Bayeux

I left Arromanches this morning and headed to Bayeux. It was only 10km so a pretty quick ride. I left the camp ground at 12 and was set up at the next one by 12:50.

I saw an Aussie flag towel on the camper next to me so asked if they were Australian, and the Mum said almost. They are English but only because they couldn't get Australian visas. I chatted with them for a while then headed to see the Bayeux Tapestry.

I don't particularly have an interest in tapestries or even embroideries, so I can safely say the Bayeux Tapestry is my favourite. I was genuinely impressed. It was enormous. Half a metre high by 70 metres long! When you go see it the audio guide narrates what is going on but I suspect there is a lot more to it if you wanted to study it. For those that haven't heard of it, it is basically a thousand year old comic book with 57 scenes describing the build up to and result of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The attached museum seemed like an afterthought, but it is the second museum to teach me the process of making linen. The other one being the titanic museum in Belfast. Knowledge is power!

After that I went to the Normandy Battle museum. It was good. There are a lot of museums in Normandy. A good war would thin them out a bit. This museum focused on the whole campaign around Normandy whereas the others have been about one specific nation or operation. There were a bunch of tanks and I tried to imagine what it would have been like back in 1944 with Brad Pitt sitting atop saying "God damn" over and over again (if you've seen Fury, you'll know what I'm talking about).

Tonight there are illuminations on the Bayeux Cathedral, so I might head back into town to see that when the sun goes down. I assume they wait until the sun goes down, although last week I saw a fireworks display in the day time so who knows.