Normandy

Un après-midi ensoleillé en hiver. Ein sonniger Nachmittag im Winter.

Make dream young and old... At 5.30 pm during the whole month of December the thousands of lights are lit all together at the same time, it's just magical to see the hills adorned with its garments of light (see the 2nd PiP for a night view). Christmas illuminations in a little village in Normandy (Beauchêne, 250 inhabitants).

More info about the church here. Vue de carte postale. Plus d'infos sur l'église ici. Postkartenansicht. Mehr Infos über die Kirche hier.

From the bench you have a wide view over the norman countryside.

One of the metallic works of percheron artist Jean-Alexandre Delattre in front of the old "Maison à la Tourelle" (16th c.) with its sundial.

In the background (and on PiP) the Saint-Denis Gate which dates from the 12th centruy. Once one of the three gateways to the city, it's today the only one left.

Built around 1123 by Henry I Beauclerc, Duke of Normandy and King of England (son of William de Conqueror), its construction made Vire one of the most significant strongholds in Normandy. The castle was slighted by order of Richelieu in 1630. The ruins of the quadrangular tower are still impressive. The western facade is notable for its powerful flat buttresses, windows and fireplaces visible over three stories with traces of defensive structures.

Belle cité dans le Calvados, connue pour son "andouille de Vire". J'ai aimé cette vue sur Notre-Dame (13° siècle). On the foundations of a Romanesque chapel built around 1150, a new church in primitive Gothic style is edified around 1230 and dedicated to Our Lady in 1272. It is enlarged in different styles until the 16th c., with the rise of the flamboyant Gothic choir. It was destroyed after the bombings of June 1944, and restored from 1948.

La "Tour aux Raines" faisait partie des remparts de la ville construits sur ordre de Saint Louis à partir de 1250. Elle doit son nom aux grenouilles qui coassaient sur les bords du fleuve Vire tout proche. The "Frog Tower" was part of the ramparts of the city built by order of Saint Louis from 1250. It owes its name to the frogs that croaked on the banks of the river Vire nearby.

It sounds incredible, but this was on February 27: the beach was crowded and this little girl had most fun in the water... The boy (see PiP) was more careful: he just watched the waves (2nd PiP) from the safe shore:-))

*** Have a nice weekend***

... and on PiP a mansion "Belle Epoque", typically for Cabourg and the Norman seaside resorts.

The 15th century carriage house "Boule d’Or"., one of the mansions scattered throughout the countryside.

Amateur de cafés typiquement atypiques, en voici un, ouvert depuis 1928. Si on ne s'y fait plus couper les cheveux (la maison a conservé son activité de café-coiffeur-barbier jusqu'en 1972), le lieu n'en demeure pas moins unique et attachant. Lovers of typical atypical coffeeshops, here is one, opened since 1928. No hair is cut any more there (the house kept his activity of coffee- and barbershop until 1972), but the place remains no less unique and endearing.

Bouvron-en-Auge is a small Normandy village with the distinctive and attractive architecture of the region. It's affiliated to the Label "the most beautiful villages of France".

2nd PODIUM WINNER, CWP "Street Photography" MARCH 2022