So here we are – waiting for the late night ferry from Caen to Portsmouth, on the final leg. Spent the day looking round Bayeux – which has yet another astonishing cathedral :
And then of course, being in town, we simply HAD to go and see the Bayeux Tapestry ; not out of a sense of historical inquiry, or artistic impulse, but because we needed to settle the question of how long it is. Lianne’s UK citizenship exam posed this as a multiple choice question – 2 of the answers being 60, or 70m.
Wikipedia thinks it’s a bit over 68m, but the official exhibition here in Bayeux says 70. So that’s that. In fact it was quite fun to walk along the 50 or so story panels with an audio guide to the story. It was news to me that Harold had actually been over to Normandy before the battle, and promised William that HE could be king of England once Edward snuffed it, so no wonder W was a bit miffed when he back-tracked. So unlike modern day negotiations to keep the UK out of European control. 🙄
An added bonus was a David Hockney exhibition , inspired by the tapestry but following the passing of the seasons in his Normandy home ( apparently he’s lived here since 2019)
Lianne was taken by it, I was less impressed . He had ‘painted’ it on an iPad, and it looked like it – no proper brush strokes. I’m a luddite, really.
Summary
And – that’s all, folks. We drive back home from Portsmouth tomorrow, after a trip comprising
- 53 nights away – 50 of them in the caravan , 2 with friends , one on ferry
- 897km cycled
- 2950 miles driven
- Quite a bit (!) of walking
- A large number of croissants consumed
- Many creative discussions about navigation, driving skills, parking, ….. 😉
And it’s been great. Keeping this blog has been an experiment for us : we have found it a really useful discipline to record what we have been up to on a regular basis. Other people’s holidays can make tedious reading, so I hope there’s been some entertainment value to anyone who has persevered with following it. If not , to quote Tom Lehrer :
“You’ve yourselves to blame if it’s too long,
You should never have let me begin.”
Wishing you all all the best – and see you soon !
The blog has been great – a chance to keep up with where you are and what you’re up to. Thanks
Ta, Matt !
That’s quite a summary of miles driven, kilometres ridden and steps walked! Not to mention all the memories that have been created along the way. Thanks for all the pictures and puns! We’ll miss them, but look forward to the next sojourn now that you have the bit between your teeth! Love S&Bx