A drive through north-west France

[RooFlyer]

Then onto Caen chateau/castle. This wikipedia article gives a good summary.

The castle was built c. 1060 by William the Conqueror (William of Normandy), who successfully conquered England in 1066. His son Henry I then built the Saint George's church, a keep (1123) and a large hall for the ducal Court.

On Christmas 1182, a royal court celebration for Christmas in the Aula of Caen Castle brought together Henry II and his sons, the future kings of England Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, receiving more than a thousand knights.

Caen Castle, along with all of Normandy, was recaptured by the French Crown in 1204. Philip II reinforced the fortifications.

The castle saw several engagements during the Hundred Years' War (1346, 1417, 1450). The keep was pulled down in 1793 during the French Revolution, by order of the National Convention.

The castle, which was used as a barracks during World War II, was bombed in 1944 and seriously damaged.

Is now mostly parklands surrounded by the outer wall and moat, with a few surviving buildings within. Free access 24/7 ut ticket office and particular monuments open at 10:00 IITC

View of the cathedral for the chateau. You can see who's boss.



A view from inside



Another view, to ST George's chapel













Plus it was bombed to a shell in WW2



From the ramparts you can see the area of the keep (tower), surrounded by its own moat destroyed by the revolutionaries.







Also from the ramparts, foundations for what are thought to be William the Conqueror's apartments.





Castle gate from the inside





and outside

 

[RooFlyer]

That evening it was nice and warm so I went for a beer on the waterside. Really difficult without being surrounded by smokers and vapers (some were doing both!)

There was a row of small shipping containers, which open up for temorary bars.



Mercure and Ibis behind.







Some offered light snacks - saucisse was popular.

I went for a walk along the row of restaurants nearby and saw huitres (oysters) again. Deal. Really good waiter, always helps the experience.





I'm not usually into 'kilpatrick' style, but I'm in France - give it a go (huitres gratinee).





OK to nice, but I'm still not much into 'cooked' oysters.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

That evening it was nice and warm so I went for a beer on the waterside. Really difficult without being surrounded by smokers and vapers (some were doing both!)

There was a row of small shipping containers, which open up for temorary bars.

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Mercure and Ibis behind.

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Some offered light snacks - saucisse was popular.

I went for a walk along the row of restaurants nearby and saw huitres (oysters) again. Deal. Really good waiter, always helps the experience.

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View attachment 512396

I'm not usually into 'kilpatrick' style, but I'm in France - give it a go (huitres gratinee).

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OK to nice, but I'm still not much into 'cooked' oysters.

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This has me simultaneously envious and grabbing for my epi-pen

 

[RooFlyer]

The next day I explored some of the beaches involved in the D-Day landings, To be honest, I'm not very invested in WW2 history, or WW2 in Europe anyway. None of my family or close-ish relations served there - my dad served in PNG towards the end of WW2 in the Pacific. But you can't be here without paying some respect to those who fought and especially those who died.

Juno beach - the Canadians were the largest force here.





A German bunker





Then west a bit and Arromanches-les-Bains and Gold beach, where the allies installed the Mulberry artificial harbour to allow the landing of heavy equipment before deep water ports could be captured. Remnants of the port still present and a tangible reminder of the war.











The D-Day museum is also here, but involved a walk down a hill (and back again) and my ankle wasn't up to that today.

Then to Juno, famous major landing site of the Americans.

 

[RooFlyer]

Then to the Commonwealth war cemetery at Bayeux.











If anyone is wondering why I'm not seeing the Bayeux tapestries - they aren't there. The buildings are being renovated and the tapestry will be on display at the British Museum for over a year, but its not there yet.

Lastly, the impressive war memorial complex at Caen.

 

[RooFlyer]

Next day, Caen to Rouen, a fairly short hop. Temperatures were rising - mid-high 30s predicted for the rest of my time in France.



But first, Sunday morning, the Caen market, held in the large car-park and park area right outside the hotel. A bit scrappy - I was disappointed.







The flowers were spectacular





Breakfast. I was surprised at only one very poor looking coffee cart and one poor looking pastry place. I guess they are not what the 'market' is for. No booze either - markets in Tas are held up by gin and whiskey sellers!



I guess we can take from this that its a genuine farmers market.

 

[RooFlyer]

I planned to stop at Lisieux for the cathedral and Jumièges for the old abbey.

The Lisieux stop didn't amount to much, as there was Mass on at the time. 12th-13th century.

 

[RooFlyer]

Jumièges was interesting as it involved a free crossing of the River Seine by ferry, which I wasn't expecting. Strong current expertly navigated.





Jumièges would qualify as a 'pretty little town', but it was hot and I hadn't planned to stick around, plus it was 12 euros to enter the abbey ruins, so it was just a quick stop.







The abbey was rebuilt in the 9th and 10th century after the earlier version was burned by the Vikings. It was an important and impressive abbey until the French Revolution when it was mostly destroyed, leaving the ruins seen today.

 

[FlyingFiona]

I planned to stop at Liseux for the cathedral and Jumièges for the old abbey.

The Liseux stop didn't amount to much, as there was Mass on at the time. 12th-13th century.

The basilica of St Thérèse in Lisieux, although not gothic, would have been well worth a visit.

