Natural Bridges, September 2019

Natural Bridges, September 2019

We got to the end of summer and I felt like we hadn't really visited the beach, so a quick day trip to Natural Bridges State Park!  This picture is at the end of the day.

One of the bridges of Natural Bridges Park.  The empty space is where a previous bridge fell down.

We got there at 10 am which turned out to be still cloudy.  So we had the beach to ourselves!  Likely because it was cool and damp :(

I can sit and watch the waves for hours.  It helps if the weather is good, but is not necessary.

The geology is interesting.

Piles of seaweed get tossed up on the rocks.

There is a whole lot going on with seaweed!  It looks like regular plants/leaves, but instead it is super rubbery and tough.

Shoe for scale

Not exactly tidepools, but we were there at high tide.

The trees just up the beach have an interesting trunk formation.

Not sure why I was so fascinated with these!  An excellent day was had by all.

France to England, June 2019

France to England, June 2019

Bayeux

Bayeux had so much going on that it got a bunch of posts. In order, we arrived and had dinner at the hotel, then wandered the town as they celebrated the solstice. 

Saturday we visited the Tapestry museum, ate lunch (cider and buckwheat crepes) at  Le Moulin de la Galette, walked past the war memorial, dropped in on the WWII museum and the Baron museum before walking back to the hotel where we wandered past the Tour of Normandy car show, before buying fancy macaroons and then snacks at a local grocery store.  Phew.  We packed so much in!

Sunday, we drove through Rouen to see the statue and church dedicated to Jeanne d'Arc.

Folks call it the fish scale church because of the tiles and shape of the roof tiles...not at all captured by my photos!  

There are Roman ruins just on the edge of the church.

We are a bit overwhelmed with history at this point and give the fancy astrological clock a quick glance

Before eating at McDonalds!

And then glace back as we head out of town.

After the last soccer game (Valencienne for the final match, England vs Cameroon) we cleverly drive up to Lille and spend the night at the Novotel across from the train station.

Next morning it is easy to get our chunnel train!  One last bit of Eldorado art in Lille.

Paul sells bread and pastries, mostly in train stations.  Comforting, like a Starbucks.  We have to give one a try before we leave the country.  Nothing amazing, but solid and convenient.  Then in no time at all we are in England.  Seriously, the chunnel is a wonder of the world because it is such a non-event.

All the kids have matching outfits...why does this feel British to me?!?

Fun drinks!

St. Pancras station where we get off is still housed in the original gorgeous building. Right across the street is King Cross station.  

Which has an amazing interior design

and is the home of 9 3/4 of Harry Potter fame.

They're very pleasant about it.  It is free to take this cute photo, just a bit of a wait.  Not necessary for us, but good people watching.

Yo Sushi!  In the train station was fantastic, just what we needed.  We spend the final night in the Gatwick BLOC hotel.  We have interior rooms and they are smaller than a cruise ship.  Love the efficiency-they spent money on great sound-proofing and giving you just what you need, but high quality.
Fantastic trip, would do it again!

Bayeux, long view of history, France, June 2019

Bayeux, long view of history, France, June 2019

The famous liberty tree of Bayeux.

3 museums in one town are a lot, but in Bayeux they are all worth it!  The Baron Gerard is probably the one most people skip, but don't do it!  We raced through in less than 2 hours and could have easily spent the whole afternoon.

Neat job setting it up chronologically and mixing the history and art together in each time.

Prehistoric fossils!

Early axe heads!

Roman times road markers!

Weaving!  I had never really understood this before, but great picture showing the use of the artefacts.

This was their city council room for hundreds of years until very recent times.  Smart idea to repurpose it into a museum.

Coat of arms for the town.

Medieval apothecary jars

Excellent installation

In the modern era, Bayeux was known for their lace and porcelain so the museum has a few rooms dedicated to each.

The lace is amazing.  Again hard to photograph in dim light

So bought a postcard.

Turns out I had no idea how handmade lace is made.  Turns out to be super complicated!  You have to keep track of 100 different threads.  The exhibit did a great job showcasing not just the finished work, but the materials and people needed to make the lace.

Accessories to go with the lace making.

Porcelain!

The chemists (yeah!) in Bayeux figured out how to fire the clay to make impermeable porcelain

You can make cute address labels

But more importantly, chemistry vessels.  Once chemists figured out that you can mix almost anything in porcelain without absorbing the mixing bowl material, more chemistry started happening.  And for awhile Bayeux was super important to the advancement of chemistry.  

Between the museum and the cathedral is their famous tree.  It is a London Plane tree and was planted in 1797 to celebrate the liberty gained from the French Revolution.  It is still strong and beautiful as a tree but some nights the city plays a light show on the cathedral and this tree.  I only saw pictures afterward but would have gone if I'd known.

Cathedral and porcelain.