A day of rest

Sundays are traditionally days of rest across Europe and in France they remain so. Today, hardly a car went past and there was no sign of life on our street until after midday. No-one was spotted washing their car or carrying-out DIY.

This is the third Sunday I’ve spent in Caen over the past year, and what the caennias seem to do is visit the market in the morning and then have a leisurely lunch at home.

The market is huge – the biggest in the region – and is based around the port in the centre of the town. The stalls are similar to those at our local Friday market, but just more of them. There are also more stalls with cooked food – roast chickens, paella, couscous, tartiflette and Asian and African dishes.

We had pencilled-in going to the market yesterday, but decided on another restful day at home – we had enough food to cook, although Becky went to the boulangerie for bread.

I’m sure we will discover other typical Sunday pastimes, like going to the cinema, the beach or a museum. However, it’s nice to feel under no social pressure to go out and be busy on a Sunday.

The only sound to break the Sunday silence are the local bells. One set is definitely from the famous church of St Etienne at the end of our road. The Abbatiale Saint-Etienne is where Guillaume-le-Conquérant (or William I of England) was buried and we definitely need to pay a visit.

We’re not quite sure where the other set of bells are – there are several other churches nearby – but both ring on the hour from 8am to 8pm and Saint-Etienne each half hour. We really noticed them to begin with, but now they are becoming just normal background noise – a good sign that we’re settling in.