On Friday we had our last scheduled visit in Paris, and it was not even in the city. Our day trip to Normandy was supposed to look like this: we would leave the hotel by 7:45 get to the Normandy beaches and cemetery by around 11:30 and after exploring the museum we would head back to Bayeux France and see the oldest tapestry in Europe. Finally, we would have some extra time to explore Bayeux and head back just in time to make the Euro Cup match.

Again, this was only what the day was supposed to look like but because the train had mechanical problems and we had to stop for repairs for what seemed like hours, so our plans had to be adjusted. We missed our connecting bus from Bayeux to the Normandy beaches so instead we stayed in Bayeux first.

We visited the museum for the Tapestry of Bayeux, which is 1,000 years old, the oldest in Europe. The tapestry depicts the Norman invasion of England telling the story of William the Conqueror. I was surprised by how well preserved the tapestry was and how long it was (68m). We all had audio guides that explained the story the tapestry depicted and it is amazing to see how precise they were and techniques they used to show importance or symbolism throughout the tapestry. My favorite part was when during a battle scene the horses fell so they are upside down in the tapestry. To end our visit in the museum we saw a short video that explained more about the technique and symbolism instead of the story it was telling.

tapestry

We had some time to wander around before we took the bus to the museum.

Lucy and I toured the museum first, and watched a small film that told the story of four soldiers who are buried in the cemetery. Afterwards we headed out and walked only around the cemetery because the entrance to the beach was closed. We saw the wall with the names of all the soldiers who were never found and spent some time inside the chapel. It was shocking to experience how peaceful and safe it feels to be there today. Finally, there were no problems on our way back and the people that wanted to see the game got there in time, but unfortunately Belgium was eliminated from the tournament.

normandy