The "Chateau"

This morning before we left Bayeux, we decided to see the Bayeux Tapestry.  This is a 70 meter long tapestry that was stitched by the people of Bayeux to tell the story of William of Normandy's conquest of England.  It seems that at that time Edward, King of England had no heirs and knew he was dying.  He sent his brother-in-law Harold to Normandy to tell William, his cousin, that he wanted him to take the throne.  Harold was taken prisioner by William and after he forced Harold to pledge loyalty to him, sent him back to Edward.  When Edward died, Harold took the throne.  So much for loyalty.  Anyway, William gathered his men and sailed across the English channel and conquered England and became king.  He also became known as William the Conquerer.  The tapestry is quite well done and is a bit humerous in places.  It is the pride of Bayeux.  After our tour we stopped one more time at the Cathedral across from the Inn as the organist was, we assume, practicing. The old pipe organ was something to listen to and we were glad we heard it from the street which drew us inside.

Rather than heading directly to our next lodging, we took a side trip along the coast to Utah Beach.  This stop was not covered on our tour so we felt that our D-Day experience would not be complete without it.  It is a beautiful beach but still has the remnants of that day, 69 years ago, the beginning of the end of the war.

After departing Utah Beach, we drove back roads to enjoy the French countryside.  Unlike yesterday, today was cloudy with light rain.  After passing through a couple small villages, we finally stopped for lunch at a local  brasserie for a baguette.  Although no one spoke English, they understood pointing to which baguette and even understood Karen wanted vegetarian.

Finally, we reached our lodging for the next two nights.  Well, lodging is a misnomer as this is a 250 year old Chateau!  The Chateau_de_Bouceel is on a beautiful piece of property and it has been in the innkeepers family for generations. We are in the Oncle Francois room and it is quite regal as you will see from the pictures.

Reggie, our innkeeper is very helpful with advise on what to do in the area and where to eat.  He told us about the history of his family and how his father was a member of the French Resistance.  He was arrested by the gestapo in the foyer of his home not far from where we were standing.  The Germans were taking him to a concentration camp when the allies bombed the railroad tracks.  The Germans took the prisoners out of the train and told them that they were going to kill them, but they heard that the Americans were coming, so the Germans wanted to get going so they left their prisioners there.  When his father came home he was well liked in the area and was elected to local office and became instrumental in establishing an American cemetery near by the Chateau.

We followed Reggie's advise for dinner and went to a local restaurant that was very good and charming.

Stayed tuned tomorrow for pictures of the Chateau from the outside when we expect the sun to reappear.