Two of my favorite places to experience in a new European town are
the cathedral and the café. It
seems no matter how small a village may be it always has some sort of cathedral
and most definitely a café. One
such town is Bayeux, France. My
parents and I visited Bayeux three summers ago on a trip to visit the beaches
of D-Day. Bayeux was perfect. I fell for it hard. The strong, stone buildings with
homemade curtains in the windows, the canal, the cobblestone streets, the
B&B operated above the owners’ cider shop and cellar with a baguette,
butter and coffee for breakfast.
But my favorite was the cathedral.
Located in the center of town its massive red wooden doors were always
open. Inside it smelled sweet from
the candles lit by tourists and pious locals. These candles were different from the average church candle
though. On every glass candleholder
the words “We will remember” and “For peace” were engraved above and below a
red flower. Metaphorical flags
like these words popped up everywhere in that region of France reminding you of
the single date that defined the beaches of Normandy. The cathedral itself had a lot of offerings and tokens in
honor of the soldiers who fought.
Crucified Jesus hung at the center of the cathedral’s attention with the
candles’ smoke and people’s prayers wafting to Him. And the way His sculpted face angled towards the ground made
you think He was remembering them too.
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