On to Caen

This morning, just before the sun came up, a perfect moon was reflected in the Seine.  I took a photo which of course did not come out as well as reality.  And so the trip to Les Andelys ended as after a breakfast of lovely croissants and yogurt, it was time to head back to Rouen to return the car.  I think I am basically happy with the decision to rely on trains for moving between regions of Normandy and renting cars locally.  This morning the GPS proved to be worth it's weight in gold when there was an accident that backed up traffic on the country road.  Safely back in Rouen in time to make the noon train to Caen, the plans for the afternoon began.  Today back to the 11th century and tomorrow picking up a car and heading to the US beaches.  It's strange here when people say they want to visit the beach, it means something so different than what it usually does.  It is said with a reverence that still strikes me as weird.
Well today the focus was on William the Conqueror and once settled in this hotel-apartment (more in that later), it was time to head to the Conqueror's castle in the middle of town.  Not much of it is actually the conqueror's as Phillippe Augustus built it up when he required Normandy and then Edward III and Henry V of England added to it when they conquered it during the Hundred Year's War.  Napoleon wanted to tear it down but ended up building barracks on the castle high point.  Much damage was done in WWII so that Napoleon's buildings were destroyed.  After the war, the archeology began and parts of William's castle were uncovered.  Most of the castle is a public park and you can walk along the walls.  Inside are a few museums, one dedicated to the castle, one to Normandy with an impressive collection of Ancient and Roman artifacts and some equisite lacework that is from this region and one to the Arts.  As the Normandy Museum had a special program on horses in the region, that was the one that got attention, especially since there are colorful decorative ceramic horses throughout the city but most especially at the Ducal Castle, celebrating both the recent horse show and the great Norman history of breeding the best animals in France.

Following the castle, it was time to check out the abbey's founded by William and his wife Mathilda. Apparently they were too closely related and the pope extracted the promise of building two abbeys to allow them to be married.  They are unimaginatively named Abbeye aux Dames and Abbaye aux Hommes. (Abbey of the Women and Abbey of the Men.)  The former is starkly beautiful with fire red windows behind the altar and a fish sculpture in the holy water .

 The latter has William's grave near the high altar and a moving display about the summer of 1944 and all the Caen civilians who took refuge in the great church as the bombs fell.  There is a memorial to the Priest who abley led his panicked flock as they all prayed that the British would not allow the bombing of the Conqueror's grave.

There was one other church in this town worth mentioning, mostly because how crooked it is, damage left over from the bombings.  It is the church of St Pierre and the crooked front is notable from the outside. Regrettably my photo of it didn't come out straight so you are not able to see the crooked front.

Having an apartment, albeit a small one, allowed for an attempt to eat light ordinary French so the walk home included multiple boulangerie and patisserie stops for a dinner of quiche and fruit.