Today we intended to visit the zoo, but on the way there it rained heavily so we decided to visit Caen instead.
Caen is a big city and Dad did quite a bit if hyperventilating as he tried to drive to the centre and park. In the end we found a central underground car park which wasn’t too expensive.
Dad and Sophia started by heading for a large ruined church near the centre. Bizarrely, this was not only completely fenced off, but there were no signs anywhere to indicate what it was called or why it was ruined. Subsequent research showed that it is the Church of Saint Etienne-le-Vieux which hasn’t been in good repair since the 100 year war! It is a pity that the city of Caen cannot erect a modest sign to this effect.
View from Caen castle
After a modest lunch, Dad headed for the castle whilst the others headed for the shops. The castle turned out to be free to enter, but there was a charge for the two museums in the grounds. Dad opted for the local history museum over the modern art one.
The museum followed the familiar pattern of starting with flint tools and working up to local industry of the last century. It had some excellent Roman artefacts including a fascinating coin collection, but the highlight was certainly the display on lace making. Dad remains completely amazed by the intricacy of this process.