Train to Bayeux - Jill & Phil

Today has been a travel day. We started out at 10.00am and caught the bus No. 20, back to Caen. Passed all the patchwork fields with golden ripe wheat waiting to be harvested, poppies growing along the verges. How quickly you get to know the surroundings. The buses are very comfortable. They are actually coaches and the drivers wait whilst you put your bags underneath in the hold. So much for me being worried about cases on buses. All in control here. They are also timely. If you don't have a bike, buses are a good substitute as you don't have to think about parking a car!! Not an easy task in these small towns. You generally have to park on the outside of the town and walk in.

We arrived at the bus station at Caen in just over an hour. The day is very warm, more humid than yesterday but cloudy skies. I needed to go back into Caen to get a few things and now this town is very familiar. I even had time to buy a fresh baguette and a chassure pomme (apple turnover) for Phil - his favourite. Then we were in time to catch the No 30 bus to Bayeux. By the way bus travel is very reasonable with each journey costing 4 euro 50 each. Once again the countryside with its huge fields of ripened wheat looked beautiful. The yellow of the wheat adjacent to the green of the lucerne with a pretty blue flower.

This area had the very small thin type villages with creamy white walled houses along the way. You know the type from the films. Houses were interspersed with large stables. You know the cows are in there because the lights were on. Although I did see some black and white cows in the paddocks. Very unusual in Europe. Every village/hamlet had a war monument and marked by Canadian and British flags. We saw some military bases too.

At first glance Bayeux looks quaint with a thin pedestrian mall decorated with flags.

I left Phil having a coke at a bar and walked to the supermarket for provisions. Here I noticed that every shop window pane had a painting on it with a war connotation and the words 'thank you'. How touching. Tomorrow I will be exploring this more. Also much to my delight the building housing the Bayeux Tapestry is only 500m away from where we are staying.

This is the first Gite/B&B we have stayed at on this trip. It is called Dodo and Tartines. Up a narrow, squeaky wooden staircase to a 2nd floor appartment of 3 rooms in a family home run by Jacques and his wife. It is so quaint - sort of like a family room with the cot and all. The part of the building where we are staying is 150 years old but put back is from the 15th century Jacques told Phil. This is really being in France. We are looking out the framed window at grey slate of the house of the roof over the way. So authenticate.

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As the evening wore on and it came to dinner, very pleasant smells waffed from the kitchen. However we will have to wait til breakfast to sample their cooking. Early to bed tonight as lots to explore tomorro