Bayeaux is a small city about 17km from the Normandy coast. It is a beautiful place with narrow cobblestone streets. The homes are reminiscent of old France.
Bayeaux is a very old city, dating back to the 1st Century BC, known as Augustodurum when it was part of the Gallo-Roman Empire. The city became part of the Roman Empire in the 5th Century. It was later occupied by the Vikings from the 9th Century AD to about the 10th Century AD. It was liberated by the Normans in the 12th Century, and was under the rule of William the Conqueror’s half brother Odo, Earl of Kent, who was instrumental in the construction of Notre Dame Cathedral de Bayeux and dedicated the Cathedral in 1077. 
I can’t decide whether I like the black and white image of Notre Dame better, what do you think?
Bayeaux was then conquered by King Henry I of England after his father’s death in 1087 (Henry I was the son of William the Conqueror), and the city didn’t gain independence from England until 1450 by Charles VII of France. It then prospered and grew to the present day.
During World War II, Bayeaux was the first city of the Battle of Normandy to be liberated. On 16 June 1944, Charles de Gaulle made the first of two major speeches in which he made clear that France sided with the Allies.
The city was virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy, since the German forces were fully involved defending Caen from the Allies. The Bayeaux War Cemetery has the largest British cemetery dating to World War II in France.
On 5 June every year, at 1530 hrs (3:30pm for the rest of us), the Royal British Legion National attends a beating retreat ceremony at the cemetery.
On 6 June, at 1015 hrs (10:15am), there is a remembrance service in the Notre Dame Cathedral. This year, French President Emmanuel Macron and British PM Theresa May were in attendance. We happened to be there about an hour or two before their arrival, but we were unaware of this, so we left for Omaha Beach.
I think that soldier in the far right corner is giving me a strange look, trying to decide what I’m up to, I guess.
This soldier was in the right place at the right time, since he looks to be joining his counterparts behind him in the window, smelling the wonderful food.
Enjoy,
Kelly
Here lie thousands of our boys in solemn ground after giving their lives for freedom.
The saxaphone player on the left was jamming out some hot jazz, so we stopped there for a while to listen. It’s crazy how many people are in Times Square. It reminded me of the crowds in Zion Narrows.
Kelly Guymon Photography 