- Pegasus Bridge Café Gondrée
First house to be liberated in France on the 5/6th of June 1944, located in Bénouville. - Arromanches
- Longues-sur-Mer battery
More WWII bunkers with original guns on the Normandy coast. - Arromanches
We returned to Arromanches for a lovely dinner. - Arromanches
Remains of the artificial port in Arromanches. - Arromanches
The endless windy beaches are perfect for flying kites! - Arromanches
Arromanches beach was the landing area during the D-Day Normandy Invasion. - Bayeux
What a lovely town it is. This is on the main Saint Martin street. - Bayeux Cathedral
Some more lions/griffons/creatures higher up, but the most notable are the Bayeux lovers underneath them. - Bayeux Cathedral
The ceiling in the Bayeux cathedral choir shows various local bishops and saints. The whole cathedral is indeed a stunning place. - Bayeux Cathedral
12th century carving. I see a lion and an eagle carrying a fish. But it may also be a lion and a griffin. - Bayeux Cathedral
Here is where the famous Bayeux tapestry was exhibited until 1793. Possibly from 1077. - Bayeux Cathedral
15th century fresco of angels in the crypt. - Bayeux Cathedral
One of the more unusual capitals in the crypt. - Bayeux Cathedral
One of the many angels in the crypt. They play all sorts of instruments. - Bayeux Cathedral
The 11th century crypt is simply magnificent. The entrance to the crypt was closed soon afterwards and the crypt forgotten - until 1412. - Bayeux Cathedral
Plenty of old windows in the cathedral as well... These are from 1260, showing the local bishops Exupère and Loup. - Bayeux Cathedral
- Bayeux Cathedral
The portal of Saint Thomas Becket, showing the assembly of Northampton (1164) and the Assembly of Ambosus (1170); crossing of the English Channel and his martyrdom; and the veneration of his tomb. - Falaise
View from the falaise of the Falaise castle. - Château de Falaise
From the Loire valley - via Le Mans - towards Normandy. First stop was Falaise, where William the Conqueror was born. The construction of this castle started in 1123 by Henry I of England. - Château de Chambord
Chambord in all its beauty. The keep was finished under François Ier in 1519, the wings were added later on. The castle was first open to visitors in 1821. - Château de Chambord
Lapidary deposit. This is a part of the original lantern tower. Obviously showing more salamanders. - Château de Chambord
The NE facade of the keep. It was here that we realised that we 'lost' our younger son somewhere in the castle. It's just the largest castle in France, no biggie. - Château de Chambord
Am I repetitive with these pictures? Maybe. But the castle, pardon, the hunting lodge, is splendid. - Château de Chambord
The view of the French gardens. Louis XIV had a similar view from his bedroom. Not bad. - Château de Chambord
All the details of the castle become visible from the terraces. - Château de Chambord
Ah, the castle terraces. The lantern tower is topped by a royal crown with a fleur-de-lys. - Château de Chambord
The magnificent stairs go all the way up to the castle roof. - Château de Chambord
Laurel bedchamber was refurbished in the 18th century. Parquet floor was added and the walls covered with wallpaper. I love love love this pattern. - Château de Chambord
The almost perfectly symmetric castle. - Château de Chambord
The castle chapel. Started under François Ier, continued under Henry II and finished under Louis XIV. It is quite uncommonly oriented towards west. - Château de Chambord
Governor's bedchamber. Charming. - Château de Chambord
The chandelier in the royal ceremonial apartment. - Château de Chambord
Louis XIV's ceremonial apartment. While Francoise's bedroom looked cosy, this one is too grand for my liking. - Château de Chambord
The queen's bedchamber is furnished as a 17th century bedroom. - Château de Chambord
The residence of François Ier, built between 1539 and 1545. This is how the rooms looked like when the king came to stay. Super cosy. - Château de Chambord
One of the famous Flemish tapestries commissioned by Francis I in 1532. It depicts the story of Scipio Africanus, the Roman General who defeated Carthage. The oxen are taken to the temple of Jupiter to be sacrificed, while the elephants and camels carry the wealth brought back from Africa. - Château de Chambord
The centre of the spiral staircase has a lantern at the top. - Château de Chambord
The 18th century castle kitchen. - Château de Chambord
The double-spiral staircase in the centre of the castle. The castle is so wonderfully symmetric, it's quite easy to lose orientation. - Château de Chambord
Chambord is the largest château in the Loire Valley. Built in 1519–1547 as a hunting lodge for François Ier. A hunting lodge! - Château de Chenonceau
The avenue leading to the castle. Great shade in the summer heat. - Château de Chenonceau
Such a wonderful lavender. - Château de Chenonceau
The vegetable garden with all sorts of plants. I love the tiny apple trees forming the borders. Yes, those are 40 cm tall trees :-) - Château de Chenonceau
A 16th century farm in the castle gardens. Here all the flowers used for the castle decoration are grown. - Château de Chenonceau
View of the castle from the gardens of Catherine de Médicis. - Château de Chenonceau
What a wonderful black room. And matching white flowers. - Château de Chenonceau
Chambre de Louise de Lorraine, the black room. She was mourning the death of her husband Henri III. - Château de Chenonceau
La chambre de Catherine de Médicis The rooms were quite cosy with fireplaces, wooden ceilings and the walls covered with Flemish tapestries. - Château de Chenonceau
La chambre de Catherine de Médicis A typical renaissance baldachin bed. - Château de Chenonceau
Chambre des Cinq Reines Room of the daughters and daughters-in-law of Catherine de Médicis: La Reine Margot, Elisabeth of France, Maria Stuart (wife of François II), Elisabeth of Austria (wife of Charles IX), and Louise of Lorraine (wife of Henri III). - Château de Chenonceau
