“We should go to Caen,” Vivian said. So we went.

I had originally planned on staying in Caen during our time in Normandy, but Vivian was insistent that Bayeux was the better choice. She was right. So I was a bit surprised at her suggestion (which may not have been a suggestion, it didn’t seem open to debate). I had thought we would wander through Bayeux for a last morning before catching our train for Paris. But Caen was on the way, and Vivian wanted to go.

Once we got there she was quick to pronounce Caen as “useless and ugly.” I think that may have been coloured by the discovery that there were no lockers at the Caen train station in which we could store our belongings. Such lockers used to be found everywhere, but in this day and age of heightened security the authorities look askance on places people can leave large packages unattended. Such lockers are unlikely to explode, but an increased awareness of terrorism means that the lockers have disappeared, just in case. I understand completely and appreciate the concern for my safety, though the absence of lockers meant the 30-40 minute walk to see Caen Castle was done while wearing our backpacks. They were only about 15 kilos each, but it still wasn’t the most pleasant walk.

Caen Castle is one of Caen’s major attractions, built by William the Conqueror almost a thousand years ago. He is also buried in Caen, though not in the castle complex. We didn’t get to the church where his tomb is located, mostly because we were wearing those backpacks and weren’t sure how long the walk would take.

The castle includes a couple of museums, a church, an art gallery, a restaurant and some great views of the town, which like Ypres was pretty much destroyed during the Second World War. I may write a bit about the castle at some point, but today we are focussing on the horses, because there were a lot of them on the castle grounds. Not real horses, public art.

My hometown, Ottawa, has an annual tulip festival. (There’s a reason involving the Dutch royal family and the Second World War, you can look it up here if you are really interested). About a decade ago, to promote the festival, they introduced a number of giant tulips, about a metre high, that were decorated and painted by local artists. Those tulips come out for the festival each spring, planted at different locations just like the real flowers, and some have been sold in fundraisers.

I wonder if the horses are the same idea for Caen. I didn’t see any explanation, nor did a quick online search tell me anything. We didn’t travel to enough of the city to know if the herd extended beyond the castle walls.

Certainly the horses provided a bit of colour on a somewhat grey day. The old cliché goes “I may not know what good art is, but I know what I like.” I like to think I have a pretty good grasp of art – I can understand the significance of a piece even if it is not to my personal taste. I know what good art is. I liked the horses of Caen, but I wouldn’t want one to display in my living room.