Le Memorial de Caen

Abbaye-aux-Hommes

Sunday. Rain.  We awoke to a steady rain which continued until noon.  Since we had to vacate the apartment by 11, and had a long day ahead of us, we put on the rain gear, packed the bike, and headed to the Abbaye-aux-Hommes which we had missed yesterday.  The Abbaye is a former Benedictine Monastery founded by William the C. as an act of redemption when his marriage to his distant cousin Matilda was considered irregular.  She also founded the Abbaye-des-Dames nearby.

Part of the Abbaye is now the Marie and the rest is viewable only via tour which we did not have time for.  We did look into the attached St. Stephen's church which houses William's tomb.  A Sunday service was in progress so we could not view the tomb itself.

Le Memorial statue based on Eisenstaedt's photo

The rain subsided as we approached our main event of the day--Le Memorial de Caen, the enormous museum which covers WWII in amazing detail but also the years leading up to it, post-War Europe and the Cold War, and some more general sections on war itself and reconciliation.  

There was of course too much to absorb but we gave it our best from noon to 5PM, with a short lunch break.  Finally we headed east on the autoroute for three hours to Orsay, south of Paris, for five days of mathematics for Rob, and a few visits to the city for me.  We are again booked into one of the aparthotel units run by Sejours & Affaires.  These comfortable studios with kitchenette are inexpensive (80+E for this one) and provide a bit more space while lacking the hotel facilities which we don't need.