Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

It's hard to believe that a month and a half ago, I was lounging around in Normandy, cruising through the country side, eating cheese and baguettes. Well, summer has bid farewell, and I'm in the throes of fall, better known as the academic school year. I've posted the rest of the France pictures below, but I still daydream about catching a flight and visiting Bev in the idyllic countryside. Sigh.

American Cemetary

 

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the American Cemetary, but it's supposed to be a stunning sight. They are just about 10,000 graves here; families who wanted could have their loved one's repatriated to the US. The graves at the American Cemetary are the men laid to rest with their soldier brothers. You can find the grave markers of the Niland brothers (on which Saving Private Ryan was based), and Teddy Roosevelt, Jr. When I return to Normandy, this will be on my to-see list.

D-Day Monument

 

Here's just one of the many monuments that you can see as you go along the beaches. This one is located just outside of the American Cemetary.

D-Day Beach

 

Shot of the beach from the monument

 

This is a shot taken from the monument looking down on to the beach. It was beautiful, and there were still people out walking in the sand.

Notre Dame Catheral

 

Mind you, there are many Notre Dame Cathedrals, but this one was on the way to the D-Day Beaches so I asked Bev to stop just so I could say I stopped at a Notre Dame Cathedral. It truly was an awesome structure - it was huge, and the design so intricate. I'm so glad we stopped here.

Back side of the cathedral

 

Close up shot of the entrance

 

Really, really close up

 

Scary stuff...

 

It's troubling for me that a scary creature like this is part of the decor of the Notre Dame Cathedral. I know, I know, it's goth...

Abbaye de Lonlay

I forgot to add in these pics of the Abbey - L'Abbaye L'onlaye - which we passed on our way home from Tinchebray and the Royal Prison. This was just a beautiful village and the abbey was striking.






Something I've found charming in this area is how different towns will decorate bicycles near their town offices, or on roads leading into or out of their town. The bicycle in the above picture is at a big intersection of the town. Here are a few more:





Tinchebray also had one at the Royal Prison:





You'll notice the bicycle in Tinchebray weren't as colorful, maybe because it was adjacent to the Royal Prison. However, seeing decorated bicycles in different villages has been a charming touch.

Day 5 - Sunday (8.7) con't

I have got to finish the posts from Tinchebray and the Royal Prison!

Here is a shot of the entrance to the cells.



Each cell also had a fireplace but prisoners had to rely on family and friends to bring them wood. Here's the fireplace:




Prisoners who condemned to die would often inscribe messages in the door. Some would pull a tooth and scrawl a note. One note was particularly clear, but must have been made with a sharp edge:






In the note the prisoner writes his name, the guard's name, and says that his good friend doesn't come to visit. You'll also see what looks like a tall wine glass, but is actually the platform and stand for the execution.

Adjoining the prison was a room for prisoners to meet with their attorneys:



Finally, there was a courtroom adjacent to the meeting room. By far, this was the creepiest room in the whole Prison Royale:



But wait...there's more:



And a close up of the lawyer:



That's it for the photos of the Prison Royale. It was a great tour with a very kind guide, who used all his English for my benefit. But there is one last note about Tinchebray. I thought it was smart to have these bag dispensers to clean up after your dog:





But judging by the sidewalks, I'd say only 50% of the population is taking advantage of this service.

Day 5 - Sunday (8.7)

Today's post is for my brother, K, who works in corrections. You'll see why later.

The morning started late and with only wasp. Seriously, we will find out where these critters are coming from. Today's big trip was to Tinchebray, but first we spotted this on the way:



A boulangerie, or bakery. We stopped in and picked up a baguette and 2 smaller items to snack on for the way back. Here's a pic of the selections (of just pastries):






After our pit stop, we headed to Tinchebray and the Royal Prison. The Royal Prison was built in 1620 and is a small 2 story building. Bev and I waited until the appointed 2:30 time when everything reopens in France. No one was around so I feared the worst, but to our surprise a little old man was sitting behind the desk. We paid our 4 Euros each and headed to the prison, which housed 4 cells, and one solitary confinement cell. The cells were simple rooms with stone floors. Each room was about 15 ft by 10 ft and at most would house 15 prisoners each. During the French Revolution they housed up to 60 people at a time at this prison.




OK...gotta go for a moment. Wasp alert.

