13 August 2012

I'm ba-a-a-ck!  The holiday in Normandy was great--even if I did gain a few lbs :-(  I'm at 60 lbs lost, but I've started right back on the diet today, so I'm confident I can knock those lbs right off.  That's my story--and I'm sticking to it.  It was a good day at work today; I even managed to get all my e-mails caught up.  And a good, fishy day on the diet!
Anyway, it was a fun holiday.  I'm not sure I'm up to a full description today but I'll get as far as I can.  We stopped and had lunch at The Kestrel before heading over to Hull to get the ferry on Friday, 03 August.  Usually this is a pretty quick affair, so we figured we'd have time to check out The Deep, the aquarium in Hull--but it wasn't to be.  It took forever for our ood to be served and when it arried Jeff's was too hot to eat and mine had been sitting under a heat lamp for so long, the salmon was pretty dried out.  Bummer!  So we found The Deep (just so we'd know where it is the next time) and headed to the ferry terminal.  We got settled in our cabin and then had dinner.
We arrived in Zeebrugges the next morning and set out.   According to the TomTom, Barfleur (a close town) was about 5 hours, which didn't take into account huge delays at the toll booths. But we got to the village (Aumeville-Lestre) and managed to find the cottage--all in enough time to hit the Inter Marche (French grocery store--I love French grocery stores!) and get stuff for dinner and breakfast. We grilled chicken, red onions and peppers and had rice to go with it all. Our landlady had left us a lovely bottle of wine and some biscuits, which were both really good. The next morning, we got up, had breakfast (porridge for me) and headed into Bayeux.

This is a shot of Bayeux Cathedral (Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux), my favoite of the Normandy Cathedrals--and possibly of all the cathedrals I've seen!  I just love this one; it's so beautiful.   The architecture in 1077 when the cathedral was consecrated was Norman-Romanesque, but what we see now is mostly 13th century Gothic.  William the Conqueror was present when his half-brother Odo, bishop of Bayeux consecreted the cathedral.  Bayeux is a bit out of the way, so the cathedral has not been ravaged by the many wars thru the centuries as other places.  As you can see in the next shot, it's just as lovely inside as out.

This is a picture of an interesting steeple (or something) which I spotted on the way to the Bayeux Tapestry Museum.  We headed over to see this after we finished with Mass. 

The Bayeux Tapestry, which isn't really a tapestry but an embroidery, was commissioned by Bishop Odo and tells the story of how William, Duke of Normandy came to be King of England in 1066.  It's about 70 meters long and about 0.5 meters high; the story is told in about 58 (I think) linen panels of various widths.  It is absolutely stunning!  The admission is E7.80 (or a little over $10) and includes the tapestry, an audio guide (lots of language choices) and the museum on the next floor.  I've been twice and seen different stuff each time.  I figure I'm good for another couple of visits before I start to get bored.
 This next shot is the side of the restaurant (a crepiery) where we had lunch.  I guess crepes are the sweet version and gallettes are the savory.  Very yummy, especially with a nice cup of sparkling local cidre.  The area is the old Tanners nd Dyers part of the town.

This is Montebourg Abbey, which was just a few miles from where we were staying.  It's now a school of some sort.

Stained glass inside the church at Montebourg Abbey.

Detail of the decoration above the church door at Montebourg Abbey.

On Tuesday, we got up and headed off for the D-Day (Debarquement in French) Beaches.  This was a memorial along the road on the way to Utah Beach.  There was an American flag and a French flag here but I only got a shot og the American flag at this stop.  I think this is also the spot where the French General LeClerc came back to France.

We climbed over the dunes and there were some folks down there harness racing; made for some nice shots.

And another shot of the American flag before heading back to the car.  I only brought the one card for my camera, so I wanted to download the pictures to my computer before moving on.

While I was waiting on the computer, I happened to glance up and see this pine cone "bug", which I just had to gt a picture of.  I'm such a child!

This is the memorial (and museum) at Utah Beach.

A fully restored B-26 at the Utah Beach Museum.

The church at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

Inside the church.

Motorcycle in the small museum across the road from the church.

One of the exhibits in the museum; it took me a moment to figure out I was looking at an authentic flag :-)

Jeep outside the museum.

Omaha Beach. For some reason, I wasn't expecting such lovely, tranquil beaches; it seemed like the events of almost 70 years ago should have left a mark...

The American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, a very moving visit.

 Church at Colleville-sur-Mer.

After we had a look around this church, we went on home and had another BBQ for supper at the cottage.  More to come tomorrow night...