Le Gite du Chat Blanc

27/10/2023

Local food and drink specialities are often a highlight for holidaymakers but also residents too. Discovering new gourmet treats is part of the French cultural experience and it’s a big part of life here. The weather, proximity to the sea and its agricultural heritage make Normandy a foodie heaven.
Normandy cows provide a rich array of products including the 4 cheeses we’ve already covered in a previous Friday Focus post. As well as Camembert, Neufchâtel, Livarot and Pont l’Evêque , rich creamy butter and full-flavoured cream are also made from the milk. For those with a sweet tooth, a thick caramel sauce known as confiture de lait can be drizzled over pancakes, ice cream or yoghurt or spread on bread and pastries. Caramel is also used in cakes that can be bought in pâtisseries or boulangeries. The buttery caramels produced in Isigny-sur-Mer in Calvados are delicious and their ice cream is amazing. Isigny was featured on our A-Z guide of Normandy towns and you can search using the hashtag.
The nearby coastline ensures a plentiful supply of fish, seafood and shellfish. While moules frites (mussels and chips) are not a regional speciality, they are certainly very popular. At low tide you can see the mussel and oyster beds along the Cotentin coast and can even forage (following strict guidelines) for shellfish. Foot fishing (called la pêche à pied) is essentially a way of enjoying fresh shellfish such as crabs and clams and it’s free.
Normandy apple orchards produce cider, Calvados (an apple brandy) and pommeau. Apple juice, pear juice and poiré ( a sparkling drink made from pears and similar to babycham) along with beautiful apple tarts, apple jelly, and apple pastries make this a very versatile food.
A spicy smoked sausage called andouille is made throughout France with each region making it’s own version. In Normandy, it is called Andouille de Vire. And just to warn you that it isn’t the most attractive looking and a key ingredient is intestines. For meat lovers, lamb known as pré salé gets its name because the sheep graze on the salt marshes surrounding Mont St Michel.
Other Normandy favourites include a creamy and milky rice pudding called Teurgoule and a liqueur called Bénédictine. If you have a favourite Normandy food, please add a comment or photo below. We’d love to know what you think about Normandy specialities.

10/06/2023

Shopping and lunch at Falaise in between thunder storms. I returned home in driving rain, complicated by my windscreen wiper suddenly breaking off.

04/05/2023

The pergola is taking off!

01/02/2023

Texane and I coming home from a ride on the local trails, accompanied by Honey dog. I have not been riding much this winter iwing to an operation on my hands, but i hope to be out and about as normal in the spring and to enjoy the bluebell season as usual.

02/04/2022

Today in Clecy! Lots of outdoor activities for people to try safely. Sadly I couldnt be there as i am recovering from a nasty bout of covid.

02/12/2021

Nearly at the end of the season now and very happy to have been able to welcome so many guests this year despite the travel problems. I hope very much that next year will be easier and that our guests will enjoy more time in Normandy. I will have the gite full of family and friends for Christmas, then time for a little maintenance work before it all begins again! But we will of course be available for visitors during the rest of the winter months, especially for people wanting a weekend of walking, cycling or climbing in our spectacular countryside. I have myself been exploring some new walking paths that have been opened up to the public. We now have direct access to the river Orne by a steep but beautiful path that leads down the cliffs and then along the river to Clecy. Not for the fainthearted but well worth the effort. And I now have all the maps to help cyclists, whether road, mountain bike or electric, to find the best ways to enjoy all we have to offer.

10/07/2021

I am very pleased to say that the gite is completely booked up from now until the 28th aug! Sad that none of my British friends and clients will be coming this year, but delighted to welcome both old and new holiday makers from France. I have already got arrangements to host some of those who could not make it this summer to come during 2022 and i look forward to that. We are of course open as usual during the autumn, and if the weather is kind, maybe some British guests might be able to join us then. Autumn here can be spectacular, the forest ablaze with colour, and many facilities open till quite late in the year.
All my best wishes to thise who follow this page and i do hope you all enjoy the summer, wherever you are!

07/05/2021

It makes me very happy to be able to welcome visitors back here this month. Every weekend in May is booked, and July and August only have a few slots left. There are still some problems with local facilities not being open yet, but that should become easier over the next few weeks. Meanwhile the garden is blooming and if we get some good weather, this is a great place to sit out and relax!

19/02/2021

Very pleased that enquiries and even bookings are starting to come in for this summer. Even if some local amenities dont open as usual there are many things to do that no-one can close, ĺike our splendid scenery, the forest walks and trails and the beaches. And the garden here will look lovely with the new dining pergola!

16/11/2020

Now that winter is almost on us, I can reflect on the past year, and I want to thank all those who helped to make it work and to be successful, despite all that we have had to put up with. We have been lucky to have had some wonderful guests, workers needing accommodation as well as tourists from a number of countries, though of course, because of the virus, there were unavoidable cancellations from most British visitors. Fortunately I was glad to welcome many French families and groups, who mostly agreed that although Normandy cannot rival Greece or Turkey for weather, the beauty of the Suisse Normande and the variety of activities here, made up for what they were missing. And in fact we were blessed with sunshine all summer and well into September. Nearly all the British families who were forced to cancel have rebooked for next year, so fingers crossed that all goes well and they will be able to come, especially because they include a number of old friends who are booking with us for the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th time. I do hope to see you all soon.
The gite has seen some improvements, especially in the garden, and there are more additions to be done over the winter. I shall be posting pictures in due course. Meanwhile thanks to everyone, look after yourselves, and I hope we are all able to enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays and look forward to a much better 2021.

07/09/2020

People have been askin me why the posts of my rather messy rooms? I have not gone mad, i had to post in a hurry as i was trying to help out a student who needed accommodation in a hurry and couldn't afford (and didn't need) a 3 bedroom gite. The only way I could show her what was on offer was by putting it on fb. Anyway, she has now found something closer to her college so i have deleted all the pix plus of course the comments. I was very surprised at the comments as I did not expect any interest! Anyway, this post too will disappear after 24 hours. Thank you all and i have not (yet) lost my marbles.

04/09/2020

Well, summer is over and I am pleased to say that we were fully booked all July and August, and I now have bookings for every weekend in September as well as a lot of enquiries and some bookings for next year! Much better than I feared. I was of course sorry that all our prospective British guests had to cancel their holidays here, and I hope that you all found good places to go within the UK. The good weather at least meant there was a chance of enjoying a British summer! I am very pleased that I should see some of you next spring and summer and I look forward to that, especially to our repeat guests whom I know were very excited about coming back to Normandy. Meanwhile I was very pleased to welcome a number of French and Dutch guests, some of whom are hoping to come back. Over the winter I am planning some more improvements, mostly to the garden and outside areas, to make it even more comfortable for eating and relaxing. I will post pictures as it happens. Hope to see you all next year!

07/07/2020

My visitors this week are five riders who are exploring the Suisse Normande on their beautiful horses, out all day with a picnic in their saddle bags. Fortunately the weather this weeki is perfect for riding, sunny but not too hot.

28/09/2019

16/02/2019

The roof came off yesterday and the timbers will be inspected on Monday; if all OK then the new insulation, velux window and tiles will be started. It will make a big difference to the temperature and light control in the top bedroom.

01/01/2019

My final guests of 2018 left this morning, promising to come back in spring to redo the walks they have made in the rain! Now I am closed for two months to give time for a new roof and new external doors. But I am looking forward to the break too - however much I love having visitors, I need a bit of recharge time!