(16 hours later)

I'm back. Phew. We caught 9 wasps, but still haven't located the bat. While I'm not fond of wasps, at least these all seem to be on their last leg, or wing, as it were. Bev has been catching the wasps by placing a glass bottle over them, and sliding a piece of cardboard underneath. She then escorts them outside. I was about to get back to the computer when I saw something flying toward me. I thought it was a REALLY big wasp, but it turns out, it was a small bat! A bat! Very cool. Anyway, we still haven't found the bat, although right before bed last night, I could hear it fluttering out in the hall and press up against the glass pane at the top of the door. I eventually did go to sleep.

Anyway, back to Tinchebray and the Royal Prison.

Here's a picture of the latrine, which was in the prison cell.



If you walk up closer to the nook in the wall, you'll see this:



All the cells had these heavy doors with a hole in the middle for guards to look in (or prisoners to look out):



There was a small chapel area set up on the second floor where prisoners could view mass. Her's a shot of the chapel area from the prison cell:



The prisoners could be let out into the hallway and watch mass. There were two double doors that contained them in this area. Here's a closer view:




OK...that's enough for the prison right now. Must get ready to head to Bayeux. I'm getting better with my French pronunciation. I'm getting by with everything I learned from Inspector Clouseau and Pepe LePew.

Day 4 - Saturday (8.6) Cheese, glorious cheese...

This post dedicated to Susan Schandl, an unabashed cheese-lover.



Today's big adventure was to Camembert, the home of Camembert cheese. It took about 1.5 hours to get there, but it was well worth it. The town is very small with one small road which runs through it. In fact, as famous as the cheese is, the town is surprisingly small. Since there were only 3 buildings, we didn't get lost. We headed to the museum first which had several videos about the history of Camembert and cheese making. One of the more fascinating sections was the labels put on the Camembert containers. During World War II, cheese makers would use pro-French labels (i.e. artwork of soldiers, tanks) on their containers. Thousands of Camembert cheese packs were sent to the frontline troops, many of whom had never tasted Camembert. Nonetheless, this was their taste of home and Camembert grew to become a heartfelt symbol of France. Kinda like Hersheys and Coca-Cola (and Spam - don't judge) for the US.

Here is the entrance to the Museum:



They also had the famous labels near the entrance:





Did you notice the green umbrella? I picked that up at the umbrella factory in Creully (see post below).

Below is a plate of our cheese tasting. We had 3 different types of Camembert, and some cider to wash it all down. Unfortunately the cider was quite...earthy, in a barnyard sort of way. The cheese, though, was fabulous.



This is the view when you leave the gift shop and past city hall:



After our delightful tour of Camembert and its museum, we headed back to Mortain via Falaise, the birthplace of William the Conqueror. It's quite a big town, and I never did find the statue of William on his horse. :( Not to worry as we'll be heading to Bayeaux (home of the Bayeaux Tapestry and all things William) on Monday.

Oh, one other note. We have a wasp problem in the house. Bev and I have seen 3 wasps since Ryan left and we're trying to find out where they're entering the house. I'll keep you posted on this mystery.

Day 3 - Friday (8.5)

Today Ryan had to go back to London for work related stuff. In the morning we puttered around the house, had some lunch and then headed toward Caen to take Ryan to the ferry. This is the cheapest way for Ryan to get home, but takes about 9 hours. He'll be back on Monday so it's a very short weekend trip for him.

After dropping Ryan off at the ferry, Bev and I drove along the coast past the D-Day landing beaches. Juno Beach, Sword Beach, Gold Beach, and Omaha Beach. Since we are planning to see the American Cemetary and come back down the coast on Monday (when we pick up Ryan), we didn't stop. Both Ryan and Bev have said that the American Cemetary is a sobering sight.

We did drive on, but got lost several times. We finally ended up in Creully, a small village which has an umbrella factory. Yes, an umbrella factory. Come on, I live in Seattle; I had to stop. It's a quaint two story building, but it looks as though most of the work is done on the first floor. There were only 5 or so employees, but lots of umbrellas.

Here's the welcome statue, and building in the background. (Note to Autumn: this is the closest I have found to lawn art. BTW, I can't find garden gnomes anywhere. Sure, they have Monet's home in Normandie, but can you find one garden gnome?)



When you step inside, it's a large room with work stations, displays, and inventory shelves.







So while the umbrella factory, H2O Parapluies, is small, it's very endearing. The staff were so helpful and didn't mind guests milling around as they assembled umbrellas.

By the time we left the umbrella factory, we had to head home. It was 6pm, and Bev wanted to get to the grocery store before it closed at 7pm. Before everything closed at 7pm. On a Friday night. But we got lost, again. :) We eventually made it to a grocery store and got home around 8:15, made a late dinner, and then talked about teaching until 2:30 am. I had a great day, not just because I was in France, but because I have a good friend. I am lucky.