Mega mussels

Having woken up to a howling gale our plans for a restful day on the beach were hastily revised. Over petit dejeuner we decided to instead drive to Ouistreham (eestreham) and visit the Pegasus memorial.
This museum was devoted to the British role in D-Day, namely the capture of several bridges on the Caen canal and silencing the gun emplacements covering Sword beach. The first -and most famous - bridge to be captured was Pegasus bridge. We arrived in time for a briefing around a large model of the area, and a film introduced by Prince Charles. We then walked through the exhibits (including decoded messages from Bletchley Park) and found out about how the paratroopers and medical staff arrived and held out against German counterattacks.
Outside was a replica of a glider used in the attack, along with a replica (we think) of the original bridge. Considering we were a little unsure of the €5 admission fee, we were pleasantly surprised by how good this museum was. After a good 2 hours, it was time to head back for some moules et frites!
A note to all; even restaurants close for lunch in France! At the second attempt, we manages to get a table in the Charleston (Pizzeria) and ordered our food. Victoria went for Moules au ail, persil et creme, Andrew for moules au cidre. We expected a small portion, so were both amazed when large cooking pots(the size of a large pressure cooker) arrived filled the brim with mussels! We began to eat.
About 30min later, both of us had eaten most but not all of our mussels, and rounded things off with a crepe suzette and a coffee. Suitably stuffed (and impressed at a €40 bill) we wandered (waddled?) along the windswept but sunny St Aubin sur mer promenade.
Distracted by the sound of the sea, the smell of seaweed in the sun and swept by wind, we didn't stop until we reached Longrunes sur Mer, the next village towards Ouistreham. Having slowly made our way back to the car, it was then back up to la petite ville for a coffee and to think about packing ready for the journey home.
So, we have now experienced Normandy, from the Norman invasion to Liberation by the allies in WW2. It's been fantastic; seeing the Bayeux tapestry was certainly a highlight, as were Arromanches and Pegasus bridge. We've had our moules frites and crepes but are saving waffles for Bruges in December. We didn't get to Falaises, the site of William the Conqueror's birth, but that was just too far to go.
So, we went on holiday to Normandy and we visited: Arromanches, Bayeaux, Caen, D-day beaches and Ouistreham (see what we did there!). We sail from Ouistreham at 4.30 tomorrow and arrive in Portsmouth at 9.15pm.
C'est une bonne vacances!

Caen Gone

After another night in our Maison Rustique we were aiming for the 9.38 bus to Caen. We missed it, so after another breakfast of fresh croissants, we drove towards Caen instead. We negotiated the park & ride tram system and arrived right outside le Caen Chateau (a proper castle).
The castle was built in 1060 and was where the dukes of Normandy (and therefore kings of England) liked to hang out. Here we apologise that Guillaume is spelt like that and not Guilliame. There's not much left of it - some reconstructed ramparts that we could walk round, and a wall built by the English during the 100 years war as they distrusted the French (no idea why).
Then we walked to two of the Abbeys in Caen - first Abbaye aux Dames - Abbey of ladies (b&w photo). This is where Mathilde, Queen of William the Conqueror- nee Bastardo is buried and was built as a pay off to the church to allow William & Mathilde to marry (they were cousins & this wasn't allowed).
Then we walked through the Centre Ville of Caen to Abbaye aux Homme - Abbey of Men. It was shut for lunch, as is so much of France, if indeed things open at all. We wandered back through town in search of lunch. Since the rest of Caen were enjoying their 1.5 hour lunch time (assuming they don't only work afternoons) there were queues, but we found a boulangerie - le Petit Choux Normande - on the Rue San Pierre for a baguette/hot dog & the finest petit pain au chocolate ever tasted.
We wandered back to Abbaye aux Hommes (now open after lunch, colour pic) and found - ta da- the tomb of William the Conqueror! We overheard the guide telling an American family that they'd excavated the tomb & found a single femur which had been tested & found to be of a date & build consistent with William. Don't know where the rest of him is though.
There wasn't much more in Caen - surprisingly disappointing place if we're honest. The French aren't big on tourism and the place is lacking a decent one stop shop for the Norman invasions. So we headed back via the Radar Museum at Douvres - reduced rate with our Normandie Pass and, as we seem to find in most places, we had the place to ourselves!
This was part of the German Atlantic Wall defences. We got to go into two bunkers to see how the Germans used them & learn about the history of radar. Totally geek heaven.
We also got to climb into a radar dish - the Wurzburg Riese radar. This had been part of the German radar system but after the war was the first French radio telescope! Cool! Apparantly there's also one at Duxford but we don't remember seeing it.
Then Victoria had her first taste of French driving and drove us back to the holiday park where we are now relaxing in the bar with ice creams and disco/europop before dinner.

