Day 12 - Normandy Beaches

We slept well last night in our hotel. Breakfast was in the cellar area that is beautifully renovated and bright. The food options were excellent with fresh croissants, breads, jams, cantaloupe, apricots (real and dried), cereals, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, ham and cheese. Rob thinks apricots are peaches since I made him try one and it tasted like a peach. 

Our all-day guided Normandy Beach tour meeting time was 9:30 in Bayeux, about 11km away. We used Viator - Normandy Sightseeing Tour company booked through Travelocity, I think. We got on the road and headed to the train station meeting point. Our guide, Olivier, arrived just five minutes later and took us to pick up other passengers in town. We had a 8-person van and were able to sit in front for the best views. 

Olivier had a fun sense of humor and spoke great English with a heavy French accent. We were able to understand him just fine (later we learned the older couple could not, and could not hear well either). Our tour group included two ladies from Georgia who work for Kimberly-Clark, a mother and college-age daughter from San Diego, and an older husband and wife also from California. Our group size was perfect and everyone was friendly. 

Olivier told us that the beaches are 55 miles long as the crow flies so it is not possible to stop at all of them in a day. 

Our first stop was the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise to visit the church. A replica of paratrooper Michael Steele hanging from the roof has been added to the church (he was actually on the backside of the church but that location isn't easily visible from the main road).

He was shot by a German but survived since another American soldier shot that German before he could get another shot off. He lived through the war and to an old age. The church was a gem. 

Two of the stain-glass windows were modified to include images of the paratroopers and their role in liberating the town.

 

After, we visited the museum in town. It had excellent exhibits, including a Waco glider that we could go inside and many artifacts.

A newer space had an immersive exhibit where we walked through a plane in flight at night with sounds and lights. 

The second stop was Utah beach, one of the American beaches. Olivier took us along some back roads so we could see what the hedge rows looked like 74 years ago. A fair bit taller than the hedge rows in England. Their height was significantly under estimated by the allies which caused all sorts of issues with the gliders landing in the various fields.

Olivier took us to the beach and drew in the sand to explain the geography of the area. 

We passed by a statue commemorating Major Richard Winters from Easy Company, 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101 Airborne Division. Maj. The quote from Maj. Winters on this memorial reads "Wars do not make me great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men". Winters and the roll of Easy Company during WWII is portrayed in the HBO mini series Band of Brothers.

We went to lunch at Cafe du Port in a village that begins with a G that we can’t remember.  Olivier reserved a table for us all at a restaurant in the marina area. We chatted with the other tour guests and talked about our trips. Many had come in from Paris for the day, others were on 3-week European vacations. Rob and I shared a ham and cheese sandwich with frites (fries). 

Back in our van, we rode over to Pointe Du Hoc, which is the famous site where the Rangers scaled the wall. The area had craters from the bombs and several bunkers, one of which we could walk through. We were surprised at how many rooms were in it. The scenery was spectacular. 

These "port holes" providing 360 degrees of observation and defense were an improvement to the bunkers recommended by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

After this we drove on back streets while Olivier told us more about the area’s history during the war and shared stories. He narrated the entire time and never got tired. Next we went to Omaha beach, which has a really wide shoreline and is 5 miles in length. The sand was soft here so a few people were out to enjoy it, just like any regular beach. 

After Omaha we went to the American Cemetery. These American locations are technically U.S. soil. The U.S. had to agree to not profit from nor have a military presence on the land. One does not have any immunity while on it though. The cemetery is on 179 acres. We saw the flag lowering ceremony at 5pm. We did not get a chance to go inside the visitor center which we are told can take a day in itself. 

 

At 5:30 he drove us back to Bayeux. We said our goodbyes and got out at the Bayeux cathedral to see inside. What a place! It was built from 1047 to 1477. The mix of Romanesque and Gothic styles work well together. The organ has over 2,400 pipes and was built and rebuilt many times over the centuries. We wished we could be there during a service to hear it. 

 The crypt is the oldest part of the church. You can see the more primitive artwork and romanesque architecture compared to the gothic style in the rest of the church. 

Around 6:20 the bells rang until 6:30. Amazing. We walked back to the train station to get our car, and drove back to our hotel. We walked back into Arromanches for dinner and found a nice place. We shared a bacon hamburger (excellent), fries and salad. For dessert, a chocolate sundae. 

Today was the most perfect weather at 70, sunny and breezy. We are told it had rained from winter until just two weeks ago. How could we be so lucky? Today was one of the top highlights of our trip. Tomorrow we drive along the coast up to Etretat.