French fence

While looking for something else I happened across this week's fence photo.  It's taken looking over the hedge fence from the motel where I was staying in Bayeux, in Normandy, France.  After I'd looked around a bit I discovered the stock yards belonged to a veterinary practice.  They could have been in my back yard they looked so familiar.  

Except here when I look in the other direction I don't see a magnificent cathedral, in this case the Notre Dame Cathedral which was consecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conquerer.

It has survived fires, pillaging, the Huguenot rebellions, the French Revolution and even lightning. It sits very close to the coast and the beaches where the Allies landed in June, 1944.  Although it suffered fourteen hits by aerial bombs during the war, it did not collapse, but stood tall in an otherwise flattened city. The twin spires are said to have been used as an easily recognizable navigational landmark by Allied aircraft raiding deeper into Germany in the later years of the war, which may be a reason that the cathedral was not destroyed. 

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.

Bayeux

The Bayeux Tapestry is what attracted us to this area of Normandy in northwest France, although we found a heck of a lot more there to see.  My brother recommended a book about the tapestry for me to read before I left home.  Unlike when I was at school, I now find it a good idea to do my homework. 

Bayeux, just a few kilometers inland from the English Channel, is a petite French village that is home to a rather grand piece of history.  Its claim to fame is the centuries-old Bayeux Tapestry on display in its own museum in the center of town. 

Apparantly not everyone is an enthralled with the tapestry as I was, as I've read it is currently best known for its ties with World War II.  Bayeux was the first non-coastal town liberated, one day after the D-Day invasion but remarkably was spared the bomb damage which devastated so much of Europe (thanks to pleas from its clergy to the Allies). The old town has retained an enchanting medieval character with its famous Cathedrale Notre-Dame which was inaugurated by William the Conqueror himself, a native of the region, in 1077 A.D.   

The cathedral has been damaged by fires, repaired and expanded over the years. Inside it has magnificent arches, high ceilings and large stained glass windows. Outside it has flying buttresses which support the magnificent building.

 

 

The narrow curving streets of the village have charming shops and cafes and are very pleasant to stroll around although we'd still be there going in circles had I been driving.  

 

For our visit  to the tapestry we each had an audio guide which explains the details of the tapestry as you view it.  I did feel that the audio guides are on speed mode to pump through as many people as possible.   As we were unable to stop or pause the audioguide, we had to continue walking from each numbered spot to the next.  It would’ve been much better to be able to press play, pause it then have a look then start again but this would’ve started a backup of people if it was busy.  Lucky for us, it was far from busy while we were there and we could lean forward over the barrier to peer at the stitchwork up close.  It's a remarkable work of art.

The tapestry is 66 metres (over 200 feet) long and about 50 centimetres (around 20 inches) wide and has roughly 50 scenes on it. The scenes are embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns.  There are additional details in the top and bottom borders.  It is likely that it was commissioned by William the Conquerer's half-brother, and made in England—not Bayeux—in the 1070s.   It tells the story of events leading up to the Norman conquest of England, concerning William Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England and culminating in the Battle of Hastings.  The detail is amazing with all sorts of gory details of battle shown even Harold with a Golden Arrow in his eye.

Photography of the tapestry was not permitted but I've found a couple of photos online:

 

Calvados and beyond

While in Rome ... my s-in-law's application of this is to buy the local products, including the brandy.   Peter spotted a small war graves cemetery at the same time Judy spotted a sign for Clavados at a farm gate.  It was our lucky day, the driveway to the farm was beside the cemetery.  

You can see the farm where the clavados is produced in the background of the tiny cemetery below.  It is the smallest in Normandy containing 47 British, one Czech and one unidentified grave. 

A sign erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission explained the cemetery is undergoing an upgrade, hence the dead grass. 

The next day we visited the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery at Bayeux, where there are 4,648 burials, mostly from the Invasion of Normandy.  Most were British but there are also Canadians, Polish, Czech and about 400 are German.  Opposite the cemetery stands the Bayeux Memorial which commemorates more than 1,800 Commonwealth forces who died in Normandy and have no known grave.  In a weird way it has a look of an English garden, with pretty flowers and immaculate lawns.  There is not religious symbolism, its a place to simply reflect on the fallen. 

Maybe it's the simplicity of the layout that evoked such an emotional response in me.  I don't think anyone could spend time there and not feel the sadness.  The three of us, without any discussion, wandered off in three different directions, each lost in our own thoughts.  From a school sports field not far away there was the occasional sounds of young, enthusiastic, happy voices.  There could not have been a better sound track, a poignant reminder of the youth of many of the dead.  

Headstones carry the persons name and are engraved with their cap badges. Many headstones have family inscriptions to their loved ones.  Even the graves of unknown soldiers have the simple but beautiful inscription of "Known unto God." 

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission tend the cemetery beautifully.  Perhaps a better word is reverently.

Earlier in the day we had visited the Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy.  I found this to be a bit heavy going although I do think it is an outstanding museum telling the storiy of the D-Day cross-channel attack and the series of battles in the two months following.  A movie (English and French versions play at different times) brings to life the course of the invasion and following operations.  It was difficult to take photos with all the reflections because of the exhibits behind glass.

 

A contrast of technologies between the above and the below.  I wonder how much notice these two were taking of their surroundings and if they learned anything.