Tag Archives: France

Things that happened in France

Bayeux, Caen, France

The History Day

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Today was dedicated to indoor activities, the weather prognosticators said a high chance of rain today but the weather gods had other ideas, lots of clouds with scattered showers but not near us. God bless them gods!

Our first stop was to see the Bayeux Tapestry which depicts the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings in 1066. My parents indulged my interest in all things space related when I was in elementary school by giving me a subscription to a publication for youth on this topic and in the discussions on comets the image to depict how comets were a bad omen in the middle ages was panels 32-33 in the tapestry showing the reaction of King Harold and others of the appearance of what was later named Halley’s Comet. I found it fascinating at the time, never forgot it and had to see the tapestry given the chance. The tapestry itself is over 200 feet long (for the American audience) and is very vivid.  The viewing itself had an audio tour and although all thought the tour moved too fast it illustrated the tapestry brilliantly and really brought the depictions to life. A must if you find yourself in this part of France.

Next up was the Bayeux Cathedral where the tapestry was on display at annually and where some of the events depicted in the tapestry are have said to occurred. A Gothic style cathedral with a long construction history what made it stand out to me was that where there would be stained glass in most cathedrals this one had large clear glass which allowed in lots of light. Very beautiful.

The Mémorial de Cain was our final stop of the day which depicts events surrounding World War 2 including what caused it, what occurred during the war itself and the aftermath. Very moving, the museum not only had war materials but also things from the ordinary person affected by the war including documents, clothes and other items. Sydney was strongly moved by the museum but found it a bit much saying towards the end “When do we get to the part where Hitler loses?” A strong kid this one is, she needs to face history as she can understand it.

Not a great picture production day, no pictures allowed of the tapestry. Darn, there was several hundred I wanted to take… The cathedral yielded a nice set, as for the war memorial, well… Not the kind of pictures I want to put in a blog. But I did find one.

Fois gras followed by Steak-frites. Yum!

A water wheel in Bayeux, France.
A water wheel in Bayeux, France.
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum.
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum.
The Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
The Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).

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Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
The Mémorial de Caen Museum
The Mémorial de Caen Museum
A walk into the sunset.
A walk into the sunset.
Centre-ville Bayeux
Centre-ville Bayeux
France, Mont Saint-Michel

The Exercise Day

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With the long weekend approaching (C’est La Fête Nationale Lundi prochain) we decided that today was the best day to visit Mont Saint-Michel which is a little over an hour south of our ‘residence’. Timing is everything over the summer and since the Abbey is open until 1900 we timed our visit to be in the afternoon hoping that most of the other visitors would be gone. On top of that the bay around the Mont has some of the largest tidal changes in the world and we could see it go from low to high tide with low tide occurring near our arrival. And we were right on both account, when we arrived it looked like like someone had pulled the plug out of a tub, visitors were flooding out while not many were going in so we had a less crowded visit.

And the tides… The water was out several miles when we arrived, we watched it come in with amazing speed (a 40+ foot change from low to high tide) and Mont Saint-Michel was (mostly) an island by the time we left.  The causeway that was built to ease access to the location has ceased making it an island however the French government has undertaken a project to restore the area (Projet Mont-Saint-Michel) which includes replacing the causeway with a bridge restoring the bay to its more natural state. C’est bon!

Mont Saint-Michel has been the sight of a monastery for over 1000 years growing from a more modest start to the grand building visible on top of the island today. We have visited many religious sites over our travels but none have been as modest as this one as compared to the size. As with most places in Europe it seems this one was UP HILL. On top of that I am blessed with a family that acquiesced to my request to walk out to the island when we arrived. Thanks Kim and Syd! We certainly got our exercise today!

The Garmin continues taking us down the oddest roads to get us to our destination. Always correct, my hat is off to the people who recorded all the small rues (and I mean small) including their names.

More pictures can be found in the Mont Saint-Michel tab.

