On the way to Camembert, but first… coffee and cakes in Vimoutiers
Downtown Vimoutiers
Today, it’s cheese, especially Camembert, that it’s all about, but to quench our coffee thirst, we decided to stop by Vimoutiers first.
Napoleonic Cake in Vimoutiers
And it was no letdown! There was a confectionery right in the middle of the square. They had Napoleon cake, the best I’ve ever tasted!!
The base and top were completely crispy, and the vanilla cream is impossible to describe. I took a picture of it just to be safe.
Last time I took a picture of a Napoleon cake and posted it on our Loire page, I received an email from BBC Lonely Planet’s travel magazine. They wanted to buy the picture to use in September’s issue this year. I wonder if I’ll have as much luck this time…
A fine place
After having consumed enough caffeine to wake up properly, we continued on to Camembert.
I thought Camembert would be much more commercialised, but it was a quiet and peaceful place with a small cheese museum and a tiny shop. It looked like a large box of Camembert at the front. Here you could buy camembert in all varieties, as well as a bunch of cheese souvenirs.
Camembert is not a protected “designation” like Cognac and Champagne, for example, so anyone can make cheese and call it Camembert. To be sure that the cheese actually comes from this district, you need to look for the AOC label on the box.
The third house in Camembert was the town hall. It seems that everywhere in France must have a town hall, if the place has more than two permanent residents. In fact, there weren’t even more houses in the “centre” here.
You could throw a stone from the Camembert sign where you entered the town to where the sign with the red line stood. You know, the one that indicates you’re leaving the town.
The Camembert Cheese Museum in Camembert
The small town of Camembert is located in the middle of a hill. If you come here, take a walk up to the farm just outside the “town boundary”. From there, you can enjoy the view over the landscape—a hilly terrain with green meadows, plenty of cows, and of course, apple trees.
Maison de Beaumoncel
This farm, called Maison de Beaumoncel, welcomes visitors, but not exactly while we were there.
There was a ticket booth outside the entrance to the farm, but there wasn’t a soul to be seen there. Nevertheless, we took a walk around anyway.
This must be Normandy’s finest plot. Waking up to such a sight every day must be pure medicine in itself.
I assume they produced cheese, but it looked like the place was undergoing renovation at the moment.
Cheese factory in Livarot
In Livarot, we visited a cheese factory and watched (and smelled) how the production process was carried out.
Personally, Brie and Camembert are my favourite cheeses, but if I worked here, I would switch to chocolate spread.
It simply smelled absolutely terrible. Some sort of mouldy, damp smell that clings to your nose and clothes long after you’ve left.
The Camembert sold in Norway is probably much milder than the one you can buy here down south.
Lunch in St. Julien
It’s strange how hungry you get when it’s impossible to find food somewhere. Between 2 pm and 7 pm, most restaurants are closed. But after driving through a few small towns, we finally found a local bistro open in St. Julien.
Finn got a piece of meat with chips, and I received a generous portion of potato gratin with goat cheese and pieces of smoked ham + two sliced tomatoes with Dijon mustard! Hearty fare, but it was delicious.
We had actually planned to visit the Château in Saint-Germain-Livet on our way back to Lisieux, but we decided that was enough for the day and headed back to Lisieux to relax a bit before dinner. Tonight’s dinner was enjoyed at Juxin, the same place we visited a few days ago. Sushi and Asian food are always delicious!
