On the road (2) – beaches, castles and chateaux COMPLETED IN THIS FORUM
About This Page:

**chezp** · 06-20-2010, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDolphin

What moving installments for your visits to Omaha, Juno, Sword beaches. Brought tears to my eyes thinking of the ultimate sacrifices made by those men (some where boys) - and your photos of the cemetery were wonderful. Thank you for reminding us of significance of that day - so few in this country acknowledge it any more.

I'm so sorry that the significance isn't widely remembered, that's such a shame. And you are so right about some of them being boys.

**KMB733** · 06-20-2010, 02:53 PM

Great photos.

**Colexis Mom** · 06-20-2010, 06:52 PM

Beautiful photos!

**chezp** · 06-21-2010, 01:20 AM

Sunday 6 June – part three: a real taste of France!

We took a really picturesque route through various villages, many of them with lovely houses and memorials.

Soon we were in Bayeux and getting close to the home of the tapestry. Once again, we lucked out with the packing and found somewhere really close by. Typically, we got the last space again.

The building that the tapestry is housed in is absolutely lovely and I certainly wasn’t expecting it to have a boat out front, but it did.

We headed in and quickly realised that we couldn’t take any photos in here, which was a shame, but hardly a surprise. We got our tickets (€7.80 each or $9.40) and headed inside to a massive line. Interestingly, there was also a sign saying that if a group arrived that was just there to see the tapestry, they would be let in first. I guess that’s fair enough, but I found myself hoping and praying that a group wouldn’t come in. Our luck was in on that front and no sign of a group anywhere, so after about 10 minutes, we were being equipped with out audio guides (available in about 10 different languages

) and then we were inside.

The wait was worth it to see this. I must admit that I was a bit sceptical about this. It’s the sort of thing that you have to see when you’re in Bayeux, but I didn’t expect much from it. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. It went on for ages and the audio guide was incredibly detailed and ensured that you saw everything. Every time you might have missed a detail, perhaps on the borders either below or above a scene, it would be pointed out to you.

As someone who’s done some cross stitch in the past, I have nothing but admiration for those who created this. The detail in it is incredible, as is its condition. Considering that it’s nearly 1,000 years old, there are very few tears in it and the colours can still easily be seen in almost all their original glory. I’m sure it’s faded a little over the years, but you can still make out what the creators intended you to see and that really impressed me. That wasn’t what I expected at all.

:

As far as the story goes, I didn’t realise that Harold was sent by the then King of England, Edward to go and see his cousin William of Normandy in France to tell him that when Edward died, William would become the King of England. Of course, you can work out what happened next. Although that message was safely delivered, when Harold got back home and Edward died, Harold decided that he wanted to become King and was duly crowned.

Of course, that didn’t exactly sit well with William, who then decided to head for England and do battle for the crown. That led to the infamous Battle of Hastings in 1066, which of course Harold lost, duly getting an arrow in his eye for his troubles, beautifully depicted in the tapestry, with William then becoming known as William the Conqueror. It was quite amusing, as perhaps the most famous scene, certainly to us Brits anyway, is the death of Harold and Mark had to point it out to two Americans, who then thanked him in French, obviously thinking he was French.

Let’s just say the creators of this tapestry didn’t space anyone’s feelings when they depicted the battle. You get the full horror of it, including bodies missing heads and even a horse missing its head. Of course, it all concludes with the death of Harold, and thin in good Disney fashion, you’re let out into a gift shop, where we were able to get a guidebook about Normandy and a fridge magnet of the tapestry.

I asked in there about toilets and we were told that they were at the entrance

so off we went. Showing our tickets, they let us back in and these toilets were exceptionally clean and didn’t have an attendant, even better!

We came out and the sun was just trying to come out, making it a very pleasant temperature outside, so we got a few photos with the tripod.

