Caen and Bayeux: A Day in a Museum, an Unseen Tapestry, and the Mysterious Emergence of French Accents

The morning after our exploration of Mont Saint-Michel, we broke our fast with the Count of the Chateau.  He shared the history of the property as well as expressed his concerns regarding the amount of noise the donkeys make when in heat.  While we would have loved to stay longer, our escapade through France continued; the next stop, Normandy.

On the drive from Vergoncey to Bayeux, we planned to stop at Mémorial de Caen, a museum with exhibits focusing on the extensive history spanning from World War I to the Cold War.  Approximately halfway through our short drive we stopped for gas and coffee.  A benign sequence of events, but we learned Julie's mother spoke French.  That is to say, she spoke English phrases with an inflection resembling a French accent.  Despite our cackling over the emergence of this mysterious display of international phonetics, Julie's mother flawlessly ordered for the four of us.  We soon returned to the road and would reach the museum a shade before noon.

I am not sure of the record for amount of time spent in Mémorial de Caen, however, we unknowingly committed ourselves to the cause.  Little did we know, we would devote more time here than our combined visits to the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay (and we never made it to the Cold War wing).  Our thorough pace through the engrossing exhibits left a unanimously pleasurable and lasting impression.  Although, there was one French twist we collectively found overstated (albeit sensical, given our locale), the tide-changing importance placed on the French Resistance (Viva la Résistance).  By the time we finished the World War II section, early evening descended and we still needed to check-in to our hotel a short distance away in Bayeux.

The day's tentative itinerary had planned for a visit to see the famed Bayeux Tapestry, however, our time was limited due to our (unofficial) record setting visit to Mémoiral de Caen.  Unfortunately, we missed the opportunity to see the 70-meter historical artwork because the Bayeux Cathedral had closed for the evening.  With the sight-seeing portion of our evening over, we concerted our efforts to satiate our growing appetites.  After dinner at a "liberators welcome" restaurant, we walked down the cobble stoned street to buy desserts - coming across the largest meringues our eyes have ever seen.

Hello...? Anybody home?

We hear there is a large Tapestry here

Don't turn the lights on, let us in

We discovered a delicatessen near the hotel with pastries and meringues so delicious - we wanted to return the following morning before a full-day touring the beaches of Normandy.  Much to our dismay, our broken French wasn't enough to garner the answers we needed (What time did they open?).  Therefore, we employed the help of our new-found translator, Julie's mother.  With her previous success at the gas station, she was encouraged to continue her French inflection-fused English.

Julie's mother delved into her role as international sustenance liaison.  However, when she approached the counter with the confidence of Napoléon on the battlefield, she asked the employee, "o-PIN, TO-mar-O?" (note: capital letters signify her obscured French inflection).  Much to our surprise (well, not really), the baker tending the cafe did not understand the question.  Amid our laughter, we were disappointed to learn they were closed the following morning.  Therefore, we doubled our purchases to have enough leftover for breakfast.