Normandy

Today we visited the historical areas of the battle of Normandy. We first went back to Gold Beach to take another look as it was one of the five beaches that the 20000 vehicles and 135000 soldiers went ashore on June 6th 1944. You can also see remnants of Port Winston.

We then visited the Musee Du DeBarquement at Arromanches which is built at the same place as the British artificial port and overlooks some of the remains. The museum tells the story of the artificial port and has over 2000 items paying tribute to the soldiers from the different countries who took part in the landings. It has some fantastic models of the artificial port and it is just staggering the ambitiousness of the job they undertook to create Port Winston. I never realised how huge it all really was until I saw this and they also show a couple of short movies which tell the story really well.

We then went onto after lunch to the Batterie De Longues-Sur-Mer which was the only costal defence battery on the landing beaches. There is a command post and four bunkers each with 150mm guns. Noel was rapped and this is the only battery to have retained it's original guns. There is also an amazing panoramic view of the landing beaches.

We made our way to Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery Visitor Centre at Collesville-Sur-Mer which explains the significance and meaning of the Operation Overlord. It tells the story of the Allies, the French Resistance and the civilians. From the visitors centre you enter the cemetery where the 10944 american men and women are memorialised. To see over 9000 white crosses all alined perfectly is amazing and moving. While we where there they had a small service where they played the American anthem and the last post. The Americans had their hands on their hearts and ex service men saluted the rest of us stood quietly and respectfully. It was all very emotional as some had tears in their eyes, it really helps you understand the sacrifice made here for freedom.

We finished the day at the Bayeux tapisserie which dates back nearly a millennium. It tells the story of the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy. The tapestry is 43 meters long. You are given an audio guide which tells you the story as you walk along the tapestry which is quite good and explains the story and the pictures on the tapestry well. They also have some great models and displays and it's well worth the visit.

We went back to the B&B for a while and Jean-Pierre gave a tour of the property which Noel loved as he let him investigate lots of nooks and crannies he also told some more history of the property along with the story of his shed which was used as a chapel by the villagers as the village church was damaged after D-Day. The cross is now on loan and used by the church just down the road a short distance.

We went back to Bayeux for dinner and stroll around the streets. It is a very pretty town and the river running through the village makes it very picturesc especially the way the just built homes and shops right over the top of it all through the city. We run into another Aussie couple and have a bit of a chat and photo session before we head back to the B&B.

We are now up to day 21 of 45 so almost half way through our holiday. At the moment it seems Munich and Milan where weeks ago as we have done and seen so much. Kathy and Richard are on day 25 and sadly Kathy realised she will be going back to work in 3 weeks. Tomorrow we head to Brugge and some Belgium chocolate.