Calvary

During our car trip through Brittany, we were driving down from some low mountains and out of a patch of rain when we hit the town of Pleyben and saw this. We immediately parked and walked back to take some pictures. (Please click.)

The dark sky made it look extra dramatic but it was pretty dramatic on its own.

We found out later that it was an excellent example of a parish close, a type of religious architecture unique to Brittany.

The sculptural part of the structure is a calvaire (Calvary) which depicts the crucifixion but also other scenes from Christ's life.

Although it was made in the 16th century it seems very medieval.

The Bretons are a Celtic people with their own language (although it's not widely spoken today) and their own religious traditions.

As we were photographing the calvaire the sky was lightening up.

The Mulberry Harbors

The first place that Madame Le Chef and I stayed at in Normandy was a five minute drive from the French seaside town of Arromanche. This town was one of two locations where the British established temporary harbors during the 1944 Normandy landings. The harbors were built in England and towed across the channel. They were called Mulberry Harbors. The other harbor was set up at Omaha Beach but was destroyed in an intense storm on June 19, 1944. The same storm damaged the Mulberry harbor at Arromanche but it was repaired and continued to function till it was no longer needed. Part of it is still there like an abstract monument to the war.

These pictures were taken on a rainy day.

Danger!

This is a replica of the road ways that ran between the larger supports. This is part of a small but very informative museum on the harbors.