Lisieux - A Day Out By Train

Here we go again using that little known Ozer mode of transport - the train.

After spotting the Basilica - Sanctuaire Sainte-Thérèse de Lisieux on the way from Paris to Caen we decided to visit Lisieux. A fast 30 min run for a short 8 euros got us to the bottom of the hill where the basilica is situated. A steepish walk and there we were. The first comment was, "It's huge!" The basilica began in 1929 and consecration was in 1954. Since a mass was in full swing we took the time to sit and get our breaths while looking at the interior. God bothering finished we wandered around including the crypt.

Wandering down into the village brought us to the Cathedral of S. Pierre which was awash with post first-communionites and their doting families. I bet some of the lads will cringe when they are in their teens and mother shows the photos to the girlfriend ... The cathedral, to me, seemed to have a more pleasing atmosphere than the basilica; less McDonnald's wizz-bang, more reverently quiet; maybe because it dates from the 12th and 13th centuries.

Up to this time the rain had relented so we thought we'd quite while we were dry. We stopped to buy a couple of filled baguettes and legged it back to to rail station just in time to catch the train back to Caen - and more rain.