ps: If you want to hear more of your voices and receive more of your suggestions, search for the WeChat public account "andie" now. It is a region in France, divided into Upper Normandy (eastern part) and Lower Normandy (western part).

A long time ago, there were primitive people living here, but in Roman times, it became a Roman province. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Vikings Rollojan seized this place from Charles the Simple (around 900 AD). However, these Vikings adopted the French language, living habits, and Christianity that existed since Roman times.

Because this place is located south of the English Channel, there has been no end to wars since ancient times. Of course, the direct opponent of the fight is Britain. Anyone who has read a little history book knows the story of William the Conqueror. Before he became the King of England, he was the Duke of Normandy.

You probably also know the story of Joan of Arc. She was a hero in the Hundred Years' War between England and France in the 14th and 15th centuries. She led the French people to resist the British army. Her battlefield was here. She was also executed by the British for being a witch in Rouen, the capital of Upper Normandy.

Of course, what you should have heard more about is the "Normandy Landing". During World War II, the Allied forces (Canada, Britain, and the United States) landed on the beaches of Normandy. If you have not heard of this, you can imagine two classic movies: "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Longest Day".

Having just started the new car, An Qingju and An Chuyu drove north to a small town called Lesandely to experience the typical small towns in Normandy: quiet, sunny, breezy, and each town has a beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral.

An Qingju and An Chuyu both know that there is a Seine River in Paris, and the estuary of this Seine River is actually in Honfleur in Normandy (where An Qingju and An Chuyu will pass later). Lesandre is located at a high altitude, and is a good place to overlook the Seine River from a high place. The castle ruins of

The view of the Seine from here is excellent. You can see the white cliffs along the Seine, and you can see many hikers using the castle as a cushion to stroll and have picnics on this high ground. It's very pleasant.

After a short pause, the two headed straight to Rouen to see the place where Joan of Arc was martyred. After all, it was the capital of Upper Normandy, and the streets were much larger. The big clocks on the streets were a bit like what An Qingju and An Chuyu saw in Bern, Switzerland. You can see institutions like Lianjia Real Estate everywhere on the street, which made ordinary people like An Chuyu stop and compare prices:

There are two things in Rouen that attracted An Qingju and An Chuyu. One is the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the other is the Joan of Arc Memorial. In fact, there is a Notre Dame Cathedral in almost every larger town in France. The reason why the one in Rouen is more impressive is that it appeared in Monet's famous Impressionist painting "Notre Dame Cathedral":

This church is indeed very magnificent. It was built in the 11th century and has been renovated for more than 400 years to become what it is today. Monet originally painted the famous painting at the "i" position opposite this church.

However, An Qingju and An Chuyu first saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, and then saw Monet's "Rouen Cathedral. The gate seen from the front, brown harmony" at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. It was not until they wrote the travel notes that they realized that this church was the other church. I am so sorry!

What really made An Qingju and An Chuyu stop in Rouen was the Church of Joan of Arc: this church was newly built on the old market square in Rouen, and this square is where the 19-year-old Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. There is also a sculpture on the square that looks like a cross and a sword, which is the Joan of Arc burning memorial column.

There are countless poems, paintings, sculptures, movies, biographies, and even cartoons around the world praising and commemorating Joan of Arc. An Qingju and An Chuyu later saw various artistic images of Joan of Arc in the Louvre and many places in France:

An Qingju and An Chuyu both knew that Joan of Arc was an illiterate French country girl during the Hundred Years' War between England and France. According to records, she heard divine revelation, persuaded the nobles to let her go to war, supported the coronation of Charles VII, led the French people to resist the British invasion, and made a decisive contribution to France's final victory.

There are two points in this story that impressed An Qingju:

First, there are detailed chronicles recording the whole process of Joan of Arc leading the French army to fight, Joan of Arc's trial, and the retrial after Joan of Arc's death. The whole process was recorded in writing at the time, making the subsequent mythical image of "Joan of Arc" very factual, more sacred, and more fascinating.

Second, Joan of Arc supported King Charles VII of France, and it was Charles VII who betrayed Joan of Arc to England. When An Qingju University saw this, she was very angry and thought that Charles VII was a real villain.

This man is often defined as a "clown" in movies and literary works. But when people look back on this period of history in middle age, they gradually discover that Charles VII is not a simple person. Before Charles VII ascended the throne, the Hundred Years' War had been going on for many years. Most of the French nobles were of British descent, and it was not up to them to decide whether they could become the King of France.

The appearance of Joan of Arc allowed Charles VII to utilize the power of the French people, and it was Charles VII's push that made Joan of Arc a hero.

But when Charles VII gained the upper hand, he could not let Joan of Arc act rashly and anger other princes. The Duke of Burgundy captured Joan of Arc and sold her to England, but Charles VII did not help her. As a result, the people hated the Duke of Burgundy and the English instead of Charles VII.

The Duke of Burgundy benefited from Charles VII, which made it easier for him to cooperate with him in the future. The British, who hated and feared Joan of Arc, also calmed down their anger, which made Charles VII feel relieved. This killing two birds with one stone is exactly what a politician does. In fact, it was Charles VII's scheming that finally won the Hundred Years' War and unified France.

"A monarch, especially a new one, is unable to maintain all those qualities which command respect, and in order to preserve his state he is often obliged to betray his principles, and to violate friendship, humanity, and religion." This statement probably explains his behavior.

