The
Tapisserie de Bayeux
The next town we visited had one of the cooler sights in France: the Tapestry of Bayeux in the Cathedral de Bayeux. This is a long woven cloth (and when I say long, I mean it was 230 ft by 20 in. and went through SEVERAL ROOMS) depicting the Norman invasion of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. It was supposed to have been done by his wife, I guess while waiting for him to come home or something. It depicts the Battle of Hastings, among other things.
For some reason, I got into an esoteric discussion with a friend about comets and the
significance of them to these people (a comet in the sky was supposed to be a portent of
events: one shows up on the tapestry as an omen of bad tidings, I think). 
The interior of the Cathedral of Bayeux is gorgeous. The picture at the left shows one of the many stained glass windows there.
After Bayeux, we visited the Normandy beaches and saw the cemetery for American soldiers there (very moving place, BTW). You can still see the cratering left by the war, although it is mostly grown over. One thing for sure: it was COLD!! I felt like I was turning into a living icicle. That North Sea wind is a killer: I definitely recommend a Summer visit as opposed to a Spring visit like we made.
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