Notes from the Cape – a travel journal in pictures, by Craig Strachan

Published September 14, 2024

At the bell foundry

The Cornille Havard Bell Foundry in Normandy is a fascinating place. Firstly there is a play area where you can bang on a selection of bells of different sizes.

And secondly, it is the foundry where nine of the ten bells from Notre Damme Cathedral in Paris were cast. The bells have been made in the same manner since the foundry started in the mid 1800’s.

Inside the foundry.

You have no idea how loud this bell rings when you are standing in front of it.

If you look closely at the roof you can see a selection of small bells, They are rung every 15 minutes, each time playing a different tune,

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Published September 7, 2024

If you’ve seen the movie ‘The Longest Day’, you will remember the scene where John Steele’s parachute gets caught on the church steeple of Sainte-Mère-Église. Well this is where it happened. He lay there for over 2 hours pretending to be dead until he was captured by the Germans (he later escaped).

A minor correction to the figure hanging with the parachute – he was actually hanging on the other side, but I guess it looks more impressive from the town square.

Have a close look at the stained glass window from inside.

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Published August 31, 2024

German cemetery at La Cambe

The German cemetery in La Cambe, Normandy, is the final resting place of more than 21,000 German soldiers who died during the Second World War.

Unlike the Allied cemeteries, which have white crosses or stars, the German cemetery has dark stone crosses and plaques.

Many of the graves belong to young men who were conscripted into the Nazi army and forced to fight against their will. Some of them were as young as 16 years old. The cemetery is a somber reminder of the tragedy and horror of war.

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Published August 24, 2024

More images of Normandy

More photos of Normandy. A lot of the D-Day artefacts are in museums, but you still see them scattered through the countryside, left behind after the battles.

Field guns

Massive coltrops. These were used to stop just about anything and are remarkable similar to their predecessors used to stop horses, dating back to Ancient Greece.

More guns

Pillbox that clearly had a fair bit of damage

More guns

Another caltrop, with statues of soldiers exiting a landing craft on one of the landing beaches

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Published August 17, 2024

A visit to Bayeux

Bayeux is a lovely little town in the middle of Normandy. It is historically interesting for two reasons. It is the home of the famous “Bayeux Tapestry” which I highly recommend visiting, and it is where Charles de Gaulle gave the first liberation speeches after the Normandy Landings in World War 2.

The cathedral is the centre of the town, and is lit up at night.

There are a few water ways going through the town, while it looks like you “could” go boating on them, I never saw anybody actually boating. And clearly the above two boats are not in use. On my run I followed one of the canals for a couple of km out of the town, I don’t know how much further it went. Being France, it almost certainly would have joined one of the big boating canals further on.

An old waterwheel in one of the canals, I was unable to find what the mill drove, but I would guess flour.

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Published August 10, 2024

Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir

The Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir looks like a giant streamer was thrown across the Seine river in Paris. It’s a pedestrian-only bridge (cyclists are allowed). It has an interesting story in that it was constructed in Alsac and taken to Paris on barges. The actual assembly in Paris only took 2 hours! It was constructed by the Eiffel company, as in the famous tower, but over 100 years later in 2006.

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Published July 27, 2024

Train to Versailles

Some of the carriages on the train line from Paris to Versailles have been decorated on the inside, and we were lucky enough to board on of them. We sat in the “library” on the lower level.

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Published July 20, 2024

Bayeux market

One thing I love about Europe is the weekly markets that every town seems to have. Bayeux is no exception. In this market you could buy your weekly fresh produce, as well as treats and hot meals.

The nougat stall was fantastic with such a friendly lady selling it. They were of so many interesting flavours, and sheinsisted we taste almost all of them. Of course, some came home with us.

The “Rotisserie” stall was basically a huge BBQ stall, selling all sorts of hot meat. The park belly was a winner for sure. It was excellent!

And of course cheese, we didn’t know what any of them are, so we just bough a selection, and they were all good (and surprisingly inexpensive).

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Published July 13, 2024

The Catacombs, Paris

The Catacombs in Paris are one of the most interesting places I have visited. There is a labyrinth of tunnels under Paris, and a portion of them are the final resting places for over 6 million people.

It’s macabre, yet beautiful in a strange way. Its also a reminder that our time on earth is limited.

There are tunnels in every direction, and I’m sure you could easily get lost down here.

Warning, you are entering the realm of the dead

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Published July 6, 2024

Glider replica at the Pegasus museum

This is a replica of the gliders that were used in the D-Day landings. The gliders were made of wood, and were only made for a single flight. They were literally towed across the channel and released to crash land in fields. They were used to transport troops, arms and supplies.

This replica is at the Pegasus Bridge Museum. To my knowledge there are no original gliders left since they were never made to last (there are a few restorations in the US).

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