Normandy

Sometimes, while driving through Normandy, the road dips below the level of the hedgerow, and the trees reach their branches together high overhead to form a tunnel of dappled shadow. Even on a bright day, the effect is startling—ominous and beckoning all at once. This play of light and dark is echoed throughout the region. It’s not uncommon for the sky to be bright blue on one side of a hilltop while dark clouds streak rain on the other. In a single morning, the sea can vary from almost tropical to foreboding, steely black-green. Even the architecture has this dark-and-light theme: Normandy is famous for its colombage, half-timbered construction, which alternates dark wood with patches of light plaster.