J'arrive en France!
Well, I made it, after a very delayed flight and successfully "Ou se trouvé" the line change necessary on the Paris Metro to get to the secondary train station from which trains head to Normandy. We're now on a train to Cherbourg which will stop in Bayeaux. Today's French lesson was that the correct pronunciation is Bye-ooo as no one seems to have a clue when you pronounce it the English way.
Bayeux is famous for a couple of things.
First the Bayeux Tapestry, also calls the Tapestry of the Queen Mathilda. It was created more than 900 years ago and is 70 meters long. It is more embroidery than tapestry and was likely made in England by nuns working under a commission of William the Conqueror's half brother who was later Bishop of Bayeux.
The other bit of history Bayeux is famous for is that they were the first French city liberated on D-Day. It was liberated on June7th and because the liberation was so quick, it escaped much of the damage that other northern cities received as both sides kept up a heavy as fight with lots of bombing.
It seems strange to write about this part of France as a war zone. Today it is all pretty little villages and farmland but 70 years ago, it had just been fully liberated. While D-Day was June 6th and the 70th anniversary has passed, it took a full 100 days for Normandy to be liberated. This trip comes at the tail end of that period.
Train just stopped in Caen. The station has the most amazing photographs of the liberation on display for you to see when stopped in the station. Shall need to explore more closely when we come back this way next week.
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