"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."

I thought I might share a little information about this area of France.

Normandy was named by King Rollo, a viking who invaded the country. His Descendant William, commonly spoken of here as William the Bastard became William the Conqueror when he won the battle of Hastings on 14th October 1066. William alway retained this Feifdom of Normandy for his relatives, well for a short time anyway.

We also associate Normandy with D Day.  June 1944.

Of course, my interest is two fold. Our family can trace it’s origins back to William the Conqueror.
And I have an  interest in the Bayeux Tapestry.

The country side is certainly dressed in it’s finest at the moment. We’ve had perfect weather, and a trip through the villages like we had to day makes your heart leap.

Bayeux is known for lace making and also its porcelain production.
A lacemaking workshop still exists to safeguard the knowhow handed down by the lace-makers of Bayeux from the 17th century.

I have been fascinated by the architecture, the furniture, and the fact that we are staying in a building built 100’s of years ago makes me want to learn more about this whole area of Bayeux.

First lets talk about the architecture.

Built on the site of the old Roman settlement of Augustodurum, some of the buildings date back to Medieval times.
I found myself stumbling over the cobblestones on many occasions as I attempted to look up at the roofs, windows and tiles.

Furniture…. well I’m about to create a bedroom in this style, and part of our large dining room is also French style.
I love the straw woven seat chairs, we have them as dining chairs, nothing fancy, just practical….. Even the churches have single chairs with woven straw or rush seats.

Just the backs of chairs change to fit the genre of the room.

As many of you know I have white doves, well doves and pigeons were treasured here
and incredible structures called colombiers
were built on farms to house them.

I love the flower boxes filled with blooms,  crepes with chocolate, the smell of flowers mixed with roasting coffee, the winding cobblestone streets, lace curtained windows and the fact that the days are extra long…

I love fresh croissants, strong coffee, cheese  and yoghurt for breakfast.

I’ve enjoyed every minute of my stay in France, in Paris, and in Bayeux.

Sharing it with friends is even better…. but next time hopefully it will be with family too.

We visit Monet’s garden tomorrow and then a late evening flight to London  and another part of the journey to enjoy.

Oh, we have to be up early and in our "best" clothes the morning after we arrive in England, we’re off to the Ritz with a friend for lunch.