Caen is a largish city about 120 kms from Cherbourg. We have passed through plenty of times on the way to or from Paris so last Saturday we went to have a closer look.
There is so much history there, thanks to a couple of things. Firstly William the Conquerer based himself there and was responsible for some beautiful and very impressive buildings. He left from here in 1066 to go off and conquer England and eventually returned and is now buried there.
Things were pretty quiet for centuries and then in June 1944 Caen saw bombing and burning which destroyed about 75% of the city (about 10000 buildings). Since then there has been much reconstruction work, with varying degrees of sympathy to the old architecture.
Caen Castle built around 1060. Highest point in town and built as a fortress.“Let’s walk up to the top” he said. “It will be a great view up there” he said.The building on the right was constructed in 16th century. Beautifully maintained and was the residence of the local alderman in 1506. And then they allow this ugly thing to be built next door. Wonder what was there before the bombings in 1944.16th century version of Crimsafe.The French are great at window displays and shop fronts. Check out the hibiscus – only 27 euros (about $45)!Never saw merinques this cute before
The French are able to construct buildings that can remain standing for centuries but we wonder how many died in the process. Here’s some examples that would raise a few concerns at home (sorry about the quality of the photos).
This was taken in January when it was freezing. It would have been wet and very slippery on that roof and three stories high. No safety harness but at the least the high viz jacket meant he was easy to spot as he fell off.The light bulb in the bedroom needed replacing. This is what we found when we took the shade off.The attic windows across the road need some work. Dodgy brothers tied the scaffolding together with plastic tape. It was not secured to the building in any way, oh, except for the guy hanging on to the down pipe while checking his phone. So what could go wrong?
Well that’s about it for this week, so au revoir pour le moment.
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