Bonjour, everyone. We are here in lovely Normandy, where the weather is warmer than we expected (which basically means it�s not below freezing here), and the people are even warmer. We are staying in a very nice hotel near the center of town.
Bayeux is a town mostly known for two things: its famous tapestry from the 11th century and its proximity to the D-Day landing sites. Yesterday we saw the tapestry, and today we are taking a guided tour through the American landing sector. In other words, this town, though small, is loaded with history.
After we arrived Sunday afternoon, Colleen was exhausted. She didn�t get much sleep on the train and wanted to catch up, so she took a nap while I spent the time reading and catching up with some news on the Internet. It looks like the Chargers have quite a season going for themselves. Not what we were expecting.
That night, we ventured out to find some dinner. Not much was open in the town, but we stumbled on a small restaurant called Le Pommier. We were not prepared for how good this food turned out to be. The meat and seafood was spectacular, the cheeses were delicious, and the sauces were creamy and warming. But for both of us (and I don�t usually eat dessert, so this is saying a lot), the apple crumble that topped off the meal was the best. We were the only two in the restaurant, and the chef came out to do some paperwork after he finished with our crumbles. I told him how much we enjoyed the meal, and, despite his broken English and my almost nonexistent French, we managed to have a short conversation. It turns out the Food Channel in the US has paid him a visit and made him the subject of one of their shows. And he deserves the honor, that�s for sure. He gave us one of his cards, and we left the restaurant happy, having eaten much more than we probably should have.
When we got back to the hotel, we were greeted by an American voice calling from the bar. We looked in and saw two men standing there with appertifs in their hands. They invited us to join them for a drink, and we cheerfully accepted. They came to France to see a rugby game between France and New Zealand (I think it was NZ, but I was still reeling from dinner, so much of the conversation passed me by) and had decided to come to Normandy as part of the trip. We told them about the restaurant we had just left and gave them the card. We spent a good hour chatting with them before heading up to the room. I have to admit, it was nice just sitting and talking to some strangers.
Yesterday, after taking care of the laundry, we went to see the tapestry. In 1066, as we all know, William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, crossed the English Channel with his army and defeated the troops of King Harold of England. William thus became one of the most powerful rulers in Europe, ruling both a region of France and all of England. Sure, it took him some time and some pretty ruthless measures to finally subdue all of his new lands, but after the Battle of Hastings, where he defeated Harold and the Anglo-Saxon army, the fate of England was sealed.
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