I had a perfect day. I loved Bayeux Cathedral–a fantastic mish-mash of flying buttresses and gargoyles from the outside, inside, a chaste Gothic cathedrals with the most amazing stained glass.
I just love Gothic cathedrals. Nothing prepares you for the moment of sheer awe and wonder when you enter from the dusty exterior, frequently covered with scaffolding to the chaste, pure, magnificent interiors, illuminated by stained glass.
It’s sad that architectural fashions changed, but I suppose as Tennyson put it,“God fulfils himself in many ways, let one good custom should corrupt the world.”
I loved walking by the canals in Bayeux, not as celebrated as Bruges or Ghent or Amsterdam, but lovely.
And I loved the Moules Marinieres for dinner, though the bowls were enormous, far more than one person could eat.
We enjoyed the Bayeux Tapestry, though have bought an illustrated book to go through it slowly. I was particularly charmed by the mythical animals, and the medieval clothes & armour–well, I guess they were modern and up-to-date when the tapestry was embroidered.
Now on our way to the D-Day beaches.
D-Day is still remembered here. Everywhere. The Churchill Hotel. Operation Overlord Hotel. Signs in bistros saying “Welcome to our Liberators!!” An ironic copy of a sign from the British cemetery in the Bayeux tapestry museum read (well, in Latin), We whom William Conquered are now happy to return as Liberators. What an ironic turning of the other cheek.
The Normans were initially the Norseman, the Northman. The far-reaching Viking influence which we noticed in Ireland earlier this month, and which is evident everywhere in the North of England was evident again.