As it was more of a trip to see the countryside and villages we didn't do any of the war stuff.

We rented a little Diesel Fiat for a one way trip from Paris through EuropCar and took to the open road eventually ending up in San Malo. We covered a lot of ground trying to avoid freeways as much as we can. I only almost got pulled over once! A few of the stops:

Climbing around on the ruins of Chateau Gaillard, enjoying a few minutes of exploring of Les Andelys at the Chateaus base. This was awesome.

Drove up for lunch in Lyons-la-foret and spent a few minutes exploring that village as well. So quaint.

We then hauled out to the coastal town of Etretat where we enjoyed the views that Monet used as a muse for his paintings we saw the day before in the Musee d'Orsay

We then went South for the night at Mount Saint Michel. There is one Air BNB on the island and it was amazing if not a little awkward. The owners don't speak any English. We didn't speak any French. They tried so hard to be excellent hosts and served us a light breakfast as best they could. The AirBNB aside MSM was VERY worth the stop, certainly impressive at night. We didn't stick around for the daytime crowds. Got in the Abbey when it first opened and we we're back on the road. If you go it's really not necessary to stay on the island. You can walk over to it any time of the night.

Last stop was San Malo. We had read "All the Light You Can Not See" and we're in love with the thought of this place. Our expectations were too high. It's a cool place we just over hyped it. And the tides were wrong for some of the activities we wanted to do, namely jumping off the platform into the sea pool, and hiking to Petit Be.

We then caught a train back to Paris.

If we had to do it over again, we'd do it in a heartbeat. Maybe stress less about the amount of time at San Malo, or at least do a better job timing our trip with the tides, but we did the best we could. The tides have to be pretty far out to make that hike, and in the early spring it just typically doesn't happen. If we had planned for less time at San Malo I would have enjoyed another hour or so at MSM and stopped at another quaint village. I don't think I would have changed anything else.

If we could make it two nights I think some more time exploring Etretat and then the Normandy beaches would have been amazing.

The trip as the highlight of our week in France. We certainly are planning on going back for the beaches and war stuff some day, but as with all the Paris activities, you'll never get it all in during one trip. Have a great time!