Taxi, Train, Tapestry

Today we packed up a suitcase, headed to the train station and choo-choo'd up to Caen, in Normandy. We were originally planning to catch the metro to the train station, but I made the executive decision to grab a taxi. I figured it would be simpler than hefting our 248 lbs suitcase through the turnstiles and up and down the stairs. 

The taxi raced forward 15 feet before getting stuck in traffic. We watched helplessly as pedestrians strolled past us and out of site. It ended well, though. We got where we were going in plenty of time.

The train left the station a little late, but was not a big deal. It smelled a little musty until some guy sat with us, then it smelled like an ashtray. When we got of the train in Caen, I think he lit up five cigarettes at once to make up for lost time.

Ella tried on my hat. It is one of the many things that marks me as an American.

As you can see, we really bonded during our two hour ride through the countryside. 

As usual, we were starving, so when the food cart guy came by, we jumped him and took all his sandwiches. Ella ate a bun in one bite and then slammed her first Orangina.

Ella took one sip and was hooked. I'm afraid I'll find her pawning my Macbook to fund her knew habit.

We don't allow Ella to drink soda, but this was a special occasion, i.e. famine.

We got to Caen and hotfooted it across the street to the Hertz office. It was a short walk from there to pick up our car, which is some kind of compact diesel wagon that looks like a miniature min-van, which makes it a mini-minivan. It's peppy and has a stick shift! Fun. I'll post a picture if I remember to snap one.

Driving here has been pretty straight forward, but I have to pay attention (unlike at home, where I usually drive blind-folded while juggling). I have not found the other drivers here to be as -- um, exuberant as those in Italy.

Once we found our way out of Caen, we drove up to Bayeaux to see the 900 year old Bayeaux Tapestry, which is an ancient comic strip. It's about two feet high and maybe a couple hundred feet long. When you go in to the temperature controlled display room, they hand you a little audio guide machine that you hold to your ear. Then in English, a guy tells you the story as you walk along and follow the scenes based on the numbers above it. 

My favorite part was where the horse got axed in the head.

I love that I found this pic on the the web. It's small, but you can see the horse on the right, and the axe in his noggin. Notice all the carnage beneath the horse. This is good family entertainment.

The tapestry depicts William the Conquerer . . . er, conquering England in 1066.

I'll spare the boring details of our drive to the bed and breakfast we're staying in. I'll post pictures of the place at some point. But I can't end a post without mentioning a run to the grocery store. We found an Aldi and stocked up on some snacks and soda.