Exploring Normandy with Erin and Nic

Erin is here visiting us for the week and Nic came over from Berlin for the weekend. We visited Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery and Memorial, Queen Matilda's Tapestry in Bayeux, Mont-St-Michel and Chartres Cathedral.

Omaha Beach

Erin, Omaha Beach and the English Channel.

A few of the 9,386 marble tombstones in the American Cemetery and Memorial on a hilltop overlooking Omaha Beach.

Wall of the Missing. The names of soldiers whose bodies could not be found are etched into this wall.

Bayeux

This town is famous for its tapestry, known as Queen Matilda's Tapestry. It is 225 feet long and contains 58 scenes which tell the story of William's conquest of England in 1066. Cameras are not allowed in the tapestry room, since the tapestry was stitched in 1067. Here we are, eating lunch outside of the Tapestry Museum. Chips, sandwiches and clementines, delicious!!

Mont-St-Michel

One of the absolute COOLEST and impressive places any of us has ever seen. The Mont-St-Michel abbey sits on top of a 264 foot rock off the coast of France. The original church was completed in 1144 and the abbey took over 500 years to build (1017-1521). Benedictine monks live and work at the abbey today.

You can see sand flats surrounding the abbey because it is low tide right now. We wouldn't be able park our car in this spot if we were visiting during high tide, since the sea can rise up to 45 feet.

Halfway up the steep staircases going up to the abbey.

Close up view of the abbey.

The streets of the village at the bottom of the island are lined with shops, restaurants and hotels. It looks like a Disney village.

The abbey at night. Looks kind of like Cinderella's castle, doesn't it?

Chartres

Built in 1250, the cathedral in Chartres is famous for its over 150 stained glass windows.

The stained glass windows depict both biblical stories as well as 13th century daily life. This window depicts the Glorification of the Virgin. The five windows beneath depict the kings of Judah and the prophets (including Nebuchadnezzar, David, Solomon, Aaron, Saul and Pharoah).

A typical French half-timbered house.