Bleu Bayeux

 Over the past week I have been squeezing in Jane Austen's Persuasion before going to bed, after catching the night's edition of "Tom Cruise Week" on a British film channel they have provided at our Airbnb. Only time will tell as to which will predominate in influencing this account of our sojourn in the Bayeux region, but already I am persuaded that the rural Normandy setting in which we found ourselves is not likely to form the setting for any high speed motorcycle race, but rather would be a perfect backdrop for the likes of Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham-Carter, and certainly  a place Anne Elliot could easily call home.

 Moreover, I cannot resist quoting Austen, where she might have been writing about the nearby coastal village of Arromanches, but was describing Lyme and its environs: ". . . the walk to the Cobb, skirting round the pleasant little bay, which in the season, is animated with bathing machines and company; the Cobb itself, its old wonders and new improvements, with the very beautiful line of cliffs stretching out to the east of the town, are what the stranger's eye will seek; and a very strange stranger it must be, who does not see charms in the immediate environs of Lyme, to make him wish to know it better."

Arromanches

Indeed, it would be a strange stranger who would not see charms in the wide expanses of yellow and blue fields stretching to the edge of precipitous cliffs. But it would be an even stranger stranger who would not feel mixed emotions as he or she reflected on the carnage that took place on the beaches of Normandy on June 6th, 1944. Perhaps Tom Cruise, or at least Tom Hanks, belongs here too.

Before we had laid our eyes upon the scene of the events that transpired that day, we had been prepped by spending half a day at the Caen Museum, Memorial de Caen, which takes the visitor on a timeline of events that led up to the landings on the Normandy beaches and the battle that raged across Normandy as the Allies pushed the German troops back across the Seine, leading to Germany's capitulation in late August. In these days, it is well worth anyone's time to get a refresher on the rise of Hitler and the response of the Allies to Germany's efforts to undo the results of the Treaty of Versailles. It was also helpful to learn of the effects of Germany's occupation in Normandy, and the impact of the Normandy invasion. One aspect that surprised me was the museum's admission that the efforts of the French resistance, while heroic, had very little effect on the efforts to end the occupation. The other aspect was the sheer numbers of Norman civilians killed during the Battle of Normandy - anywhere from 12,000 - 20,000, it is believed.

Nicki, Robbie and Catherine trying to identify flags outside the Caen museum

Thus, by the time we had reached our gite outside Bayeux, we were already feeling a little 'bleu' about Bayeux. On Tuesday morning, we piled in our car and hurtled down one-lane, two-way roads on our way to Juno beach, so chosen as it was the location where the Canadian troops made their landing. Of 21,000 Canadian servicemen involved, close to 1000 were either killed, injured or captured on that day. What was distinctive about Juno beach, unlike Omaha where so many US troops were slaughtered, was the absence of cliffs. Today, Juno beach looks for all the world like a recreational beach site, complete with a sailing school. 

Honouring Canadian soldiers at Juno Beach

Our two young men - hopefully the closest they'll ever come to a battle scene

From Juno beach, we made our way west to Omaha Beach, and quickly recognized the perilous situation in which the US troops would have found themselves, as there were two rises in land, including the cliffs, that separated the troops from their target and harboured German guns. Anyone who has seen Saving Private Ryan will know what this must have been like (although the movie's beach scenes were shot in Ireland and England). Not surprisingly, the greatest number of casualties occurred on this beach: 2400. People tell you that the sea was red with blood that day. 

What was most interesting was walking among the gun emplacements the Germans had built as part of their "Atlantic Wall". The series of fortifications, gun emplacements and bunkers stretched along the coasts of Scandinavia, Denmark, the Netherlands and France. I was amazed by the sheer weight of concrete and reinforcing metal bars that were employed to build the structures, and only learned later that over a half million Frenchmen were drafted in order to build the structures. Pointe du Hoc, where the gun emplacements were located, was particularly invulnerable, due to the 100 foot cliff that separated the guns from the sea. The five emplacements there were arranged strategically about 100 - 200 meters back from the cliff's edge so as to cover a wide scope of the sea on either side of the point. The ground is still pockmarked by craters, evidence of the the Allied bombardment that preceded the landings.  A special US military unit, the Rangers, was used to scale the cliffs and take out the gun emplacements, but as it turned out, the Germans had already removed the guns (although they were discovered hidden behind the line of battle and were destroyed). Of the 225 odd Rangers who scaled the cliffs, only 97 successfully made it to the top. Prior to touring the site, we sat and watched a film about the attack on the point. It was heart-rending to listen to veterans share their personal memories of that day, and the poignant sorrow expressed over the loss of so many men's futures.

It was a sobering day, made that much more sobering by a much-delayed lunch! 

On Wednesday, we drove Nicki and Robbie into Bayeux to catch the train to Paris, as they had planned some time there to see great organs and other Paris delights. That left Catherine and me to do our own exploring. Using my newly acquired All Trails app, we decided on a walk that would take us along the hedge rows of farmer's fields up to a height from which we could look down upon the seaside village of Arromanches. It was a gorgeous day - the hedgerows were full of flowering trees and the fields were carpeted with blue flowering flax and yellow canola. We also came upon a vast field of rhubarb where we found what appeared to be the owners harvesting the stalks.