Walking the causeway to Mont Saint-Michel.
Walking the causeway to Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel.
The Grande Rue in Mont Saint-Michel.
The Grande Rue in Mont Saint-Michel.
Walking around Mont Saint-Michel.
Walking around Mont Saint-Michel.
Kim and Syd outside the church at Mont Saint-Michel. Top of the rock, ma!
Kim and Syd outside the church at Mont Saint-Michel. Top of the rock, ma!
Inside the church at Mont Saint-Michel.
Inside the church at Mont Saint-Michel.
In the cloisters at Mont Saint-Michel.
In the cloisters at Mont Saint-Michel.
Syd by the fireplaces in the kitchen.
Syd by the fireplaces in the kitchen.
The crypt.
The crypt.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we arrived.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we arrived.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we left.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we left.
Mont Saint-Michel at sunset.
Mont Saint-Michel at sunset.
Arromanches, D-Day, France, Normandy

The Beach Day

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When we plan these trips we always look for a central place to stay and day trip out from. This gives us a place to set up ‘household’ for a while and provides flexibility in our schedule to flex to how we feel and conditions. The town of Audrieu is serving as our central point on this trip and when the weather gods blessed us with a clear day we pulled the day along the beach card. The beaches however are all about D-Day.

Our first stop was at Pointe du Hoc, a promontory located between Utah and Omaha beaches. From such a point the German Army would have a great view of any invasion force thus making it an early target of the D-Day efforts. A US Army Ranger Assault Group was given this unfortunate but ultimately successful task.

Next we moved to Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer for a walk on just north of Omaha Beach and the location of one of the two temporary harbors built during the invasion (more on this later). This particular section of the beach was quieter than other sections but still gave you a good feel of the beach situation. We timed it to be near low tide and you could see how wide the beaches in Normandy could get.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer was our next stop where 9000+ Americans are buried. A sad and moving place it gives a great visual reminder of the sacrifice made something not  so easy with number on a page.

Our final stop was in Arromanches-les-Bains which is at the center of Gold Beach and the location of one of the other  temporary harbor built during the D-Day invasion. Rather than wait for the capture of a port city it was decided to build these harbors (called Mulberry Harbors) so supplies, etc could get to the invading forces quickly. The harbor at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer  was damaged during a storm within a month of D-Day and put out of comission. The Arromanches harbor ran for six months when permanent ports had been secured. Some of the breakwaters and pontoon bridge floats are still visible today. We also got a good demonstration of how quick the tides rise around Normandy, when we arrived we were able to walk up to a breakwater and some of the pontoons. We noticed though the wave were coming higher on the beach very visibly and had to keep an eye on the waves. Within 20 minutes the breakwater was no longer accessible and within an hour most of the pontoons were under water. Quite the change. 

The Garmin continues its job of moving us around with great directions but its choice of roads on this trip continues to be down the odd back road. If it was not for the system I would think we were getting lost. This time though we had a beautiful sunset to accompany our drive thru scenic French towns and countryside. Some cows vaches took quite an interest in us tourists when we pulled over to enjoy the scenery.

There are a few more photo under The Beach Day tab on the upper menu.

Hi Helena and James!

Sydney at a gun emplacement at Pointe du Hoc.
Sydney at a gun emplacement at Pointe du Hoc.
Pointe du Hoc.
Pointe du Hoc.
Utah beach from Pointe du Hoc.
Utah beach from Pointe du Hoc.
Omaha beach from Pointe du Hoc.
Omaha beach from Pointe du Hoc.
The German Spotter Bunker at Pointe du Hoc.
The German Spotter Bunker at Pointe du Hoc.
Sydney in a bomb crater.
Sydney in a bomb crater.
Syd and Kim on the beach at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.
Syd and Kim on the beach at Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.
The memorial at the Normandy American Cemetery.
The memorial at the Normandy American Cemetery.
Normandy American Cemetery
Normandy American Cemetery
Syd on the beach at Arromanches.
Syd on the beach at Arromanches.
Parts of the breakwater from the Mulberry Harbor at Arromanches. Bigger than they look.
Parts of the breakwater from the Mulberry Harbor at Arromanches. Bigger than they look.
The beach at Arromanches when we arrived.
The beach at Arromanches when we arrived.
The beach at Arromanches when we departed.
The beach at Arromanches when we departed.
What moo looking at?
What moo looking at?