Mark told me that he had seen a creperie as we had come in, just down the road, which was music to my ears and it turned out to be a lovely place, complete with seating outside by one of the rivers that runs through Bayeux. It couldn’t have been more idyllic if they had tried.

:

It was a little windy out there, but not long after we sat down, they pulled back the blinds and we were able to sit in the sun. I was now very glad of the suntan lotion that I had put on earlier.

I went for a chocolate crepe and Mark went for a caramel and pear version and we were both very pleased with what we got. It was exactly what we needed.

It was very well priced too. Complete with a Coke for Mark and a Diet Coke for me, it only came to €15 ($18), which I thought was really good, considering their location near to the Bayeux tapestry and their riverside location. All too often, you’d pay through the nose for somewhere like this.

As we were eating, we saw lots of veterans coming back to their coaches, presumably after a service had finished at the cathedral. It was lovely to see.

Next: a beautiful resting place

BeckiO5 · 06-21-2010, 02:46 AM

Before I comment on your most current update, I did notice the Mickey's in the Eurostar Station (love the Mickey's), and I did forget to say seeing all of the Battle sites have been bringing tears to my eyes. I love history, but appreciate it more when places are shown where people have given their lives to battle in wars. Wonderful description of the tapestry Cheryl, even if it did sound gory. It just looks beautiful in France. Your's and Marks Crepes looked delicious. I haven't made a Crepe in years (although I do love them and different variations of them). It looks like you and Mark enjoyed your trip in France. More please Cheryl.

Hi Mark.

**Colexis Mom** · 06-21-2010, 08:28 AM

Another great update!

honeybee723 · 06-21-2010, 08:38 AM

So sorry to hear that your back was acting up so much, but I'm glad you were able to get out and enjoy yourself. The pictures of the cemetary and beaches were beautiful, and very moving. It's just hard to believe all of that happened right there.

As for those crepes...they look delicious. I'm a huge fan of crepes and now I'm very hungry after seeing them!

**Disneybine** · 06-21-2010, 12:05 PM

Great updates, Cheryl! Hhhmmm, those crepes looks yummy!

**KMB733** · 06-21-2010, 01:22 PM

Great update!! That little cafe was so cute!

mcc0313 · 06-21-2010, 01:47 PM

Great updates Cheryl, the pictures are amazing, very moving.

**chezp** · 06-22-2010, 01:44 AM

Sunday 6 June – part four: a beautiful resting place

When we came out of there, we walked round to the other side of the river and saw a lovely waterwheel, again all very French.

We literally turned a corner and there was the Cathedral right in front of us. What a stunning building.

After getting lots of photos, we browsed some shops and I found one that had some great things in it and took credit cards, so we bought a few bits, including some guidebooks to the area, a Normandy cow fridge magnet, a T-shirt for Mark. They really did have some lovely things in there and seemed genuinely interested in your custom and were really charming.

From there, we walked back to the car. We had earlier found something on Tim that said British Military Cemetery, so we decided to head there. We headed through some villages and some real country roads, where you were pretty much the only vehicle, with one or two exceptions. Mind you, it’s probably just as well, as the roads really weren’t wide enough for two vehicles.

We got to our destination, but it wasn’t what we expected, as it was very small. We got out to have a look around and I loved the way that this had been laid out, with flowers in front of various graves. It added such a lovely touch to this. There had obviously been a lot of thought gone into creating this cemetery, which was good to see.

While we were there, a couple arrived with details of someone’s grave and headed off that way to pay their respects to whoever it was.

We headed back to the car and I suggested that perhaps we should go back to Bayeux, as my guidebook suggested that the biggest British Military Cemetery was actually out there, so back we went, covering much of the same ground as we had on the way out here.

Next: “these were my boys”

ilovedisney247 · 06-22-2010, 03:27 AM

Great update Cheryl! It seems you got a great deal on lunch! It looked wonderful! Did you not buy the tapestry magnet? I think its just amazing that you ended up in Normandy on June 6. I would love to just visit there! I'm a huge history buff!