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.

I see London, I see France...

Unbelievable but I am in France, and to be more specific, I'm in Mortain, Normandy. Bev, a good friend from grad school, invited me to visit her while she vacationed at her son's country home. I first met Bev in Brattleboro, VT, as students at the School for International Training. At the time, she was accompanied by two of her children, Steven and Paige. Bev hails from Pt. Elizabeth, South Africa, and while in school she had to go home to SA and I was called on to watch the kids. Me. Really. Mind you, Steven was in high school and Paige was in jr high so it's not like I would have seriously injured them. Ryan, the oldest, joined up in VT later in the year. Anyway, since our time in VT, we've developed a friendship that has continued on for 20 years. In 2000 (or thereabouts) I, along with Susan Schandl and John and Cindy Ridge, traveled to South Africa to visit Bev and company. An unforgettable trip.

Fastforward 11 years, and Bev is hanging out in France before returning to South Africa. Why France? Well, Ryan and Suzette (his wife) purchased an old mill property with a large home (5 bedroom, 2.5 bath, with a full basement), and 2 geets (smaller spaces - think of them as a home for one person). Bev is staying here, puttering around and soaking in all that is the French countryside. She (and Ryan/Suzette) extended an invitation to come, and I bought my ticket.

I got in on Wednesday, August 3rd after a direct flight from Seattle to Paris. I got excellent directions from the airport to Montparnasse train station in Paris. From there I took 2.5 hour train ride to Vire, the closest train station to Mortain. As soon as I got off the train, I saw a McDonalds. Really? Yes, really. And it's huge. Ignoring the sight of the McDonald's I headed to the exit of the train station and waited for Bev. They were coming, right? I'm at the right train station, correct? I'm not abandoned in France, am I? Bev did show up, and to my surprise, Ryan was there, too! It was so wonderful to see the both of them.

We hopped in the convertible VW and took off for Mortain, the long way. The countryside is stunning. It's rolling hills peppered with villages and hamlets. Oh, and cows everywhere! I am in cheese country. Literally. Camembert is in Normandy. Bev and Ryan pointed out all the fantastic things to see and I wanted to commit them to memory just in case I never came back this way. Along the way, we stopped at a local farm that was selling free range eggs. In this part of the country, it's all free range. We eventually pulled on to the property and to the house. While the rest of the area is hilly and farm like, Ryan's property is sheltered and very green with lots of trees. There's a stream that runs through the grounds with crayfish. There's a cascading waterfall near the house where the stream moves from the upper portion to the lower.



Above is taken from the property looking at the back of the house.




Ryan and Bev on a footbridge which Ryan made. The footbridge goes from the parking area down some rocks to the house.




The view from the kitchen window. Every once in a while, you'll catch a glimpse of Vicky the local water rat-like creature. Bev suspects Vicky of eating her lettuce from the garden.



Ryan bought a Land Rover, a real one, for the home. Since the property itself and the adjoining one is quite rugged, this vehicle is quite handy. And this is a real Land Rover used by the British Army. Ryan purchased it when the army discontinued this model. There were only pads for the seat so he put in proper seats in the driver and passenger slots, and then full padded benches in the back.

On my first day, we headed up to the next property to pick up Ryan's neighbor, Mark. While the properties are next to each other, they are so different. While Ryan's property has more trees and is quite cool, Mark's property is open and hilly with a lot of sunlight. Mark has a large main farmhouse, a barn with an apartment on it, and a geet (2 bedroom apartment), and a cabin on the lake. In addition, he has cricket field, recenty made, which hosted a game between two teams - one from England and one from France. Here's a shot of the cabin on the lake.



One more shot. Here's a pic of the kitchen, but notice the large beam and exposed woodwork. There's exposed woodwork throughout the house and while it may seem dark, there are a light of windows and skylights to brighten up the place.



One final note: I usually don't blog pics until after I get home and can do them in order but I decided to blog while I'm here. This means that the posts won't happen in chronological order from beginning to end. They'll be jumbled, but I hope that's okay.

Welcome to rain

I woke up to rain pouring against the skylight window. Quite pretty, really. I meandered down to the kitchen where Bev and Ryan were already gathered. And just so you know, I was up at 9am (France time, not Seattle time). We had eggs (which Bev bought from a local farmer) and Ryan bought croissants and chocolate pain. The croissants were flaky and buttery, but that's ok because the extra butter really held everything together. :)

Today's big outing was to a bell foundry.

Oh, and here's a picture of breakfast:

The big field trip today: Villedieu les Poeles

After the wonderfully laid back morning, Bev and I hopped in the VW and headed to Villedieu les Poeles, about a 35 minute drive from Mortain. It was all back country roads going through villages and hamlets. Once we got to the villedieu les Poeles we headed to the Cornille Harvard bell makers for a tour. It was a very interesting place and there were some bells to be rung. Here is the first bell that the tour guide started with.

Our tour guide

Our tour guide was Christian and Bev, of course, was my interpreter. I have to say that Christian made bell making sound quite interesting, although I didn't understand a word of it. The bells made at this foundry were huge and they had a beautiful deep tone to them. I would guess that the larger bells were about 5-6 ft in diameter at the bottom. Of course if I could speak French I could've asked Christian, but alas I can't so I will make up stories.

Cute Little Piggy

So this is the last little statue I saw on the way out of the bell foundry. I like this guy because he reminds me of the wild boars in Hawaii (although I don't particularly care for them.) I think I shall name him Jacque.