We did not walk this track – despite the information on the map. I just wanted to show where we were in relation to Paris and our last stop of Argentan.

Our destination (Rugles), is only a few kilometres from our next house sitting assignment. As Rugles wasn’t all that far from Argentan, I convinced Mick we should make a day out of it and see a few ‘villages of character’ the local tourist guide mentioned.

First stop was Sées – a little town famous for its cathedral.

This Gothic cathedral dates from the 13th Century, and a plaque near the main front doors explained that it had been built on the site of four previous churches – all four of them burnt down – firstly from lightning and then by the Normans.

A third time, it was burnt down (accidentally) by the Bishop (during the 11th Century). He wanted to hunt looters out of the Church by smoking them out, but apparently he hadn’t thought that plan through. The Pope was not happy and ordered the Bishop to build a new Church. As he did not have sufficient funds, the Bishop had to go on a pilgrimage (unsure if that is a euphemism for taxing and taking money from the people – perhaps for indulgences like eating butter in Lent as for the Rouen Cathedral tower extension, although that strategy took place several hundred years later).  The Bishop died before the new church was finished in 1128.

Twenty years later though, it was burnt down again during the fight between King Louis VII and the Duke of Normandy.

The fifth cathedral (the one that is lucky to be still standing, and the one Mick and I visited), was also damaged during the Hundred Years War and then again when the Protestants attacked it during the war of religion.

Phew!

The Bishops were powerful and rich men back in the day and they often built beautiful palaces to remind others of that.

Mick and I visited the palaces gardens and this shot shows the Palace in close proximity to the Cathedral.

The little town of Sées looked very pretty with its tubs of flowers in all corners.

We enjoyed a coffee in Sées at one of the local bars before heading to the smaller village of Le Sap.

There is a museum in Le Sap that describes the history of making Calvados (mostly apple brandy, but sometimes also made from pears) in this part of France. But because it is now November, this museum, and many other attractions in the region are closed until spring next year.

By now it was time for lunch and Mick and I went to the local bar, the only place in the small village that was serving lunch. The front bar was full, and sadly we were seated in the back area of the restaurant where we were the only customers, and so the opportunity to engage and observe locals had to be forfeited.

But we did get lunch – which of course came with cider.

I had the plat du jour, and Mick chose the menu of the day (menu de jour for €13.50).

Mick started with a smoked fish salad, followed by braised beef (and spaghetti) for the main, followed by a cheese plate, and then a dessert (cream caramel) and coffee. A choice of wine, cider, beer or soft drink was included. A full bottle of cider was provided for Mick – he could have consumed it all, and maybe he would have if we weren’t meeting our next hosts, where of course we wanted to make a good impression.

A few hours later, after we arrived near Rugles, we wished we had eaten only a few crackers or a piece of fruit for lunch; our generous hosts had prepared a massive feast for us for dinner.

But, our desire to make a good first impression meant we said ‘yes’ to everything!!