Normandy, France

When our friends, Marilyn and Larry Fox were here visiting us in June, we took a side trip from London to Normandy, France.  This is something Rex and I had been wanting to do so we were happy that the Foxes wanted to go, too.  We hopped aboard the EuroStar at some ridiculously early hour of the morning and headed for Paris, where we had to switch train stations to catch a local train to Bayeux.  I planned what I thought was plenty of time in between but I didn't count on it pouring down rain in Paris when we arrived and therefore the taxi queue was a mile long!  So, we raced after our fearless leader, Rex, through the bowels of Paris on their underground (the Metro) - not an easy task as anyone knows that has "walked" with Rex!  We were quite a sight, running around hauling our bags behind us, trying to figure out how to get to the other station in record time.  Poor Larry was recovering from a sprained ankle but was a trooper all the same - nary a complaint out of him!

 We made it to the train in time, had an uneventful train trip and checked into a charming hotel aptly named the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux.  The owner and staff of the hotel were extremely welcoming and helpful and the rooms were clean and comfortable.  The cozy common rooms of the hotel were adorned with WWII memorabilia and photographs.

The beautiful town of Bayeux itself has a lot of history.  It was occupied by the Germans in 1940 and was the first town liberated by the Allies a day after D-Day, June 7, 1944.  Even though Bayeux is a short distance from the D-Day invasion beaches, thankfully it was spared bombardment.  Now, it's just a quaint, sleepy little village with cobblestone streets and 17th century timbered houses.

Part of the enjoyment of travel for us is the FOOD!  It's still hard for us to adjust to the late-evening eating hours of Europe.  This little restaurant would be packed with customers at 10 or 11 at night.  The upside is that we can almost ALWAYS get a reservation at 7:00 or 8:00.  The downside is that we're eating alone!

Fois gras, anyone?

 And, in typical French fashion, the gastronomic feasts we had were delicious and beautifully presented - just like my cooking at home! (ha ha)

The town of Bayeux is also the home of the famous Bayeux Tapestry, which is housed in this museum.  Technically, it's not actually tapestry but a 1.6' x 224.3' long embroidered cloth which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in the 11th century.  No one knows knows it's exact origins but they believe it was commissioned to be made in the 1070's.  In other words, it's really, really old!

  Here is a picture of just a small piece of it (not my photo since we couldn't take pictures in the museum).  If you're interested in learning more about it, there are lots of websites that tell about it in detail, including this one:  www.middle-ages.org.uk/bayeux-tapestry.htm

This gargoyle on the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux), would be enough to put the fear of God in me!

Sainte-Mere-Eglise Church is in the village of none other than Sainte-Mere-Eglise!  This picture depicts a famous incident involving paratrooper John Steele, whose parachute was caught on the spire of the church.  He hung there for several hours watching the fighting below and hoping the Germans would think he was dead BUT he didn't fool them and they took him prisoner.  He escaped later and rejoined his division.  Red Buttons portrayed John Steele in the movie, The Longest Day.  I must rent this sometime - have you seen it?

Our Kansas flag flies proudly at the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mere-Eglise.

Rex in front of a C-47 (sounds like I know a lot about aircraft, doesn't it?!)

The Airborne Museum was so interesting and definitely worth the stop.  

On to the Normandy landing beaches.  The picture above shows a once flat pasture now riddled with bumps and cracks where it was bombed.

A Nazi bunker.

A beautiful war memorial to the United States Navy.

Put on your readers to read this - it's a beautiful tribute.

Another fascinating war memorial on Omaha Beach.  The sides of this sculpture are meant to represent waves and the middle, the soldiers.  I thought this was so neat.

Rex, Charene, Lucie (our most-excellent tour guide!), Marilyn and Larry Fox.  

Utah Beach - another significant beach in the history of D-Day.

The two pictures above were taken at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.  The 172-acre cemetery is aptly placed on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach honoring American soldiers who died in Europe during World War II.  There are 9387 white crosses and Stars of David.  Of course, not all soldiers who died overseas are buried in the American military cemeteries.  After the bloodshed and it came time for burial, the families of those who died were given a choice as to what they wanted done with the remains:  they could have their loved ones repatriated to the U.S. for burial or they could have them interred at the closest overseas cemetery, like this one in Normandy. 

Coming here was an unforgettable and moving experience.  I learned so much and there was a real sense of awe, humility and reverence at the cemetery, the museums and the landing beaches.  You could spend a whole day at the museum located on the grounds of the cemetery but we only had a short time.  In it were photographs, letters, videos and many other memorabilia from a horrible but fascinating time in American history.  It was all so well done and made me feel very proud to be an American.

The next day we drove to Mont St. Michel, which has been called "the Wonder of the Western World."  It's located about a mile and a half off France's north-western coast.  It was originally built as an oratory in the 8th century but by the 10th century, it had been rebuilt as an abbey.  After a fire in the 13th century, it was again rebuilt in the Gothic style.

This wooden treadmill was used to haul good and supplies up to the top.

The Abbey is  technically located on a granite island that is linked to the mainland by a causeway that was built in 1877.  It felt like we were surrounded by sand as the tide was out when we were there.

It was quite a hike getting to the top.  The architecture of the Abbey was determined by the fact that it's built on top of a granite rock.

That's it for this trip.  See more of our adventures in London with our fellow K-Stater's in another blog.