Today we drove to Bayeux, a beautiful city approximately 2 hours from Honfleur. The main purpose for visiting here was to see the Bayeux tapestry, which is housed in the Musée de la Tapisserie and is a cloth nearly 70 metres long and 50 centimetres (20 in) tall. It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England, between William, Duke of Normandy and Harold, Earl of Wessex, which ultimately culminated in the Battle of Hastings, in 1066. The detail in the tapestry is astounding and to see something so old recounting both the lead up to and the battle between the two men and their armies, was amazing. There are 50 scenes, embroidered in wool onto linen, so technically it is not a tapestry, but standing in front of such a magnificent piece of history, I don’t think it’s worth quibbling over the details. No photos of it to show you as we weren’t allowed to take any  but, understandably, the powers that be want to preserve it for another 1000 years, if at all possible. I can’t argue with that!

We also drove to Omaha Beach, which was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II. Things did not go as planned and the casualties were extremely high. It is a very long beach, about 8klms, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine it as it was at that time, covered with thousands of soldiers.  What a horrific sight and time it must have been. There is now a memorial in place, not only signifying the importance of the allied troops, but also commemorating those who lost their lives. Very poignant.

The following day we  decided to just drive and see where we ended up. It was a public holiday  (un jour férié) in France, Ascension day, so it was very quiet, with not many people out and about. All celebrating at home, with their families, no doubt. We saw many gorgeous villages and hamlets in our travels, but none more so than the tiny little hilltop medieval town of Domfront. We spent several hours walking through all the streets and alley ways and we had it literally all to ourselves. Fantastic.

Big news too. I made an appointment to have my hair done, all in french! Not only that, my hairdresser (Vanessa) could not speak any English, so I was in a situation where I had to manage holding an entire conversation with her, for the length of time I was there and, as I was having my hair coloured, (grr to grey hair!), I needed to be there for some time. Vanessa was lovely and very interested to know all about Australia, why I was in France, where we intended to go while here etc. It was initially a bit intimidating, because everyone in the salon was french and I knew they were listening, so I was very aware of every mistake I made (and there were many!). But Vanessa was so easy to talk to and, after a while, I didn’t think about anyone else around us, I relaxed and the conversation just flowed. Sure, I wasn’t  able to talk at the same speed, but it still felt very natural all the same. This holiday has been a real watershed moment for me in that regard – I’ve realised that I can actually speak french!! Basic french, yes, but it’s a huge thing and quite emotional.

On our last day Honfleur, we went to mass at Sainte Catherine’s church, which was built in 1460.  It was a lovely service and, while of course we couldn’t understand most of it, we could still appreciate the overall sense of calmness and tranquility. It was a wonderful way to start the day.  The weather again was stunning, so we headed out of town to have a coffee at a little village we had previously only driven through, Villerville, only 10 minutes from Honfleur. Right on the beach front, it has a great view across to Le Havre and a little cafe we found, ‘ La Grenouille a la Plage’, made a great spot for relaxing in the sunshine, with a cafe creme in hand. Divine. We spent the remainder of the day, walking all the tiny back streets (‘ruelles’) of Honfleur, washing (laundry doesn’t go do itself, unfortunately!) and having a last ‘aperitif’ at a little bar over looking the harbour.

Tomorrow we leave Honfleur and both of us will be sad to go. We’ve been so comfortable in our little cottage, the weather has been wonderful and the people of Honfleur very kind and friendly to us. Nothing for it then, we’ll just have to come back!! And we’ve just realised today that we have only been away now for just over two weeks. We’ve done so much it that time, it feels like we’ve been away for a month. The daylight hours stretch to nearly 10pm here, something we hadn’t realised before coming to France. Previously we’ve travelled here during Autumn/Winter, so these extended daylight hours have been something of a revelation to us. We’ve managed to fill in all of those extra hours every day though, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that it feels like we’ve been away longer. By the time I get home, it should feel like I’ve had a 6 month holiday!! I wish…