Thursday, December 8, 2016

Thursday 8 December - Bayeux

We have always enjoyed visiting Bayeux for the Tapestry but there was another reason today.  The air pollution in Paris is very high at the moment and so a trip into the country made a great deal of sense.
We caught the 0845 train from Saint-Lazare to Caen where we changed for the short journey to Bayeux arriving at 1119. The train from Saint-Lazare was filthy on the outside and poorly maintained although the car rode very well at speed.  There was no water in the toilet which dumped on to the track.  Although we had seat reservations there was nothing to indicate this in the car - just a notice that some seats may be reserved. SNCF run a good railway but their customer service is appalling. The train to Bayeux was relatively new but the articulated truck made a lot of noise and was uncomfortable.

There are several working waterwheels in Bayeux


We first checked out a restaurant we have visited several times.  The lady owner was still there and we had a good meal

Veal and mushrooms in a thick Normandy cream sauce

Scallops in a thick Normandy cream sauce.  
Both plates were enormous and neither of us had room for dessert. There was about an hour to wander around the town before the Tapestry opened after lunch,  There are very few tourists in town at present but it seems to have taken advantage of the tourist revenue and appears to be thriving,





As expected the tapestry was really worthwhile even though we have seen it several times.  The English audio guide is very well done and took us through the work at a reasonable pace pointing out some interesting items.  Each time I learn something new.


After looking at the tapestry itself we went upstairs and watched a short film which expanded our knowledge a little more.






We had another walk around town and found this Saint-Eve which ia a meringue bomb filled with a couple of layers of almond paste.  Very good but very sweet.

The articulated trucks on these trains are noisy and rough riding

A casse nez hauled us both ways between Paris and Caen


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