Dancing Macabre At The Chapel In Kermaria-An-Iskuit

Kermaria-an-Iskuit's chapel had its origins in the 13th century, with an assortment of additions in subsequent centuries, creating a sort of L-shaped church, with Gothic accents here and there. Its most famous feature is the 15th century Danse Macabre painted in fresco on its interior walls. The Danse Macabre--corpses leading the living in a dance toward death--is a well-known scene but not something one often sees. It is a reminder that in death we are all equal, no matter our station in life. (Really of little comfort, if you ask me). Kermaria's is an early example. Some of the people first viewing it might well have had at least indirect memories of the Black Death of the mid-14th century, and its numerous after-shocks, when a third of Europe died. ("My uncle Francois said the Black Death really sucked'). But there was much else in this old chapel to admire and appreciate.

The chapel at Kernaria-an-Iskuit

The porch

Polychrome sculptures on the porch

Other side; like everything here, very old-looking

Weathered gargoyle

Inside, part of the Danse Macabre

Other side

Key to the players, their various roles, occupations...

Locations of other Danses Macabres in Europe

Interior figure

Just one funny face

Said to be a 12th century Mary and Child

OK, another funny face

Barrel vaulting

Staircase to...

Skull box; what? your church doesn't have a skull box?

Old-looking stuff all over

The vaulting cross-beams all had these toothy supports

Fascinating place

Fort La Latte

Further down the coast was another cape, Cape Frehal, and before it, the 14th-16th century Fort La Latte, where I'd hope to get a decent cup of coffee.

A menhir, on the hike from the carpark down to
the fort

Fort La Latte

Looking back east

A really gusty day...you can see the wind on the water below

These people were feeling it

Hiking toward Cape Frehal

And another look at Latte; there was no no Starbucks, so we
proceeded on

Allee Couverte #2

So we were driving along somewhere between Cancale and Cape Frehal, and there was a sign that said "Allee Couverte" and we made an impromptu U-turn and found a place in the miniscule parking lot. We need to get a bumper sticker that says, in French, "this vehicle stops for megaliths." (Also cathedrals, museums, battlefields, scenic wonders, but that's probably a bit much). Actually, it was not a wonderful allee courverte, in need of some trimming, but still well worth the stop. If not the aftermath.

The sign; we never identified it further

Kind of tumbled-down, but recognizable

Thus

And thus

Running the length of the overgrowth, perhaps 60 feet; did I
mentioned the berries and plums on the hike in?

Some miles down the road, a fixer-upper chateau; we also stop
for those

Cancale, 2015

An all-day rain, and wind, abbreviated our stay in old friend Cancale, but I got out our first night there for a few pix. We've always stopped at Cancale, often camped and eaten there.

The church, town square; we didn't even know
there was a town until stopping in 2009; we'd
always stuck to the harbor; and the restaurants;
and thought that was it

A bit of the harbor, low tide

Ditto

Le Narval, a favorite place

Part of the restaurant row along the harbor front

Oyster farms

Thus; one would often see pick-up trucks out there, harvesting,
rotating...

Neat place...but then the weather turned ugly

Mont St. Michel

We've visited before, more than once, but wanted a drive-by, especially to see how the new access is working...

From land

The new bridge...pedestrians, navettes, etc.

Just about all the windmills on the polder have been converted to residences...
nice ones too, with ready access to all the oysters one might want

La Place Patton At Avranches

Perhaps among the greater ruses in military history was the Allies' use of the disgraced general George Patton in the UK in early 1944. Knowing of the Germans' regard for Patton, Eisenhower and his team built a phony army around Patton, flooded the airwaves with its transmissions, and persuaded Hitler, if not his staff, that the Allied invasion of France would come at the Pas de Calais. In July of 1944, while the American armies were still stuck in the Normandy bocage, Patton was given command of the US Third Army at Avranches. After the carpet bombing of St. Lo, Third Army broke out and swept across France and into Germany--something the inventors of blitzkrieg could barely imagine--hindered only by Allied politics, liberating town after town, city after city, all the way to Berchtesgaden and beyond. OK, everyone has seen the movie Patton.  I have too; and read War As I Knew It, long ago. At Avranches is the Patton monument, something else I wanted to see.

La Place Patton in Avranches

Interesting

Bust of Patton in his tanker's helmet

Another Sherman M-4, the tank Patton's armies used; the US
Army's  next generation of tank, throughout the Cold War era, was 
the Patton tank

In a dozen points like this, radiating from the central monument, are listed 
the major towns and cities liberated by Third Army: Dinan, St. Malo, Lorient 
(the major German submarine base), St. Nazaire, Nantes, Dinan, Laval, 
Le Mans, Alencon, Dreux, Mantes, Rennes, Saint-Brieuc, Quincamp, 
Morlaix, Brest,  Falaise, Paris, Orleans, Sens, Troyes, Saint-Dizier, Nancy, 
Angers, Chartres, Reims, Verdun, Metz, Baccarat, Strasbourg, Berchtesgaden; 
and not to forget the rescue at Bastogne

A hotel, and only two stars; but the movie was unforgettable, 
creating an American icon

Granville And Pointe Du Roc

We camped at Granville's downtown aire--in a beautiful park just down from the main drag--and then next morning drove out to Pointe du Roc, the end of the peninsula on which Granville is set. (There is an aire there, too, very popular). All this July 24-25.

Encampment in Granville

Pond in the park; there was a petting zoo beyond the pond

Oddly, way west on the Cotentin Peninsula, Granville and
Pointe du Roc had one of the largest concentrations of gun
enplacements and casemates and such we have seen; converting
it to a historical exhibit of sorts, which I think is good; in most
places they are simply ignored

Thus

And thus; the 105mm (4 inch) guns were no match for naval
artillery; the Germans in this part of France were cut off very
quickly in the Normandy campaign

Lighthouse/semaphore (nautical operations)

Looking out to more Channel Islands

And Cancale and Pointe Grouin across the bay

Pretty place