We started off in the tiny village of Giverny. For 48 years Claude Monet called this town his home and he painted many of his well known pieces, including his waterlillies, from his studio here. I have been a fan of his work for quite a while and saw a large collection of his works on tour at the NSW Art Gallery a few years back so being here was rather special.
For a small sum we were able to wander through his home, see many of his original works hanging in his studio and, my highlight, stroll through his gardens, over THE bridge and around the lilly pond. With the colour of the flowers and the magic atmosphere it is easy to see why this place was the subject of so many of Monet's pieces.
From a famous artist to one of histories most famous artworks, we headed next to Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry. Woven in 1077 it tells the story (in an astonishing 67 meters) of the lead up to the invasion by William the Conqueror and the details of the Battle of Hastings. The audioguide wonderfully describes the happenings in each of the 52 scenes. The attention to detail in the tapestry is exquisite although arguably favors the Normans as it was commissioned by William's half brother.
We moved on from an invasion by Normans to an invasion of Normandy at Omaha Beach, which has been renamed as such to reflect its code name in the war. It is the site of one of the D-Day landings in 1944 where many US troops lost their lives. I felt particularly awkward driving around in our German registered vehicle, especially when we got out to check out one of the German bunkers built on the side of a hill. We spoke in extra loud English just in case.
Our resting place for the evening was Mont St Michel, further SW along the coast. We arrived in time to appreciate a beautiful sunset.
The following day we walked the 2km along the causeway to the monastery which sits towering on an outcrop (much like Nobby's would have been). It is an impressive sight. At high tide it is completely surrounded by water, save for the causeway. At low tide, which at certain times can be a whopping 15m lower (the biggest tidal variation in Europe), the island is surrounded by sand as far as the eye can see. We saw it at low tide and wandered onto the sand to get a different view.
We didn't get very far. The sand is more like clay and very wet and very very slippery. We were desperately trying not to get stuck or slip over and quickly headed back to the safety of the rocks. A sign, which was not large or bright enough to have caught our attention earlier, told us there were pockets of quicksand in the bay. It is possible to walk out there but it suggested you only go with a tourguide who has ropes, a knowledge of the area and will get you back in time before the water rises. We saw many groups, sans shoes, getting ready for a trip around the Mont via the ocean floor.
Wandering around the Mont is fascinating. It is like a vertical version of Brugge- cobbled narrow streets but with lots of slopes and stairs. It quickly becomes exhausting.
After the walk back and stocking up on supplies we started out for our biggest drive yet - to Bordeaux. After a few hours on the road we were getting pretty tired (we'd had a big morning...) so we popped off the motorway and headed into Niort where we stated in a green and leafy Aire right in the middle of town.
Sent from my iPhone
No comments:
Post a Comment