Day 18, Friday, September 15, 2023

We are leaving Rouen and driving to our next bnb in Dinard. We are stopping in Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry.  I manage to get a photo of the monument at the traffic circle as we drive into Bayeux.  

. The Bayeux Tapestry Museum.The tapestry is located in a darkened room with only the tapestry illuminated, no photos allowed. It was created in the 11th century, so it is almost a thousand years old!  It is actually an embroidered cloth, and not a tapestry.  There is another room with a replica of the tapestry displayed where photos are allowed.  The original tapestry is displayed in a very similar manner.  This monumental work is almost 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall.  It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest and culminating in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Here are a few close ups of some of the 56 scenes depicting the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Can you find Adam and Eve in the frieze running below the main panel?  or the fox and the grapes from Aesop’s fables?

The tapestry is extremely beautiful. The figures are so expressive and often show emotions through body and head positions.  I loved this scene that shows men walking through the water to get into their boats, with bare feet, their clothing held high, and carrying their dogs.  It is such a clever way to show the transparency of the water.

Here is a closeup of the embroidery stitches.There are only 14 colours used in the tapestry:  Dark red, Terracotta, Orange, Gold, Pale Yellow, Beige, Dark Blue, Mid Blue, Pale Blue, Dark Green, Pale Green, Olive Green, Sage Green, Blue – Black.

There are only four embroidery stitches used to make this tapestry: stem stitch, chain stitch, split stitch using two threads, and couching stitch, or “Bayeux stitch”, this last being used to fill in coloured surfaces.

There are other displays as well.  I thought this chain mail was amazing.  The detail and fineness of the work is incredible.  Just think how many of those tiny iron circles had to be made for just this piece of protection.

We leave the museum and find this statue in a little garden on our way to…

Bayeux’s Notre Dame Cathedral.

The light in this cathedral is beautiful.

The stained glass has a lot of blues, pinks, reds and yellows.

The crypt is open so we climb down the stairs to find these wonderful pillars, each painted with panels of angels playing different musical instruments.

As we leave the cathedral I notice a small shop with a sign for Dentelle, so go in and chat with this nice lady about making bobbin lace.  My maternal grandmother used to make this type of lace and I have her lace pillow and some of the bobbins that my grandfather made for her. I also have a French book of patterns but I have never tried to make any.  Maybe I could find some instructions online and give it a try. One more view which shows the unique towers on the front of the church.

We still have a two hour drive to our next Airbnb in Dinard.  All goes well until we come to the bridge on top of a dam, just a short distance from our apartment.  We wait about 15 minutes while part of the bridge moves to allow four sailboats to pass from one side to the other.  Not sure exactly how it worked as we were a bit too far back to see what was happening.  Look closely and you can see the mast of one of the sailboats as it crosses.

There is a big cruise ship in the harbour as well.We must be tired because we have a hard time finding our apartment, in spite of driving right by it about 4 times!  Google maps seems to show it in the wrong place, but we eventually manage to sort it out and our host is waiting for us. She only speaks French but I understand most of what she is telling us about the apartment. Here is our home for the next five days.