Travels with Trevor Barr — Part 2 – Sous La Ciel De France
According to Trevor, France is everything that people make it out to be and then some. Imagine breakfasting on warm croissants from the boulangerie every single day, and enjoying art museums. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, culture, and great food. As Frank Zappa once said, “there is no hell in France”. The country’s long history lends itself to beautiful ruins, castles, architecture, and culture, but each time the Barrs have visited France the experience has been different.
However, he warns, traveling in France is second to none in expense in Europe. But, there are things to do in France without spending a lot of money. The Barr’s solution was to enjoy the smaller towns and purchasing their own food from the local merchants. The food in Europe is nothing like here Trevor explained. It’s fresh, and because there were many bread, cheese, and meat shops around, it was quite easy to enjoy delicious food on a budget. In fact, wine is cheaper than water.
The best way to get around France is via the high speed rail, and their first stop was Caen. If you haven’t studied your history books Caen is the capital of Lower Normandy and home to the Caen Memorial Museum. It is regarded as the best World War II museum in France and only 15 minutes away from the D-Day beaches. Trevor said the museum was amazing, and made the whole family proud to be Canadian. When they went to Juno Beach he said it gave him the chills just remembering the soldiers who valiantly fought on those very beaches on June 6, 1944.
The Egise St Pierre church on the south side of Caen was obliterated during the war and rebuilt. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, and there was an added addition in the early 16th century. The church is best known for its 245 foot tower whose spire was destroyed in 1944 during the war and then restored. It is across the road from the Caen Castle which mostly was destroyed in WW2, but the ruins were preserved. In a footnote – at the end of the bombing in WW2, the civil population of Caen had fallen from 60,000 to 17,000.
LEST WE NEVER FORGET
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Lest We Forget —- Brian Costello — Remembering Remembrance Day
Other stories in the Barr family.. hopefuly I get to continue this..
Part 1- Travels with Trevor Barr–The Overture
Part 2- Travels with Trevor Barr Sous La Ciel De France
Part 3- Running with the Barrs through Spain
Part 5-Travels With Trevor Barr — Postcards from Venice –Part 5
Part 6-We’re Off Running Again in Italy – Travels With Trevor Barr and Family
We hope you also enjoyed Canada’s only museum in Normandy, the Juno Beach Centre, which was founded by Second World War veterans. It looks like you were there too.
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Thank you for being so kind to reply. One of my friends was there and after I saw all the pictures I had to write about it. This touches me that you commented. Thank you.
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