats and walked looking at the sea. The children raced without a circle in running races, and then played again when they met the playground. Where the children's infinite stamina comes from constantly.
It's a countryside, so everybody who meets it smiles and says hello. It is a different landscape from Paris. The horse ranch was nearby, so there were quite a few people riding horses in town alleys and on the beach.
At low tide, they went to the mud flats to observe sea creatures.
It feels good when you press the soft mud to the bottom of your bare feet, and you put a deep twist on it.
Small fish were swimming in each standing water and did not know how to spend time searching for various tidal-flat animals.
After about 10 minutes by car there is another kind of beach and we visited more often. I went around 11 am and went to 3:00 pm because the waves were good.
In August in France, shops are tightly closed from village to village. There are no people walking on the streets, so it turns into a ghost town.
I am honestly envious of the people lying on the secluded beaches and relaxing, and the French people sunbathing and picnicking after surfing and swimming.
France has a long history in which the entire country has enjoyed such a long vacation. In 1968, the '68 Revolution 'resulted in a total strike for students and workers, resulting in four weeks of paid time off, and in 1985, 35 hours of work per week and 5th level of paid leave were enacted and the current French vacation culture was established. Most of the French companies in July-August were switched to vacation mode, and the company's atmosphere is full, and all employees take vacations for at least three weeks.
When I went to work in Korea, I had to convince my co-workers and supervisors for the reason why I had a week's vacation. I finally got a vacation, spent a week of vacations, and when I came back, I noticed it again, and I suffered unreasonable guilt.
Our reality of returning to work in Korea is in Korea, so it was envious of the cows in the French meadows and the Frenchmen they met in the resort.
It was mid-August, but the temperature was only 20 degrees.
After the market, I went to a grocery store near the market and ate a sandwich on the beach. The sandwiches made on the spot with beautiful scenery are also honey-flavored.
When you return to Korea next year, your vacation will be short, so you won't be able to dream about this. So let's be thankful when we can.
Thanks to my friend's family, I was able to experience the 'staycation' of the French for a while in the French countryside. As France has a long vacation, it usually chooses an area, stays in one place for a long time, and makes sightseeing or recreation. Some middle-class Parisians and others, like friends and family, have a villa in the same area and visit every vacation.
When we went to the island of Menorca, Spain, the resort we had had some French people who came here for a few weeks each year on vacation. So how can this envy of the French not be envious?
Korea hopes that the legal paid leave, which is a worker's right, will not only be longer than five weeks like France, but also freely available at any time. As the French people did during the 68th Revolution, we have to fight hard.
When I go back to Korea, I am envious of the union activities and party activities that I neglected due to the excuse of being busy with eating. Then, one day, my children's generation will come to a dream day where they can know the value of labor and vacation, enjoy the rest and enjoy the rest like France.
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