Museum visiting could be an Olympic Event

Yes, visiting museums really could become an endurance event.  Yesterday we walked around Paris, and visited St. Chapelle.  Today we visited the D'Orsay and the Musee Orangerie, and have seen enough modern art to cross our eyes!

Notre Dame de Paris

Rouen

We have had a wonderful day, although we are starting to realize that our holiday actually is coming to an end, and are starting to feel ready to come home.  This morning we checked out of our hotel in Bayeau and drove through small towns and villages to Rouen.  We checked into the hotel and parked the car, and then it was off for a busy afternoon.  We visited the lovely old streets of the city, stopping to admire the beautiful Eglise St. McClou.  The beautiful timbered buildings on the far side of the cathedarl, away from the Seine, are still looking much as they did hundreds of years ago, and were very photogenic.  The cathedral of Rouen is also spectacular, with its famous wrought iron steeple again sihouetted against the skyline.  Although we woke up to drizzle that lasted for most of the day, it didn't bother us, and after we left the smaller but choice Musee des Beaux Arts, were we were well satisfied with the range and quality of what we saw, the sun had come out.  We went down to the Place du Vieux Marche, where we saw a colourful market and the avant-garde Eglise Jeanne d'Arc, which made the spot where Joan of Arc died rather colourful.  Time for some last photos in the late afternoon sunshine, and then time to head back to the hotel for a quick rest before heading out for a nice dinner.

The picture above is the central apse of Rouen Cathedral.  Tomorrow we drive to Paris, drop off the car, and begin our all-too-brief visit to the City of Light.  Some pictures below!

Vieux-la-Romaine et Falaise

Today we started out by driving to Vieux-la-Romaine, which has been known since the Eighteenth Century as the Roman city of Aregenua.  The site has been cleverly developed, with a museum, an educational / experimental area, and several outdoor sites that are in the small town and itself.

After this, we went down to the town of Falaise and saw the reconstructed chateau where William the Conquerer was born.  Falaise saw immense destruction in August of 1944, and the Chateau de Guillaume was a German stronghold.  When we saw the view from the ramparts and tower, over miles of countryside, we could see why.  The reconstruction is nicely done, and follows the layout of the castle in the Twelfth Century exactly, some of the artistic details include a floor of glass and lead, where one can see through to the floor below.  I have a real phobia of walking on floors where I can see between my feet, so it took everything I had to make it past the great hall, and I'm afraid Ian did the ramparts on his own.

Next we walked around the streets of Falaise and visited the eglise (church) next to the chateau.  It is a beautiful sandstone church which sadly shows the damage of the war.  Ironically, the other end of the church, which was more havily damaged, is beautifully restored.  It is sobering to think that 340 civilians from this one city died in August 1944.

Bayeau and Point du Hoc

Today we planned to go to Vieux and see some Roman ruins, but over breakfast we discovered that the museum is closed on Wednesday.  We decided to switch up itineraries, and today we saw the Musee de Bayeau, which was a little gem and not what we expected, and after a lovely lunch, we were off to Point du Hoc, where the American Rangers fought an amazing battle early in the morning of D-Day.  I have been surprised to find out just how different the D-Day landing sites are, and am so impressed with the heroism of the people who had to climb cliffs Batman-on-a-rope style, while under heavy fire.  It was sobering to see the American flags at half mast today, the day after the attacks in Belgium, a grim reminder that while the Second World War may be long over, war itself continues.

Ian and I above Omaha Beach.

D-Day Remembered

Commonwealth Cemetary, Bayeau France

Statue outside the Canadian Museum on Juno Beach

Today we visited war museums, the first showing the overall invasion of Normany on D-Day, and the second was the Canadian museum at Juno Beach.  We spent the rest of the day driving along the astoundingly beautiful sea coast, hardly able to believe that such a great deal of violence and suffering took place here, in June of 1944.

Nous sommes en Bayeux aujourd'hui.

Today we bid adieu to St. Malo and drove to Bayeau in Normandy.  We are here for four days, and today we were going to do a walking tour of the town, see the cathedral, and generally get the lay of the land.  I was planning to leave the Bayeau tapestry until the day after tomorrow, but couldn't wait!  It was wonderful, and even though I have studied it before, it was a different experience seeing the real size and scope of the tapestry laid out in front of us.

Dinan, the aquarium, and laundry

Today is our last day in St. Malo, and we decided to visit one of the many historic villages in the area, Dinan.  Our plan was to walk the town with convenient breaks to visit the town's many museums. Our first surprise was that our hotel was out of breakfast, but we found some mediocre croque monsieur in Dinan -- one of the few places open.  Of course today is dimanche, and none of the museums was open yet, in spite of what the guide books said.  After viewing the town for a couple of hours, during which we saw the picturesque town and the local flea market, we decided to head off to the Grande Aquarium.  This was a great choice.  Although I was reluctant to spend time in an aquarium in France when I have visited our local aquariums so many times, this one had Atlantic fish, and was really well set up -- it even had a submarine ride!  Although the place was full of French families on a Sunday opening, we had a great time -- and the audio with our shark video is hilarious!  We marched our duds to the laundrette and while the clothes dried we had crepes and tea on the at a salon above the beach.  So while it has been cold, and everything was closed, we have had a snug and happy day.

Ian, watching sharks swim over his head.  Turtles too!

A square in Dinan.

