The Slower Road

Yesterday, I asked what among the day’s various activities you might want to see photos of. I had only one response, but she asked to see everything. So here goes …

First, in the morning, we saw the open-air fish market in Trouville. I say “open-air,” but the market is actually in a building with all the various vendors having stalls that face the street. Their awnings were particularly useful yesterday morning, as we were there in the rain.

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Right smack dab in the middle of Caen are the ruins of William the Conqueror’s castle. These ruins are of William’s castle when he was duke of Normandy (before 1066), and of a slightly later version that was built — next to the original — with stone fortifications instead of a wooden wall.

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… The current castle’s walls and gates were added by laters inhabitants.

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And across the street from all that is this magnificent church …

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From there, we wandered down a pedestrian zone and happened into a small church with two naves and these unusual ceilings, which look like the (upside-down) insides of boats.

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Last night and tonight, we’re in the adorable (tiny!!) village of Crepon …

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Yesterday evening, we drove toward the beaches before dinner and happened onto a preserved-as-it-was-left German gun battery.

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Today we drove to Omaha Beach. This evening, the beach and, at one end, the dunes (now a nature preserve) were beautiful and remarkably peaceful … but when you stand on the beach itself and contemplate the huge expanse of sand those soldiers had to run across while being shot at from the tops of the dunes and hills, it’s simply heartbreaking.

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Just FYI: These are all photos that I took with my phone. Except for the few CIAT Cuts photos I posted recently, I haven’t even begun to sort through all the photos I’ve taken (and continue to take) each day with my “real” camera. We have two days of vacation left, and I’ve already got nearly 1,300 photos! Stay tuned …

I have so many and such varied photos from our fabulous day that I’m not sure which one(s) to post.

Early this morning, we went for a lovely, rainy walk in the adorable coastal town of Trouville (across a river from Deauville, which happens to be a sister city of Lexington). There, on the “main drag,” down the street from the big, fancy casino and the huge ferris wheel, I took pictures of the open-air fish market.

After breakfast, we drove to Caen, which will be the main host city for next year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. While there, I took photos of the huge castle (or what’s left if it) that started out as William the Conqueror’s when he was duke of Normandy. I also took photos of the outside and inside of two old churches. One of these has two naves, both of which have wooden ceilings that look like the upside-down inside of boats. And we visited the abbey founded by Matilda (William’s wife), and where she’s buried.

This afternoon, we drove to Crepon (population only about 200) — where we’re staying tonight and tomorrow — and walked around the village for a bit. Then, before dinner, we drove a couple of miles over to the Normandy beaches. While at one of these, we happened onto the preserved remnants of a German gun battery. Surprisingly, except where things were clearly dangerous and therefore blocked off, visitors are free to wander around and through all of it. A.J. was like the proverbial kid in a candy store.

Sooo… What would you like to see?!