However, what An Qingju and An Chuyu did not understand the most when they visited the Church of Saint Joan was the church itself. Countless texts said that the church building was topped with slate or copper scales. The building was shaped like a pirate ship and a fish.

But if you stand at a suitable angle, you will see the roof that is said to be in the shape of a "sailboat" and the two windows in the shape of "portholes". Doesn't it just form a picture of a witch wearing a black hat? An Chuyu dared to say that the shape of the window was completely an allusion to the witch's eyes, which were long and narrow, strange, and had small eyeballs.

I really don’t know what this is to commemorate, or if the designer has other ideas?

After leaving Rouen, An Qingju and An Chuyu continued to head north and arrived at Honfleur, the estuary of the Seine River. This small town is a typical port city, but not the kind of port in China. It is the kind of port with many beautiful sailboats. An Qingju and An Chuyu's car hardly stayed here, and An Qingju only took a few glimpses of the port through the car window.

Just this quick glance is enough to fully understand why the Impressionist painters were particularly fond of this port scenery and never tired of depicting it on canvas.

"I want to see the Normandy beaches and experience for myself where the Allied forces landed," said An Chuyu.

"You should take a look at the famous Bayeux Tapestry and learn the story of William the Conqueror," said An Qingju.

When these two wishes collided, they became the destination of An Qingju and An Chuyu today: Bayeux. Two conquests marked the history of Bayeux: the Normans conquered Britain, and the conquered British returned to liberate France. The first city liberated by the Allied Forces during the Normandy Landing was Bayeux.

An Qingju and An Chuyu drove 100 kilometers from Honfleur to Bayeux. The city is small and feels a bit like Rouen. There is also a Notre Dame Cathedral, and the streets are old and clean.

It was past five when An Qingju and An Chuyu checked into this B&B in Bayeux. This B&B is located on a quiet street. The car can be parked on the roadside (free). Just walk a little further and you will enter the center of the old city - this is the good thing about small cities.

This was the second B&B in France. At this time, An Qingju and An Chuyu had already discovered the commonality of B&Bs, which was that the agreed check-in time was usually quite late, usually after 5pm (4pm in the better cases). If you come earlier than this time, they will not receive you.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

European B&Bs are different from our Chinese "farmhouses". The accommodation conditions are very comfortable and full of local cultural atmosphere. People who have experienced it will probably like it. However, the check-in time is late, and it is generally required to be before 10 o'clock in the morning, which makes B&Bs very unsuitable for the "only one night" travel style.

It's so busy to settle down so late and have to travel again in the morning. In Bayeux. An Qingju and An Chuyu realized this when they first met, and they felt it more deeply later. If you stay in a hotel, you don't have this problem if you stay for only one night. For example, if you stay in Luxembourg, you have plenty of time.

Each tombstone is engraved with the soldier's military emblem, country, name, rank, date of birth and death. What surprised An Qingju and An Chuyu a little was that there were also tombstones of German soldiers who died in battle. Both sides on the battlefield had winners and losers, but the dead were all equal.

Across the street outside the cemetery is another memorial to the 1807 Commonwealth soldiers whose remains were never found. Across the top is the inscription in large Chinese: "Once conquered by William, now liberates the country of the conqueror."

As mentioned earlier, there are 18 cemeteries left on the battlefield of the Normandy Landing, distributed in many towns and suburbs along the Normandy Beach. The most famous cemetery is the Omaha Beach Heights Cemetery near Caen. That cemetery is the largest cemetery of the US Army in Normandy and appeared in the movie "Saving Private Ryan":

However, An Qingju and An Chuyu did not go there specifically to see it. The atmosphere of each cemetery is similar, so you just need to feel it. It is still very touching to see so many large areas reserved for strangers to rest in peace.

The Normandy Landing Memorial Museum opposite the Bayeux War Cemetery is closed today. An Qingju and An Chuyu will come here for their D-Day trip tomorrow.

After returning from the cemetery, An Qingju and An Chuyu had to go back to the old town of Bayeux for a French dinner. They arrived in France yesterday, and there were still a lot of Daoxiangcun spare ribs brought from Beijing in their luggage. They had eaten all of them for lunch today, so this dinner was An Qingju and An Chuyu's first meal in France.

Many restaurants in the old town of Bayeux were recommended on the lp. The receptionist at the B&B kindly helped An Qingju and An Chuyu mark the locations of these restaurants on the map. An Qingju and An Chuyu chose a restaurant called Le Pommier (diagonally opposite the Church of Our Lady) and sat down.

Great, this restaurant provides an English menu (An Qingju and An Chuyu later felt that restaurants without English menus seemed more authentic, and of course it also challenged your guessing skills). After sitting down to eat, I slowly realized some of the tricks of dining in France: First, stand at the door and let others show you to your seat, don't just go in and sit down.

Second, no matter the size of the restaurant, once you sit down, you will be served by a fixed person from the beginning to the end. It is not possible to ask other waiters. Third, no matter what you eat, you must first solve the problem of food. Even if you just want free boiled water, you have to drink it before you can start ordering.

Fourth, the French menus that An Qingju and An Chuyu saw (as long as they were French dishes) were almost divided into the following parts: entree (appetizer), +1 dessert+1 aperitif, with no upper limit.

You can order several appetizers and main courses, and each main course can be paired with different wines, as long as you can eat and afford it. Appetizers are equivalent to our cold dishes, and main courses are hot dishes + staple food.