 

[RooFlyer]

basilica of St Thérèse in Lisieux

Hmmmm ... I wonder if that was what originally prompted me to look at a stop at Lisieux?

 

[RooFlyer]

After being an important town pre 8th century, the Normans over ran Rouen in the mid 9th century and the Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. The Dukes of Normandy were usually also King Of England after the Norman invasion of 1066. Rouen became an important economic centre in medieval times. Jeanne d'Arc was tried and burned at the stake in 1431.

I stayed 3 nights at the Novotel Rouen Centre Cathedral, which was only a few years old, on the bank of the River Seine and edge of the old town, although a main road and a railway line lies between it and the river. The right hand of this building



The Seine in front of the hotel.



I described the Novotel in the Accor thread. It was very hot the entire 3 days I was there - 35 to 39 degrees max.

I learned one thing here - as well as museums, patisseries are closed Mondays! I rarely pay for breakfast to be included when I'm staying downtown and a quick google found a nice patisserie nearby (I mean - how could there not be a nice patisserie nearby!) which was open Monday morning.

Decent location





Where else to have a tarte normande for breakfast

 

[RooFlyer]

A walk around the old town. There isn't a single district of medieval buildings, but there are clusters of them over a large area. No idea what is surviving from the Middle Ages Vs rebuilt after the war.

One of the key sights is the Gros Horloge (Great Clock), one of the oldest clock mechanisms in France. Originally built in 1389, it was moved to its present location in Rue du Gros Horloge in the 1500s. It has one 'hand' and originally did not have a dial backing.

The early-morning stoller gets the pic without the hoards. The tower to the left is probably historically more important, also dating from 1389 and replacing an earlier one that was razed by Charles VI following a revolt.







Underneath the arch

 

[Quickstatus]

patisseries

Would boulangeries open earlier than patisseries? Or maybe it is the same shop.?

 

[RooFlyer]

Would boulangeries open earlier than patisseries? Or maybe it is the same shop.?

There would be others who would know better than me, but my understanding/experience:

I didn't search for boulangeries (suppliers of 'basic' bread/brioche products) only patisseries which sell the sweeter/craftsman stuff and in France at least, legally have to employ a licensed master pastry chef. Can be the same shop. So don't know if pure boulangeries were open/about, but I'd have expected so.
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Now, I've seen & shown plenty of maisons à colombages and in Rouen there are plenty more - more, in fact than I was expecting. I suspect many were post war re-builds but many seemed genuinely ancient. There were many more >3 stories, as befits the centre of a city.







This place looked interesting, and had a plaque



Celebrating Edouard Jean Adam, who invented a process to extract all 'spiritous elements' from wines in 1800. ?teetoaller?

 

[RooFlyer]

I happened across the Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde. Now a Marriott hotel, it was built very early in the 16th century by Guillaume II Le Roux, lord of Bourgtheroulde and member of the Exchequer of Normandy. As usual, a fire and a WW2 bomb caused much damage, but mainly to the interior and to a tower. The facade is largely intact.



Had a gander at the inner courtyard, through the gated arch presided over by 2 Norman leopards holding the coat of arms of the lords of Bourgtheroulde.



.... and to the right a porcupine, emblem of Louis XII (I mean, who knew?)



In the courtyard



The top windows Google tells me recount scenes from 14th century Triumphs of Petrach which Louis XII was keen on.





To the left in the courtyard is this loggia, with bas reliefs carved across the top inspired by Triumphs. Along the bottom (and not noticed by me) are scenes from the The Field of the Cloth of Gold. The Field of the Cloth of Gold was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520.







Love to come back and stay here. In August, base room from between 200 and 300 euros/night.

 

[RooFlyer]

Parlement of Normandy building, hemmed in by newer buildings never-the-less impressive.

The Parlement of Rouen (the provincial capital of Normandy), also known as the Parlement of Normandy was a provincial parlement of the Kingdom of France. It replaced the ancient court of the exchequer of Normandy, set up by Rollo, first duke of Normandy.

The parlement was built in a mixing of the French Flamboyant style and Renaissance architecture by Roger Ango and Roulland le Roux, between 1499 and 1508, during the reign of the king Louis XII of France. Today, the building is the seat of the courthouse of the city of Rouen.

So, built the same time as the hotel, above.









Very evocative one end of the building





Translation of a plaque there.

 

[RooFlyer]

This is a church, not a cathedral.





Not a bad church.

Its the church of the Abbey of St Ouen. The scale is ridiculous - 137m long with 33m high vaulted ceiling in the nave.

The current church building was originally built as the abbey church of Saint-Ouen for the Benedictine Order, beginning in 1318 and interrupted by the Hundred Years' War and sacked and badly damaged during the Harelle. It was completed in the 15th century in the Flamboyant style.

Stained glass from 15th & 16th centuries





The abbey buildings were extensive but nearly all are gone now, leaving a large park. Confiscated during the French Revolution, the remaining one has become the Rouen City Hall.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Hotel de Ville



With this chap out front





There is an interesting story about it

Statue of Napoleon in Rouen: "it is a question of respecting our history" - napoleon.org

Fifteen months later, the statue is now ready to be put back where it belongs. However, the Socialist mayor of Rouen, Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol, wants to

www.napoleon.org

A sundial clock from 1753, originally erected on the banks of the Seine, moved to a park behind the town hall (Abbey gardens) in 1827.