Une Guerre, La Guerre, Une Guerre

Bit of an up and down day today.

Went to the supermarket finally, and spend around ?200 on a microwave, kettle, toaster, food and of course wine. My fridge, which had previously contained one yoghurt, milk and some orange juice - all kindly donated by Caroline - now contains enough to feed a small army for a few days. Nothing like being prepared! When moving away from absolutely everything, and bringing nothing, you don't realise just how many little things you need. NB: bleach = javel

Ended up spending the afternoon in Bayeux, and yes we did see the Tapestry! Absolutely crazy that it has lasted so long - the cathedral it was stored in was burned down twice, during the French Revolution it was used as a tarpaulin for a wagon...well the list goes on. If you ever go, make sure to check out the borders, sometimes the embroiderers have got a bit cheeky with their stitching and an occasional naked man crops up. Didn't realise just how long it was either, about 230 feet! The audio tour also explains the war it depicts, and being completely honest I didn't know at all before what it was actually about! The town itself is also gorgeous, and the first town to be liberated by the Allied troops after WWII (more on that later). Surprisingly, being the heart of the Allied resistance, the town itself escaped unscathed and nothing at all was destroyed by bombing raids. The photograph is taken on a beautiful little bridge surrounded by trees, a really peaceful place to be in the middle of a pretty bustling town.

Another WWII museum followed. Normandy has many museums to do with this, as it played such an integral role in the liberation of France. In fact, in the Cemetery next door, the Latin Epitaph over the memorial translates as "We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror's native land." - showing Britain's own Norman influences. Links in quite well I guess! The museum itself was also rather enlightening, before then I had not really know why Charles de Gaulle was so important to the French people, or how much they actually suffered under German occupation, and also how much of their cities were destroyed.

Went out for another meal in the old section of Caen, the French really do know how to cook! Sea bream stuffed with lemon and served with ratatouille, perfect.