La tour des Marques The only remaining (and renovated) part of the medieval castle owned by the Marques family. - Château de Chenonceau
Another magninficent fireplace, this one is in the Salon Louis XIV. The salamander and the ermine are the symbols of Francis I and his wife Claude of France. - Château de Chenonceau
One part of the castle kitchen, with modern equipment. - Château de Chenonceau
One of the many chandeliers in the Gallery across the river. - Château de Chenonceau
Chambre de Diane de Poitiers. - Briare
What a lovely place Briare is. This is Pont du Rialto, one of the many bridges in town. - Pont-Canal de Briare
The water bridge is lavishly decorated. - Pont-Canal de Briare
The canal bridge was built in the 1890s by the Eiffel company. It's just running water crossing other running water... But the canal is 662 m long! - The Loire river
Loire river in Briare at sunset. - Vézelay Abbey
- Vézelay
The hollyhock grows in every corner of the town. So beautiful. - Côte-d'Or
No wonder these (and nearby) parts are called Côte-d'Or. - Derrière une porte
I once had to write a story "Derrière une porte" being given an image similar to this one. I probably could write another one for this door as well. - Vézelay Abbey
Adam and Eve. A snake climbs the Tree of life and gives grapes(!) to Eve. - Vézelay Abbey
The crypt - Vézelay Abbey
St Paul the Hermit's burial. Saint Anthony burying Saint Paul, with two lions digging the grave. - Vézelay Abbey
The narthex was added to accommodate the influx of pilgrims, who came to see the relics of Mary Magdalene. - Vézelay Abbey
A lovely detail on the facade indicates the grandeur inside. - Vézelay Abbey
The portal on the exterior of the church. - Vézelay Abbey
This Benedictine abbey, which is a well-known pilgrimage church, was constructed between 1120 and 1150. Here stood initially a Roman villa, then two Carolingian convents, then then reformed Benedictine order of Cluny. Built to accommodate pilgrims, and extended to accommodate even more pilgrims... - Meursault
A restaurant in the town centre. - Meursault
A lovely town known mostly for its wine. - Meursault
We obviously went to Meursault because of the Grande Vadrouille, but did not regret it. What a picturesque, friendly and lovely town. - Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune
A magnificent stained glass window. But I have no idea how old it is. May be old, but my uneducated guess would say quite recent. - Maison du Colombier, Beaune
What a lovely house with plenty of dovecotes. And doves in the cotes. - Beaune Polyptych detail
Another lovely detail of the Beaune altarpiece. A piglet hiding behind the painted statue of Saint Anthony. - Beaune Polyptych detail
The red angel above Nicolas Rolin's head holds a golden helmet. - Beaune Polyptych
Closed altarpiece shows Nicolas Rolin, Chancellor of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins, who founded the hospice in 1443. In the center are St. Sebastian and St. Anthony with the Annunciation on top. While the wife has a 'proper' white angel, the red angel of Nicolas looks quite devilish to me. - Beaune Polyptych
The Polyptych altarpiece of the Last Judgement by Rogier van der Wayden, dating from ~1446. Opened central panel shows Christ on a rainbow and Archangel Michael below him with the scale to weigh souls, with heaven being on the left and hell on the right. - Tapestry
A magnificent almost 8 m long "thousand flowers" tapestry is from the 16th century. What an interesting motif... - Virgin and Child
15th century statue of the Virgin and Child, detail. The baby Jesus looks like he is holding his own head :-) - Casket in Salle Saint-Louis
A 15th century casket shows a woman plaiting a crown and a man playing a harp. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
View of the glazed-tiled hospice roof from the cour d'honneur, the main inner court. The roof type probably has central European origins, but is now a trademark of Burgundy. - Hospice Pharmacy
A very interesting pharmacy. - Hospice kitchen
This is my favourite part in the kitchen. The two swan-like faucets for running hot water. - Hospice kitchen
The kitchen in the Hospice. My (second) favourite part in this kitchen is the rotating spit with Mr. Bertrand apparently rotating it. It was made in 1698 by a local clockmaker Defresne. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
Such lovely beams under the ceiling. I think the inscription says Seule * as seule etoile, meaning the founder's wife. - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
The ceiling in the Room of the Poor is an upside-down boat-skiff shape. - Christ of Pity
A 15th century sculpture of Christ of Pity sculpted from one oak trunk. The craftsmanship on the crown of thorns and ropes is wonderful! - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
Trente-trois. Trente-trois. Trente-trois... Thirty three. Thirty three. Thirty three... Oui, oui, oui, oui, oui... - Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune
The reason why we came to Beaune: The hospices. Founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor by Phillip the Good was in use until 1971. - Panda Bâ
Panda Bâ by Julien Marinetti, it was placed here just two weeks prior to our visit. - Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune
A 12th century romanesque basilica in Beaune. - Basilique Notre-Dame de Beaune
The porch dates from the mid-13th century. A great place that protects you from the elements. - Beffroi de Beaune
Belfry, dating from the 13th-14th century, renovated and repaired multiple times after that. - Beaune
Remparts de la Comédie, the ramparts around the town is actually a street with some charming houses. - Beaune
What a lovely sign above the O'100dwich sandwicherie in Beaune :-) - Church in Les Praz
The chapel was built between 1941 and 1960.