Caen, Normandy, France - December 3, 2022

 What a treat we had yesterday; a whole day of being tourists in the town of Caen with 24 other folks from our weekly walking group called the Rislepattes. The Risle is a river that runs through Pont Audemer where the group is based and "pattes" means paws. We normally walk on Wednesdays and every other Sunday, but this was a special outing. Our visit to Caen started at 9:45am where we met a tour guide outside of the church of Saint-Pierre (1300 - 1600). The guide was a font of knowledge and pointed out amazing details we normally would not have noticed. Little did we know, this was the first of five churches, two abbeys, the Caen Castle, the botanical garden, and a museum that we would be visiting! We even saw the tomb of William the Conqueror (in which only one femur remains) and the tomb of Mathilda, his wife that is in entirely another church. The downside was it was extremely cold and being outside for most of the day was challenging due to the chilling wind.

Here is a link to many of the sights we visited Caen Tourism in case you are interested in learning more about what a special, yet often overlooked, city Caen is. 

In the late afternoon, after a hot spiced wine (and watching part of the World Cup Soccer match between USA and The Netherlands), Herman and I went to the Christmas Market with two friends and enjoyed a waffle before our hour drive back to Saint Maclou. Needless to say, we were pretty exhausted!

                                    New controversial sculpture in front of the Caen Castle



          Tomb of William the Conqueror (died 1087) in the Abbey Church of Saint Etienne. When the time came to lower William's body into the grave, it was discovered the stone sarcophagus was too small: "the swollen bowels burst, and an intolerable stench assailed the nostrils of the bystanders and the whole crowd" (Historian Orderic Vitalis 1075-c 1142)  


Grand hall in the Men's Abbey: where monks used to dine, but was also used as a hospital at one time. Men's Abbey below houses a museum which has special exhibits (see the giant flaming orange ball below)


                      Wishing we could actually get heat from this art piece, it was so cold!


                                   4,500 squares of glass illuminate the Eglise Saint Julien!



                                                    Sculpture in the Women's Abbey garden


Beautiful lights on the buildings as we left Caen at 6:30 pm...a long, yet wonderful, day!

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