First Class Beach

In a hole in the ground, there lived a killing machine. 

These are just some of the entrances into the vast network of tunnels built by the Germans in Mont Canisy, the highest point on the shores of Normandy. We went there two weeks ago, but I was too busy finishing all three seasons of Being Human to blog about it :)

H had to visit a factory in Caen one Friday, and I of course did not pass up the opportunity to see the famed Normandy coast. 

First, he dropped me off at Caen so I could "do my tourist thing" while he worked. There was a slight drizzle in the afternoon but there was enough sun in the morning to allow me to discover some places on foot, starting with what remains of William (Guillaume) the Conqueror's castle in the Chateau Ducal. 

It's on a hill overlooking the city, and this is what you can see to the west from the top of the ramparts:

The castle itself is gone, and these are the parts that remain. A few towers, the vestiges of a dungeon and the bones of walls long gone. But here once stood the throne of the King of England and concurrent Duke of Normandy.

The Musee des Beaux Arts, Chapelle Sainte-Georges, Musee de Normandie and a small park can also be found within its walls. 

Then I went window shopping along Rue Saint-Pierre, and saw this pair of interesting buildings with intricately carved facades. They date back to the 15th century, and are the oldest pieces of architecture on the strip. It's a good thing they survived the bombings in Normandy.

The ornate carvings on the timber frames are amazingly well preserved, it's too bad that by this time the camera's battery had died and I had to rely on my cellphone.

It's all in the details.

A few blocks down is the Église du Vieux Saint-Sauveur. It's close to the plaza, where I had a Nutella crepe and found a vinyl "Thriller" album at the street market.

There are two abbeys in Caen: the one to the east is the Abbaye-aux-Dames for the ladies, and the one to the east is the Abbaye-aux-Hommes for the men (pictured below). Interesting thing I dug up from the internet: the abbeys were built in the 11th century as penance for William marrying his cousin Matilda. Strange, the things money can buy.

The warpy thing the towers seem to be doing is just my phone being weird. It's my Chrestomanci moment.

The cathedral-looking building is the St. Etienne (St. Stephen's) Church, which was a refuge for citizens during the invasion in WWII. Inside is William's tomb, although not all of him is buried there.

All that's left is a femur, recovered after Protestants opened his tomb and scattered the bones. And there it rests still.

Across the street from the Abbaye-aux-Hommes is the "old" Église Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux. It was destroyed in WWII and never rebuilt.

Along the cafe strip I settled for Cafe Latin, the bartender was really nice and listened patiently while I ordered in horrible French. It's gloomy and dark inside, and a Google reviewer called the interiors "moche" or ugly, but I think it has personality.

H and I stayed the night at S's house, near the Deauville Hippodrome. The next day we went hiking to the highest peak on the beaches of Normandy, Mont Canisy. From here, you can see the Seine emptying out towards the Atlantic. You can also see some of the many bunkers abandoned after the Second World War.

S showed us where he and his brother used to play cowboys and indians. 

From this angle, you can clearly see ships coming in from England. 

Just imagine how big the cannon was. And there was more than just one. The Allies bombarded the site, but none of the guns were damaged.

Closer to the beach, they could put snipers in this underground tunnel, which nature seems to have reclaimed.

Not far from this sad menagerie of war relics is the posh village of Deauville. Here, affluent Parisians have spent idle weekends riding horses or relaxing in their beach houses since the 1800s. It was part of the Proust's inspiration for Balbec in Remembrance of Things Past.

Dressing up in your sunday Gucci for a walk in the Promenade des Planches has been a common pastime since the 20's. It's where Tom and Daisy from the Great Gatsby spent their honeymoon.  

And in the summer, the A-List descends upon the beach for the Deauville Film Festival, or watch the races at the Hippodrome, or throw a wager at the club that inspired Casino Royale.

From Wiki.

But for that weekend, the only high-flyer you could see was this rainbow-striped one, which reminded me of my socks.

And for now I think that's the last of the beaches I'm going to cover ;)