We stuck a few more pictures below:

Mont St. Michel and Jacques Cartier

Today was of course wonderful (we are traveling in France, after all), but SO COLD!  I have no way to tell you how cold it is without being profane, which is no way to talk about the Abbaye Mont St. Michel.  We spent the morning wandering through the medieval streets and the abbey itself, and then we went off to the manor house where Jacques Cartier spent his final days.  By this time we were thoroughly chilled, all the way through (they don't heat those manor houses), so we have come back to warm ourselves before heading out for dinner:  tonight, at the Brasserie du Sillon, right across the road from our hotel.

St. Malo by the Sea

We drove up from Carnac to the lovely city of St. Malo.  It was a relaxing drive, especially for me, because Ian did the driving.  This place is a testament to the resilience of people:  over eighty percent of the city was leveled in August 1944 -- even Cartier's tomb was blown to smithereens.  Still as one walks the cobblestone streets, it can be difficult to tell what is original -- and some is five hundred years old -- and what is new.  As Canadians, we were interested to learn of the importance of the Newfoundland fishery to this town.  One of the recruiting posters for fishermen was from 1925 -- the year my father and Ian's mother were born. Of course, this was also the birthplace of Cartier, who "discovered Canada" and we are looking forward to visiting his museum.  While there are lots of reminders of the horrors of war in the area, the stunning beaches and restored town are wonderful.

This small square has one of the oldest houses in the area.  Anne of Bretagne apparently stayed in the house with the tower while her castle was being built.

Carnac Treasure Hunt!

Today we knew we had seen the main alignments, and felt free to wander wherever the wind blew us.  The sun shone for much of the day, the scenery was fantastic, we found lovely tombs and historic churches -- or was it the other way around -- and we thoroughly enjoyed our day.

Ian in an underground tomb.

Prehistoire en Carnac

Bonsoir!  Aujourd'hui nous avons roulé à Carnac, vu des alignements et visité le Musée Prehistoire.  We walked down by the salt marshes to the plage, and are now in our tiny hotel room, massaging our feet.

La Manoir de La Johotiere

Today Ian and I said a reluctant farewell to our Hotel LaFleuray and made the three hour drive to the chateau where we will be sleeping this evening.  After arriving at our hotel, we made a small drive around the area (near Chateaubriant in Bretagne) and then walked around our beautiful estate.  We were horribly traumatized in Turkey several years ago, as we did not have the correct documentation for the toll roads and had to explain this to nice men who spoke no English -- and carried weapons.  As a result, we set the Garmin to avoid toll roads, and this turned out to be the best thing ever.  Today was a glorious day with brilliant sunshine making everything beautiful.  We soared along small highways and even smaller rural roads, through many tiny towns, and watched the landscape gradually change.  Our hotel is amazing -- it really is a working chateau, and the restaurant is very famous.  Ian and I have attempted to translate the on-line menu -- check it out yourself at at this link.  I will just let a few pictures tell you about this glorious day.

Finally something for Ian . . .

Today we finally saw some historical sites.  Yes, we still visited a modern house from the 1430`s, but we also saw the remains of a 2nd C. Roman Aqueduct and a Gallo-Roman tower, marking what was probably a wealthy family's estate and mausoleum.  We also visited Chinon, famous for Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard II and Prince John, and Jean D`Arc.

Chateaux and Leonardo

We arrived at Hotel Le Flueray just before dark Saturday evening, checked in and made a reservation for dinner.  The next morning we had breakfast and then set out on our Chateau tour.  We had plans to see 3 or 4 chateau, but only managed two.  Well 3 if you count Chateau du Close Luce, Leonardo Di Vinci`s last home.

Chartres and Chambord

Yesterday was our first day in France.  After an uneventful, if a tad uncomfortable, flight, we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport and got our rental car.  We drove to Chartres, checked into our lovely hotel, and then after a wonderfully French lunch, toured Chartres Cathedral.  We went back to our hotel, and lapsed into comas.  This morning we ate a fabulous breakfast -- I forgot how good a croissant can be -- and did a walking tour of the historical parts of the city.  Of course we got lost on our way to the tourist office to get the walking tour guide, because I didn't realize how small a medieval "block" can be (twenty-five steps!)  We ended up finding the most amazing little church.  We stumbled into the Saturday market, and saw a great deal of the city -- the tourist office being our last stop.  After another tour of the cathedral, where we saw the morning light streaming in through the stained glass windows, rather than the afternoon light of yesterday, we drove through to the Arches de L'Aqueduct in the town of Maintenon.  Imagine Ian's surprise to learn that these huge structures were built by Louis XIV, not the Romans!    We drove through the flat countryside and through tiny and ancient French villages to the Chateau Chambord, which has some of the most amazing architecture I've ever seen.  No wonder, since many people believe that Leonardo di Vinci had a hand in its design, although he died a few months before it was started.  Our day was timed perfectly, since we had just handed back our cool little histopad -- and Ipad that you can hold up to objects and rooms and see them as they were, or get more info on pictures and objects in the rooms -- when they announced that the chateau was closed.  We drove to the teeny weenie village of Fleuray, and we are staying outside of town.  We had an amazing five course meal with a half bottle of wine, and as Ian predicted, we seem to have become full bottle people, at least for meals that last two and a half hours.  Ian fell asleep instantly, and in a few minutes, I will be snoring beside him.