Normandy (D-day Trip)

Normandy (D-day trip)

Daniel decided we should make time for a run to Normandy and sort of D-Day appreciation trip.  Normandy is fairly close to Paris and we are near the end of our trip so we decided to get up early and just spend the the one night there.  Normandy is really only accessible by car so we rented a car for the day.  By the way, this would be the first time we have driven since getting here.  

They gave us a Ford ... not even a fun european model.  Oh and almost all the cars are stick shifts so no driving for me.  We later realized later I trusted his ability to not crash the car into something as much as he trusted me to successfully navigate us along.  Final out come we didn't get lost and we didn't wreck the car, a rousing success.

Our first stop was to the Caen Normandy Memorial Museum, the museum outlines everything leading up to WWII, through the war, and then after the war with special exhibit on the D-Day.  We spent over 4 hours there and didn't even make it to the the post WWII wing.  Actually not too many artifacts, much more explanation, film and photos.  It was really fascination and wonderfully informative.

There was an American Garden Waterfall Memorial we visited as part of the Museum.

The bottom of the fall had a plaque from every state and territory of the US in honor of the soliders lost in the war.

We stayed right on Omaha Beach.  It is  a quite beautiful beach but was surprising how long the beach is at low tide and must have been that day.

In the morning we when up to Point du Hoc to see the artillery postion that had to be taken out to protect Utah and Omaha Beach.  They removed all the debris but have left the structures letting nature overtake them again.

If it wasn't for the blown out bunkers it would be a wonderful place to take the family for a picnic.

We waked a bit more of beach.  As I mentioned it is a very wide beach and while it was cold day there were still families playing in the water and building sandcastles.  In addition to the children shivering in their bathing suits we saw a couple of elderly ladies walking the beach with what I assume to be her children remembering a father and a husband.

After the beach we walked the American Cemetery, it was surprisingly vast and seemed to stretch on and on.

While we read some names some stones were just inscribed as "Here rest in Honred Glory a Comrade in Arms Known but to God."   

We also stopped by the wall of the missing.

It was a bit of a somber trip but it felt like trip certainly worth taking.  Made me appreciate the men and women of that time and appreciate the men and women who continue to serve the country.