The Baguette
/fdata%2F3191025%2F%2Favatar-user-2500311-tmpphpFWnT3S.jpeg){kind=avatar}
Last night we had snow in Querqueville! Sadly, it won't last very long since the temperatures are high and it is melting. My friend who works at the La Hague Reprocessing Plant couldn't leave work until 7:30PM. The journey home was full of car accidents...
The Château de Balleroy was built between 1626 and 1636 by François Mansart for Jean de Choisy, Chancellor to Gaston d’Orléans . De Choisy’s descendants, under the title of Marquis de Balleroy, owned the château for three centuries. It is now owned by...
Just outside the small town of Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach, the American War Cemetery and Memorial contains the remains of 9,387 American military dead. Unable to be located and/or identified, the names of 1,557 soldiers who lost their...
Étretat, now an elegant resort, has always had a great reputation because of the originality of its setting. The grandeur of the high cliffs and the crashing waves is unforgettable whatever the season. It is no wonder that the town has inspired many writers,...
The sizeable ruins of Lucerne Abbey stand in an isolated spot in the pleasantly green Thar Valley. The abbey was founded in 1143 by two Premonstratensian monks following a donation by Hasculfe de Subligny, the great nephew of William the Conqueror. It...
At the foot of the Gros Horloge in Rouen is the Louis XV fountain from 1743 representing a mythological scene depicting the love of the river Alpheus and the nymph Arethusa, symbolized by the figure of a Cupid flying above them. Famous French architect,...
On Saturday and Sunday, the Cherbourg Botanical Society held its fourth edition of “Presqu’île en fleurs” at the Château des Ravalet in Tourlaville. This year’s theme was Renaissance Roses although the 14 hectare park was teeming with many other flowers...
It’s been almost three weeks and I am sorry for not posting sooner but I’ve been on vacation. I had a wonderful time visiting so many beautiful places in the south of France. These attractive sights included La moulin de Cougnaguet, Rocamadour, Les châteaux...
Our friends at Normandy Inn gave us some good advice when it came to exploring the area around Montbray and Vire during our visit last week. If you seek a pleasant hiking opportunity, look no further than la forêt de Saint-Sever. The national forest covers...
I recently came across some old postcards of Querqueville at the braderie in Cherbourg, Saturday July 2nd. I thought it would be unique to show some past and present photos so we can compare the changes that have occurred over time. It's amazing how much...
Emmanuel Liais (1826 – 1900), a former mayor of Cherbourg, an astronomer, and a passionate botanist took advantage of his travels to return home with several South American and Asian plants. Between 1880 and 1893 he created a magnificent botanical garden,...
As a child, I never played in ditches or along the sides of ponds. There were always too many mosquitoes and things that felt icky. Yesterday, look what came creeping into my small garden. How fascinating and strange to see a salamander so far from its...
Sées has been the seat of an episcopal see since St-Lautin converted the region to Christianity in 440 and became the first bishop. The quiet cathedral town has some of the finest examples of 13th and 14th century Norman Gothic architecture. This was...
Pirou’s fortified castle is in fact a motte castrale (or castle mound) erected on an island and surrounded by ramparts preventing any possible extension. The castle’s architecture is similar to Crusader architecture with alternating turrets and guerites....
Just like every other town of note that I have visited during my time in France, Alençon also claims to be one of the principle lace-making cities in Europe. Well, this may be true but once you’ve seen lace-making in one town, like me, you’ve seen enough...
La voie de la Liberté est une voie commémorant la victoire des Alliés et la libération de la France, de la Belgique et du Luxembourg pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Elle est matérialisée par une série de bornes kilométriques le long du réseau routier...
This year commemorates the 66th year since the Normandy Landings on the 6th of June 1944, D-Day. Thousands of men and women gave their lives in the liberation of Northern France. Their graves are the permanent and visible symbol of their heroic devotion...
Reading about Bagnoles-de-l’Orne in the Michelin Green Guide did NOT inspire me to want to visit. I was disappointed in the book’s description of the town and I thought that there would be very little to see and do. I expressed this feeling to my father...
Near the hamlet of La Forge, just outside of Bretteville-en-Saire is an ancient megalithic gravesite known as the Allée Couverte, or “covered alley” which is over 4,000 years old. Its length is roughly 17 meters and is composed of stones weighing several...
For almost five centuries this immense château, set in a 25 acre park, belonged to a famous Norman family, Le Veneur de Tilliéres; in 1936 it was bought by the nation. From the 12th century to the 15th century the château was the seat of the Blosset and...
A new monument entitled La Traversée or “The Crossing” was installed in Équeurdreville Tuesday, September 21, along the waterfront of La Saline. The giant metal curtain which twists like a sail has inscribed dozens of anonymous messages relating to the...
The Château de Tocqueville was originally a manor house constructed over three different periods during the 16th, 18th and 19th centuries. While retaining its smooth appearance, the architectural diversity gives the château its particular charm. It is...
September 18 and 19 was the 27th Journées européennes du patrimoine (European Heritage Days) and the theme this year was “Great Men and Women Who Helped Make History”. Places that are not usually open to the public are open during these two days. Many...
La chapelle Saint-Germain is located atop a hill, 600 meters from the shore of Querqueville, overlooking the sea. Since 1856 it has been listed as a Historic Monument due to its early-Christian elements that make it one of the earliest surviving Christian...
In 1145, the Empress Matilda (1102-1167), daughter of Henry I of England and granddaughter of William the Conqueror, asked for an abbey dedicated to the Virgin to be built here. Legend has it that, she was traveling from England to France when her ship...
