The elegant end of the shoemaker’s son, in Pennedepie

- April 23, 2026July 31, 2026

First published 2016/04/23 We didn't expect the vintage postcard of a church in a small Normandy village to reveal a story of great love, and even greater extravagance, but it did. If at the age of 22 you made a convenient marriage to a wealthy man of 52 it would be rather

The agonies of Monet’s 26th year

Art
Calvados

- March 17, 2026April 6, 2026

First published January 2015 Our Sainte-Adresse lighthouse postcard match took us to such a remarkable view point we thought Monet, once an occasional resident here, must have been inspired by the sun setting on this vast seascape. So we looked into his life at Sainte-Adresse only to find a shocking story. Behind 'The

Falling down the rabbit hole with Edith Piaf, in Bernay

- November 14, 2015September 24, 2016

The discovery that Edith Piaf spent part of her childhood in Bernay touched a vintage postcard of a street in an ordinary Normandy town with some much needed last century glamour. What we didn't expect was to fall into a rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland proportions. Our research left us

What to do when it rains in Normandy

- July 23, 2014September 20, 2017

It will happen, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but spend any amount of time in Normandy and you will eventually get rained on. A lot. Well you could... You can of course hole up in your apartment/gite/hotel room/tent, catch up on emails and post pics from sunnier days on Facebook to

“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy” in Granville

Manche
WW2

- May 10, 2014February 25, 2024

First published 10 May 2014 Granville 1924 “Tian, Tian,” whispers a serious little girl to herself as she runs across the soft lawns at Villa Les Rhumbs, her family’s summer home. When she nears the pink and grey house she stops to look up at an open window, smiling with the confidence

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