Catherine on the look out

Always five steps ahead of me

Bleu Bayeux

Arromanches in the distance 

Thursday was looking to be cool with a prospect of rain, so we shifted gears and headed to the center of Bayeux, home of the Bayeux Tapestry and the Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux. After struggling to find free parking (because struggling to find free parking is in the Sider blood), and not being absolutely sure we were legally parked, Catherine ran after two good-looking gendarmes, who were more than happy to reassure Catherine. As a result, we will be able to tell our grandkids how we had a run-in with the French police! Having dispensed with the only worry for the week, we crossed the courtyard behind the cathedral, stopping to admire the enormous Arbre de la Liberté which had been planted at the time of the Revolution (1797).

The trunk of l'Arbre de la liberté

We loved the Bayeux cathedral, with its mix of Romanesque arches that line the nave, the simple arches that form the back wall of the apse, the later gothic additions at the second level, the restored stone work, and an atmospheric crypt, all of which Catherine promises to expand on in a future post.

The Bayeux Tapestry probably needs no introduction. The museum that holds it does not allow picture taking (hence I have no pictures). They present the tapestry in a long, dark semi-circular alley where you walk along with headphones that explain the various stages of the history of Harold of England and William of Normandy leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The tapestry is thought to have been produced in England only a few years following the events. As it turns out, it is actually not a tapestry, because it doesn't use tapestry weaving.  Rather it is an embroidered cloth. Now you know!  What I did get a picture of was part of a display of tiny metal figurines 10 cm high, called PIXI, that are being fashioned to create a three dimensional version of the story.

Friday we were back on the trails, this time exploring Arromanches and the cliffs that lie between that village where the British troops landed (Gold Beach) and Omaha Beach. It was another gorgeous day. It seemed like every 25 steps or so, we would be tempted to take yet another picture of the breathtaking cliffs.  Arromanches turned out to be the biggest surprise for me, as there I discovered the remains of the artificial harbour that the British navy created to allow the invading troops to be properly supplied with heavy equipment following the landing.  Following the unsuccessful Dieppe landing in 1940, in which so many Canadian soldiers were killed, the Allies recognized that to properly support the landing troops, they had to have the ability to dock large ships with deep hulls carrying heavy equipment - trucks, artillery, etc. The problem was that all the docking facilities on the coast were heavily defended by the Germans.  This led to the idea of creating an artificial harbour at a place close to where the troops were landing.  The plan was to create two harbours, one (called Mulberry A) to support the US troops at Omaha beach, and one (Mulberry B) to support the British and Canadian troops at Gold beach. Unfortunately, Mulberry A did not last long, succumbing to a storm. It is a little difficult to imagine how the harbour was constructed, but involved a year's building of concrete 'caissons' of 2000 to 6000 tons, which were towed across the channel after a breakwater had been created at the site by sinking ships. And I thought towing a dock across Georgian Bay waters was crazy!

This picture shows some of the remains of the artificial harbour - 

a full caisson is seen to the right. The harbour is 8 km around.

The caissons are just visible to the left of the cliffs - 

the paraglider has a privileged view of it.

The best view of all!

The gun emplacement at Longues-sur-Mer (between Arromanches and Omaha Beach) 

with the gun still intact

On Saturday, we motored east to the mouth of the Seine river, where the industrial port of Le Havre occupies the north shore, and on the other sits Honfleur, the port from which Samuel de Champlain cast off, to explore and profit from the regions stretching from Acadia to the Great Lakes. Beginning in 1603, he made over 20 trips across the ocean and is noted for having founded Acadia, Quebec City and New France, ignited the fur trade and acted as Governor (in all but name) of New France until his death in 1635. Honfleur honoured Champlain in a number of ways, including a restaurant named after him.

I don't think they were serving beaver tails.

A plaque recognizing Champlain, who sagely wrote: 

''The advice I give to all adventurers is to find a place where they may sleep in safety.'  

Le vieux bessin 

It was market day in Honfleur and so the little town was stuffed with tourists and locals alike. We enjoyed walking through the market stalls, and practiced restraint at many stops along the way, including the strawberry stand, the nougat shop, the sausage stall, and the guys making a local deep-fried apple-topped doughy thing. The market surrounded Église Ste. Catherine (of Alexandria), a wooden structure built in the 15th century. It was built in the style of a market hall (appropriately enough), with a roof that makes it look like an overturned hull (also appropriate).  In the 16th century, it was expanded by simply building a second market hall structure beside it, exactly like the original, so that the two 'hall' naves are side-by-side, separated by wooden pillars. Each side has its own altar.  Also unique was the wooden bell tower, which is 20 meters away from the church opposite the church's entry.

Market stalls before the bell tower

Looking across the central pillars of Ste. Catherine

Check out the naval-themed sanctuary

We scouted a nearby park dedicated to the personalities associated with Honfleur.  Each character was represented by a bust on a column surrounded by a hedge and other flora. 

Of course, Sammy D. was among them

Now there's a sparkling personality!

Afterwards, we climbed a very steep hill above Honfleur to get a belle vue of the town, only to find the cutest little 17th century church: Chapelle Notre Dame de Grâce which took the naval theme to the max.

Including photos of ships for Mary's protection

Mary has her hands full!

Our last day in Bayeux, we took in a mass at the cathedral and then strolled up the river Aure. We returned to our lovely apartment and watched the sun go down on our hosts' beautiful garden, thinking we would never find a lovelier Airbnb.

Aure River, looking toward the cathedral

Never did figure out how to access these small bateaux

The village church behind our gite ringing out the day, 

seen from our garden.

And so we said 'au revoir' to Normandy, rejoicing in its beauty and friendly people, yet mourning the losses that history had visited upon it.