This Caen not that Cannes
25/05/2009
So who would’ve thought that an old municipal rubbish dump could be transformed into a floral park? Today we travelled to Caen(close to a 2-hour drive from Cherbourg) and our first stop was the Parc Floral de la Colline aux Oiseaux. The park is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of D-Day and features themed gardens. We came on a beautiful day(one of very very few!) And what was the most memorable part of les jardins? Britney hugging a plant! Our next stop was the center of the city. There, we had lunch with Celine, one of Britney’s friends that she hosted through the Sports Exchange Program. Celine visited us in Cherbourg shortly after our arrival, and showed us around town. She also took us to her parents home in the Hague–right on the coast where you can see wild horses scoured among the hills. One of my favorite parts about going to visit her parents was the fact that the only english they knew was “Come Aboard!” because their house is nautical themed.They were quite welcoming and they kindly chuckled at our attempts to communicate with them in French. By the way, Celine is basically American. Not only is her English superb, but she knows every word to “Rocky Top”. I don’t even know the first 5 five words to “Rocky Top”. Besides being in shock by her near perfect English, Celine surprised me with her sense of humor. I tended to write the French off as very serious and solemn. Celine, however, is one of the most animated people I have ever met. Her personality is so colorful and bold, I could seriously see her fitting into American culture very well. I’m not saying ALL French people are cold and introverts, but they are more on the quiet and reserved side. Le petit dejeuner(lunch) was wonderful- I ordered a formule with fish and veggies (a formule is your choice of an appetizer or dessert with entree and drink for a good price). After lunch, we went to the castle of William the Conqueror. The rain became a downpour and we rushed to the Women’s Abbey, which William had built(between 1060&1080)along with a men’s abbey on the opposite side of town) to legitimize his power because he was born a bastard. We received a full tour of the abbey including its Holy Trinity Abbey Church- a masterpiece of Romanesque Norman art. There is this jaw-dropping painting on the half-dome arch of the Virgin’s Assumption which dates back to the early 18th Century. Our group also got to go down in the crypt(added in the 11th century). The abbey was our last site in Caen and sadly we had to return to Cherbourg….