The Caen Exchange Visit June 16-19 2023

 This blog page is a brief post about the visit to Caen in June 2023. 

Some images can be seen on this page, but more can be viewed in the photo album gallery here. 

Early morning on Friday 16th June a small group of people from the Friends of Portsmouth Twinning Group joined me on our first exchange visit to Caen since Covid and the first with more than a few participants for quite some time. 


We will have a return visit from Caen in June of 2024. 


We left on the 8:15 ferry arriving in Ouistreham at 15:00 where we were met by the hosts who took us off to to our respectives homes for the weekend. 

At 17:00 we were given a tour of the Caen City Hall and the Abbaye aux Hommes, where we were just able to see the tomb of William The Conqueror, where the remains after a raid in the middle ages of William (his left femur) are laid to rest.

Evening was a gathering at one of the host's homes in Caen where we were able to sit in the garden and enjoy the gathering there with typical French hospitality. 

Saturday we had a gathering for lunch in Creully where we had lunch in a very rustic traditional restaurant followed by a solemn visit at the British Memorial to the battle for Normandy and D-Day at Ver-Sur-Mer which had opened during the Covid Travel Restrictions.


Saturday evening, we were having dinner with our hosts. I was taken into Caen where I went to what is becoming somewhere I often go now to 'La Buona Tavola' where, like in many Pizzerias in France, you can get an egg on your pizza!! (An absolute must for me!). 


Sunday a visit to Deauville and Les Franciscaines, where as a large group we were able to have a bottomless brunch à la française in their diner. Sadly our guided walk of beautiful Deauville was somewhat spoiled by the Norman weather - I learned "il pleut des hallebards" as a new phrase for 'It's tipping down' in French. Literal translation is 'it's raining halberds' an ancient weapon of choice by some. 



Sunday evening the weather perked up a little and we all went to another host's home for a barbecue. 





Monday morning we were all invited to go to a member of the group's home in Ouistreham near the beach for morning apéritif and then on the La Moulerie restaurant for lunch before returning on the 16:30 ferry to Portsmouth.



A very successful weekend that everyone, from all feedback received, was thoroughly happy with. 





 





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