Caen

08:47 Sitting up. It was tough rising this morning. I didn’t put my head on the pillow until sometime after one o’clock. It’s a grey day outside, high stratus. I’ve arranged with Philippe to stay an extra night here so I have today to explore Caen and some museums, galleries and historic architecture.

09:09:28

10:14 Breakfasted on copious slices of thickly buttered sturdy brown bread smeared with varieties of honey and a runny marmalade. I’m now meditating on a mug of Barry’s, then I’ll do a quick tidy-up and wash-up in the kitchen. I’ve a funny feeling I’m not going to be charged¹ for the two meals I’ve eaten with the family, so pitch in like a good guest.

11:13 Out on the street walking towards the town centre after a chat with Virgil in his dressing gown.

11:49:52 11:49:52 11:52:15 11:52:15 11:52:35 11:52:35 12:02:39 12:03:35 12:03:44 12:06:23 12:06:34 12:06:44 12:27:55 12:28:18

12:36 Lovely stroll into the city centre. The Musée des Beaux Arts inside the walls of the château (actually a huge walled fortress) is closed from 12:30 until 14:00, so instead I’m heading to the Memorial de Caen, a museum north of the city. I’ve stopped in a hipster bar for lunch. I’m right at home with my beard. I’ve ordered the plat du midi. I have no idea what I’m about to get.

12:44 I’ve just been dished up a generous portion of chips, salad and what looks like a ham a chicken roulade. It smells delicious.

Geoff Nicholson on “The Lost Art of Walking”:

I’ve also walked for charity, but that was some time ago, and even back then it struck me as a dubious thing to do. If people want to give money to charity, if they want to help fund a cure for AIDS or cancer or whatever, they should go right ahead and do it. They shouldn’t have to wait for somebody else to to promise to walk thirty miles and then sponsor them to do it. It suggests that walking is some eccentric and out-of-the-ordinary activity, so rare that people would only do it for money, even if the money was going to a good cause. There’s also the sense that walking is a form of suffering: by walking we share the pain and sorrow of the AIDS sufferer or cancer patient. I object to both of these oppositions. Walking is special, but it’s not strange. It’s not a stunt. It’s worth doing for its own sake.

13:25 A cup of Earl Grey down as well: time to move on. This is heaven. €11.90 for lunch and a cuppa.

13:52:51

14:10 On a bus to the Memorial de Caen. Hopped off where the route diverged. €3.00 bus fares yesterday, €1.50 today. €1.20 on a stunning meringue.

14:57:24 14:57:35 14:57:46 14:58:03 14:59:16

18:29 I entirely lost myself in the outstanding museum of the Second World War and the liberation of Europe. Worth every cent of the €20.00 entry fee.² All labels in French, English and German. Now to take a bus back to the city centre and get a light dinner and take some money out. I was very tempted to alter my itinerary and head north to the coast and loop back along the Normandy beaches. I remember visiting them as a kid with my parents and seeing a giant Mulberry Harbour component on the beach, listing into the sand like a sinking ship.

Oops, just missed the bus back to town. There’ll be another along in a minute. €1.50 bus fare.

19:38:27 19:39:27 19:39:31 19:39:45 19:39:55 19:40:46 19:40:56 19:40:59 19:41:20 19:41:34 19:41:50 19:42:35 19:42:48 19:42:58 19:43:04 19:43:12 19:44:06 19:44:22 19:44:43 19:45:11 19:46:07 19:46:13 19:46:42 19:46:54 19:47:11 19:47:38 19:49:59 19:50:03 19:52:42 19:52:51 19:53:04 19:56:55 19:56:57 20:00:28 20:00:30 20:00:36 20:00:38 20:00:42 20:00:45 20:00:47 20:03:03 20:04:26 20:06:01 20:07:55

20:13 Lovely wander around the town as the afternoon turns to evening. Now I’m sitting in a crêperie, about to eat a salad and a sweet crepe. €15.80.

21:42 Heading home on foot. I’d better crack on.

21.50 Took €60 from an ATM.

23:06 Back in my room after a half-hour chat with the family, who were all still around the dinner table when I came in. Getting into bed now so I get a reasonable start tomorrow.