aimez-moi, aimez mon chien (Caen)

ok, for those who can't use google translator it means, 'love me, love my dog' (c1975). In a big way. We know the French love their dogs, we see them everywhere - and if you're not careful, you'll step in the evidence of where they've been. It's not against the law here to allow your dog to, um, do it's business, wherever. What we have found problematic is that most French people live in apartments. So, where do the German Shepherds and the Labradors spend their time? Especially if they get wet walking in the park, or when it rains for days and you can't get out. Wet dog smell. Ewww.

So, Sunday morning, we have been to Mass (more on that later) and we see a queue of people. That is curious. Most Europeans don't queue. It's every person for themselves. It turned out to be the line for the cinema and towards the front of the lone was a man and his best friend -  a Golden Retriever. No he wasn't blind. Do you pay extra for the dog? Curiouser and curiouser.

And then later that day, we are walking around the local chateaux (pictures below) and there is a couple walking their silky-terrier-dog-imitation in front of us. We walked up the ramp to the battlements and on the way down, it was obviously too much for the puppy, they caught the lift.

When we arrived in Lille (last week), on the superfast train thing, a man came to meet wife and small child, on the platform, movie style. He brought both dogs. The dogs were carried up the escalator by husband and wife. The child was left to fend for herself on a very crowded platform.

Mass

We decided to stay local on Sunday and to begin with Mass - the earliest available was at 10am.

It was our first Mass in France.  It’s always interesting attending Mass at a church that is not your own.  Aside from the usual quandary of where to sit – we all sit in the same seats every week and as visitors, we wouldn’t want to sit in some one else’s seat, there are always slight differences in how things are done.

 The church is actually that of St Etienne (St Stephen), Caen, built by William the Conqueror around 1083.  We braved the grey skies, drizzle and cold winds and walked 40 minutes to the church.  Needless to say it was a very different experience from our regular Parish church that was built in the 1990s.  For a start it is built in typical cathedral style, in the shape of the cross, so, parishioners are able to sit in four separate alcoves.  As visitors (who had arrived way too early) we weren’t quite sure where to sit.  Eventually we opted for the larger area, despite the fact that one of the smaller areas was more populated.

 We sat down and Jayne began to read the weekly notice with the front page message - a political one reflecting France's current pre-occupation with Presidential Primary elections.  It was from the parish priest - Father Fromage (I kid you not - for those not sure what the joke is, fromage is cheese and a word we use a lot since cheese forms part of any Frenchman's daily diet). We had ventured into a fully-sung, Gregorian Mass.  The area we had considered sitting in was actually the Gregorian choristers!  Jayne would have been fine, but anyone who has heard me sing … and in French? Let’s not dwell on that either.

 Last year as a World Youth Day pilgrim, I experienced Mass in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.  It is easy enough to follow what is gong on despite the language differences.  Today was similar, although we really couldn’t participate in the responses – but the final hymn was the universal, Ave Maria, well the chorus remains in its original Latin.

After Mass, we wandered around the church where William the Conqueror's tomb is found in the choir cloister we mentioned earlier. The church is part of a huge complex built by William as an Abbey for men - we could get into a guided tour till late in the day because Sunday's it is free to all but we really didn't want to spend hours there so settled for a wander around the outside and then off for some coffee to get out of the cold and rain.  We ended up in the only cafe that seemed to be open in the old part of town - Cafe 101 (this is a big university town).  All the shops we had wandered past amid thronging crowds on Friday night were closed - Sunday is still a day of rest for many here in France. 

 Sunday Markets

Then we went in search of some shops that might be open and happened upon the biggest street markets we have seen - would give Haymarket a run for their money.  Same concept but up and down a whole bunch of closed off streets. Here we found the throngs of people missing from Friday night no doubt all doing their weekly shopping unlike us who go to the supermarche each afternoon to deliberate on what to have that night.   Many stalls were packing up by this stage of the morning but there was still a vast array of stalls to see. 

 

They sold everything from flowers to plants, fruit and vegetables, all sorts of fresh seafood and meats, breads and pastries, clothes, shoes, handbags, antiques and the usual market style junk.

Le Chateau

After the markets, we visited the Ducal Chateau, also built by William as his stronghold in this town which he made his homebase.  This also was free entry - a stark contrast to Ireland where we were charged for everything. Parking is also mostly free - we are yet to pay to park anywhere including in a large city like Rouen.  Although, like Ireland, they park anywhere and everywhere, on the footpath, in the middle of the street and it doesn't matter which way you are driving - if you see a spot, dive in. As a driver with not a lot of confidence it is freaky to turn into a street that you believe has traffic flowing both ways to be confronted by all parked cars facing you. At home, that means a one-way street and you're going the wrong way.

The chateau is stategically built on high ground and while it provided 360 degree views of the town, we also almost got blown off the ramparts by the wind. Despite risking life and limb, Brad got the photos he wanted. 

Not that she was competitive 

 We moved onto the reciprocal Abbey for women, built by William's wife, Queen Mathilde. This abbey also has a church attached to it which holds her tomb in front of the tabernacle.   Both impressive buildings, although William wins the competition because his is larger, although Mathilde's is better looked after.