De captivants à banals, les articles et photographies de “The Baguette” sont une tentative de publier un journal de ma vie dans la Manche et de proposer un forum de discussion pour tout ce qui touche à la Normandie.
One of the last existing hermitages in France is L’ermitage Saint-Gerbold near Gratot in Normandy. Between 1403 and 1418, Philip of Argouges, lord of Gratot, built the chapel dedicated to Gerbold, a 7th century saint who was the bishop of Bayeux and a...
I was in the Restaurant Grill in Bény-sur-Mer several months ago and someone had this painting on the wall. It's a copy of the Van Gogh painting " Shoes " from 1888. I've always loved this work. He painted them with character and gave them just as much...
In the 6th century the Gaulish town of Briovère (meaning "Bridge on the Vire River") took the name of its lord, the Bishop of Coutances. In 1944 it acquired the sad title of Capital of Ruins – it was the administrative center (préfecture) of La Manche;...
L'église St-Martin belonged to the medieval Abbaye du Voeu of Cherbourg. It is a Romanesque church with a unique octagonal bell tower. Construction began in the 12th century. After this time the church went through many changes. In the 16 century the...
Saturday and Sunday were European Heritage Days . In France, these days are called Journées du patrimoine . One of the places I explored was the Château de Gonneville . Parts of the château were built between the 13th – 16th and 18th centuries. Two of...
Saturday and Sunday were European Heritage Days . In France, these days are called Journées du patrimoine. Many places of historical importance that are usually closed to the public opened their doors. Other places, which normally charge a fee, reduced...
The lighthouse at Cap Lévi was built facing the Biéroc reef and serves as a sea-mark during the day and allows vessels to navigate the coast at night. Its contemporary look dates from 1949. At 37m above sea level, it is visible from a distance of 40 kilometers....
Today was my first day of French class. The Maison Pour Tous Léo Lagrange is sort of like a community college / community center offering a variety of activities and coursework to the public. My professor is Jocelyne Kernéis and there are supposed to...
L’église Saint-Martin de Brévands near Carentan is composed of a single nave, a transept, whose cross is surmounted by a tower, and a flat chevet. In a crypt beneath the choir, covered with a barrel vault, are wall paintings from the late 13th or early...
This small pleasantly well-kept town is built half way up a hillside in an attractive setting where the River Cance, cutting through the last of the Basse-Normandie’s southern hills, emerges on to the vast wooded Sélune Basin, leaving in its wake a rock-strewn...
Its position on the seafront overlooking the cliffs promises a relaxing time for all nature lovers. The site has an interesting history in that it holds a small place in legend. Der-Écu means strong shield, a name that originates from the battle fought...
Themis and Minerva were the two Greek goddesses of justice and war. The originals were created in the 18th century by French sculptors Philippe Laurent Roland (1746-1816) and Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828) and adorned the façade of the Palais Bourbon....
Upon entering le jardin public of Cherbourg, one is presented with the monument in memory of those Cherbourgeois who died for France. The somber statue designed by sculptor Descatoire looks down at the wall engraved with hundreds of names. It was inaugurated...
Carentan’s town hall was constructed between 1644 and 1652 by the Sisters of the Order of Our Lady who opened a convent there. However, in 1792 the nuns left the convent and the building came to serve as a ba rracks, military quarters, police station,...
The Church of Our Lady of Urville-Nacqueville is the other church I attend on Sundays. Mass is held here every other week. The Latin prayer above the doors calls for Christian unity, “May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me, and I in you.” It was...
ANDRA (Agence National pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs), has the task of storing above ground "low- and intermediate-activity" and "short-life" radioactive material. The site currently contains 527,000 cubic meters of radioactive material and...
Fort Chavagnac was built from 1854 to 1869 about 2 km northwest of Cherbourg. Along with several other forts and a long harbor wall, Fort Chavagnac defended France's northern naval base at Cherbourg. It has a triangular edifice with rounded edges, designed...
Here’s a photo of the Digue de Querqueville. It is part of the Rade de Cherbourg, the largest man-made harbor in the world. Unfortunately, the forts around different places along the rade have been ravaged by time, sea water and man. I went on a trip...
L'église Notre-Dame de Querqueville is where I attend Mass on Sundays. Sometimes it is held in another church in Urville-Nacqueville which isn't as old and has more of a modern flair to it than Notre-Dame. Notice how from this vantage point at the top...
The Musée des Beaux-Arts is housed in the former bishop's palace built in the 17th and 18th centuries near the Cathédrale St-Gatien. A magnificent Lebanon cedar planted by Napoleon in 1804 adorns the courtyard of the museum. Work on the cathedral started...
Saint-Céneri-le-Gérei, a village built on a rocky spur overlooking the river Sarthe near Alençon and the Alpes Mancelles, is one of themost beautiful in France. It was founded 1044 by William Giroie, who built a castle here. Unfortunately, little remains...
On my way south to the Comminges region, I spent some time with good friends who live in a beautiful town just outside of Toulouse called Avignonet-Lauragais. The town is visible from the highway due to the large windmills that generate electricity by...
Who is now reading this? Maybe one is now reading this who knows some wrong-doing of my past life, Or maybe a stranger is reading this who has secretly loved me, Or maybe one who meets all my grand assumptions and egotisms with derision, Or maybe one...
Église Saint-Benoît has an ancient foundation built in the 12th century. The original church was damaged by fire in 1367. It was extended in 1473 by Charles d’Anjou, count of Maine and renovated in the 16th century—a new nave was constructed, the south...
This is the former keep in Philippe Auguste's 13th century castle where Joan was subjected to torture on 9 May 1431. A facsimile of the manuscript relating to her trial is displayed on the ground floor from which a spiral staircase leads up to the first...
