Caën

Pronounced 'ken' in case you were worried about the diacritical, (though its use seems to have fallen out of favour nowadays,) was one of the first ventures by the UK into the European Union. Alas, unsuccessful thanks to those perfidious froggies as ever.
Not many people are aware that the bastard William, he who wrested the crown from the Anglo-Saxon monarchs in 1066, had a bit of a problem with the incumbent pope. The old pontiff, ever seeking a pressure point on his Royal rivals, refused to sanction the Dukes marriage with his 8th cousin twice removed (or something like that,) on the grounds of co-sanguinity. Well, Willie tumbled the ruse and countered with an offer too good too refuse: two monasteries, one for males and the other for females, and two abbey churches to be built and endowed.
+ And here is the male one, now taken over by the council chambers buttressing the church.
+ The nave.
+ With an interesting and rather devine wooden carving - underneath a choir stall seat lest it distract the brothers from their devine office.
+ Why a boat? I have no idea.
+The small city has a few old houses in a couple of streets but is really a modern, working place with parking meters everywhere - usually pay by phone only! Not a very inviting place and well worth by-passing.
+ The old castle, that which seeded the town, was knocked down during the revolution and has been ransacked for building materials since then. Archaeologists are having fun working out what went were, and the town tourist officers are busy trying to make it something worth stopping over for. Hence these statues. Familiar? Can't help thinking of a Snark - sure I've seen engravings of them.Läs mer