I went to school in Caen in the early 70s. The city had been bombed flat by Montgomery in WWII but it was rebuilt ‘as original’. I didn’t realize it was new construction until I got to a church they’d kept ‘as destroyed’ as a remembrance. William the Bastard (eventually, ‘the Conqueror’) had his castle there. It was outer-walls-only, possibly shelled by Monty — which would explain why it seemed that everyone had a piece of it in their garden.

I 100% agree about the food. I think you missed Creme Fraiche (which, in spite of its name, is a cultured food) and local ‘farmer’s cheese’ (sort of a not-quite-mozarella served as desert). About the only regional dish I didn’t care for was tripe a la mode de Caen (taste was great, texture too rubbery for me). Living as a poor student, I ate a lot of rabbit, which I loved. And red table wine was a franc or two (back when exchange was five francs to the US dollar). A lot of people in Caen made their own cider, and everyone (even apartment dwellers) had a ‘cave’ in which they kept wine, and let cider ferment. This was back when there were still plenty of people who remembered liberation; I got invited home a few times when I responded “yes my dad was here” (big deal as Normans don’t typically have guests to their homes). Oh, and invariably, when people heard my American accent they would ask “Where is your guitar?”.

Also, Calvados is not distilled for two years, but aged for a minimum of two after distilling. Pretty sure that was just an editing error. It was common to find fruit — usually local cherries — preserved in Calvados. Even the fruit was too alcoholic for me (cheap date here).