A stitch in time

In 1066, Anglo Saxon Britain came under attack from a well organised army under the command of Guilliame de Bastard - soon to be known as William the Conqueror. Guilliame had been really put out because King Harold had claimed the English throne on the death of Edward the confessor, when Edward had quite clearly stated that Guilliame, his cousin and someone he'd spent a lot of time holidaying with in Normandy over the previous 20 years, should actually become king on his death. Indeed, in the absence of the BBC, Edward had asked Harold to go and tell Guilliame this himself. Guilliame welcomed him with open arms but, just to be safe, made Harold swear on the bible, the altar and anything else he could find, that Harold would honour this. Of course, said Harold, anything you like so I can get outta here & back to England. And besides I had my fingers crossed when I took that oath.
Once back in England, Edward popped his clogs and Harold promptly claimed the throne himself = Harold II of England.
Zut alors!!! Said Guilliame. Now who is the bastard?!? And he quickly pulled together an army and sailed to England.
Arriving at the hell hole which is Pevensey, we are surprised he did not turn back, but he continued towards Hastings. there they met Harold's army and a huge battle took place. Norman archers, cavalry, infantry, Anglo-Saxon bows and foot soldiers, Halleys comet etc etc.
Like JJ at Hever Castle, Harold was made to look a bit of a tit as a carefully placed arrow hit him in the eye. And so ended Anglo-Saxon England and we can consider Norman England as the beginnings of the Team GB we know so well.
And that's what the totally amazing Bayeaux Tapestry has taught us today. There's none of the complex backstory about Harold Hardrada and the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Nothing about the resistance in the northeast, but as William the Conqueror's 11th century Facebook timeline substitute, we think it does a pretty good job.
It's 70m long and you need an audio guide to help you work along it, which is amusing considering it was created (probably in England) for a largely illiterate population. It's housed in a huge museum with a cinema & exhibition (see photo). A must see.
We then went into the lovely cathedral which was originally built by William's half bro the Bishop Odo (who also fought in the battle). Despite being party destroyed by Williams sons as they fought over which one of them should become king of Normandy, it was rebuilt and enlarged.
In the 19th century the main tower nearly collapsed and was rebuilt again by the same engineers who built the Paris-Cherbourg railway (Andrew was pleased about this).
When Normandy was liberated in 1944, Bayeaux remained largely intact so it still has some medieval charm. Quite pretty - not as pretty as Talinn though.
We lunched on a croque Monsieur from a street vendor and headed back to the car.
Next stop was the Musee America Gold Beach in Ver sur Mer. A rather misleading name as this is the only British focused museum on the Normandy coast and the America bit relates to a plane carrying the first air mail from the US that crash landed in Ver sur Mer. We were the only visitors there so we had time to look at all the maps and photos - including a map if Middlesborough and photos of HMS Belfast.
After that we headed back to our Hotel Superieur and the bar for a cafe et wifi gratuis. We may head to the beach after dinner as the sun is still shining.
Bite looking much better but ankle gets tired easily. Any excuse for cafe!

Overlord Overload

After a snug night in our petit chateaux we awoke to the prospect of fresh croissants from the site shop. Once we had stuffed our faces we headed out along the coast road (D514) to Arromanches.
Arromanches is a lovely village on Gold Beach which was the site of the Mulberry harbour floated over by the allied troops for the D-Day landings. Essentially a huge Meccano kit, Port Winston, as it became known, was built in 48 hours and consisted of concrete blocks, old ships and steel bridges. All that remains today is a few concrete blocks but you can still see the extent of the harbour around the coast.
We went into the Musee de Embarkment and watched a couple of movies about it and saw models of the landing and harbour. We met a Canadian couple who had worked near Middlesborough and recognised Victorias accent. Haha.
We climbed the hill up to the Arromanches 360 cinema and watched another movie about the landings. Then we jumped in our luxury French automobile and headed towards Courselles sur Mer and the Juno beach centre.
The Juno beach centre is unique in being funded and staffed by Canadians and tells the story of Canada's contribution to D-Day and a bit of 20th century Canadian history. We were in there for over an hour so it was pretty good.
The centre is right on the most gorgeous sandy beach -Juno - and hidden behind the dunes were German bunkers & artillery.
We headed back with a detour through Courselles sur Mer Centre Ville, which was really pretty, and back to the caravan for some bread and cheese.
After a (long) nap, we've had tea (bread & cheese) while listening to the radio - we can just pick up Radio 5 and 4 on our tiny analogue radio so have Paralympic coverage still!!
Bite looking a bit better - swelling going down but had to wear shorts all day as its v itchy.

Nous sommes arrivons la France!!

Oo la la we are here! 6 hours went by like a flash when you've had a full English & found reclining chairs!! Victoria has slept for most of the journey or watched stuff on the ipad, and Andrew has played Zuma! Time well spent!!
We drove along the coast road from Caen to St Aubin sur Mer and Andy did very well negotiating cars on the wrong side of the road.
The caravan site, le Cote de Nacre, is fab - it's not really a caravan - more a chalet and there's a bar with free wifi (not used it yet), shop, loads of pools, wiff waff, and a restaurant. Plus a creperie and a waffle-arie.
We've just walked to the beach, which is about 10 mins away. The town is quite small and there's not much - think Sidmouth - but we found the supermarket (8 a huit). We've had a walk along the promenade, which is part of Juno beach, and headed to the 8 a huit for some pain et pate, et petit pois doux for the bite. Now sat on our porch relaxing and deciding what to do tomorrow! Dark skies hanging over us but it's not rained yet & has been warm.

Bon voyage!

Up at 5.15, to terminal by 6.30, finally boarded at 7.30 but we were among the first for a fry up! Magnifique!!!
Now on deck taking in the sights of the Solent - Spinnaker Tower, victory, warrior and the new Mary Rose museum building (looks like the Cutty Sark one but obviously better). ETA 2pm uk time so when the bracing wind gets too much for us we've got time to explore the ship!