Walls in France: Normandy

To celebrate Bucky's 57th B-day, we decided to surprise him with a trip to visit the beaches of D-Day! We took the TGV from Avignon to Paris and then changed train stations in Paris (Gare de Lyon to Gare d'Austerlitz) to catch our train to Caen. Prior to departing, we bought the moving The Longest Day on i-tunes and downloaded it to various ipods, iphones and itouches so that we girls could get a lesson (Hollywood-style) on the history of June 6, 1944, and the events surrounding it. The movie kept the girls busy on the train and also prepared them for our visit.

We got a rental car at the train station in Caen and headed for the American Cemetery. First, we went through the new visitor center that is totally impressive with its display of history, memorabilia, movies and poignant reminders of the lives that were lost. We then headed outside and looked at Omaha Beach below, and could imagine the metal barriers that had been placed in the sand by Rommel to prevent the Allied boats from landing. We walked along the coast and into the depths of the cemetery that is the resting place for more than 9,000 Americans. Each grave is identified with a white marble marker of either a cross or a Star of David. Some of the markers are engraved with the information about the deceased, but many of the graves are of unknown soldiers and their headstones read, "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God."

After lots of discussion with the girls and much pondering on our own, we were lucky enough to witness a ceremony at the cemetery that included a retired American Army general and a retired French military leader. The French national anthem, the Marseillaise, played and was followed by the Star Spangled Banner. It was impressive to see fellow Americans with their hands over their hearts and tears in their eyes. The ceremony concluded with the playing of Taps so if you weren't crying already, that definitely got you going!

We then went to Omaha Beach for a couple of photos and then set out to find Point du Hoc. It is a cliff where about 225 Army Ranger Assault soldiers attacked, climbed and fought their way to the top of on D-Day. Only about 90 soldiers made it. The scene in the movie was intense, but it was nothing compared to seeing the battlefield in person. The land is marked by huge craters caused by bombing and the precipice that the soldiers scaled is frightenring. There is still barbed wire at the edge of the cliff. It was powerful to be there and imagine the courage that those soldiers must have had!

Sated with historical knowledge for the time being (and also tired and hungry!), we decided to head to Bayeux and check in at the bed and breakfast that I had reserved. Little did we know that we would be entering the Twilight Zone...we found the place without any problem and we entered; an older man asked if we had reservations and I said that we did. An older woman joined him and asked the same thing, so I showed her my email confirmation. Bucky started to get worried, but I was confident that all would be fine. After a few awkward moments with the elderly couple, their son arrived from upstairs. He proceeded to tell us that a family (two adults and their elderly parents) had arrived before us and he had given them our rooms! What?! He said that the elderly parents looked like they needed to rest so he decided to let that group take the two rooms that I had reserved for Bucky's birthday weekend in Normandy. I was flabbergasted, the girls moaned with hunger and exhaustion, and Bucky started to fume. The innkeeper didn't even apologize. It was tres bizarre (as Bucky likes to say)!! The son did say that he had called another bed and breakfast that he was familiar with and made arrangements for us to stay there for the night. He ushered us over to the other place, and we couldn't wait to get rid of the fruitcake who had totally shafted us, but he hung around for a while during our tour of our alternate accommodations. Ou new Chambres d'Hote, Les Glycines (13 rue aux coqs, 14400 Bayeux, 33 (0)2 31 22 52 32), was absolutley lovely. The couple who ran it, Annick et Louis Fauvel, were very gracious and welcoming and totally made up for the buffoon from the other place (which is Relais de la Tour Louise and some place you definitely SHOULD NOT stay when you travel to Bayeux.) We loved Les Glycines, the Fauvels and were very happy that we ended up there!

The next day, after a cozy breakfast, we headed out to the Tapestry Museum in Bayeux - a must see when in Normandy! The museum houses a 70-meter long embroidery from the 11th century that depicts the conquest of England, by William, the Duke of Normandy. The narrative that is part of the ticket price is totally informative and we all listened to each word. Very very cool. Another place that was high on Bucky's list of Normandy sites was Saint-Mer-Eglise, the first town liberated by the Allies in June 1944. We visited the church, and then wandered around the town. We ended up having a wonderful lunch at the Auberge Le John Steele, named for the soldier whose parachute got stuck on the church steeple during the invasion. After our superb meal, we followed Tomtom back to the train station in Caen to make our way back to Eygalieres. It was a quick trip to Normandy, but well worth it and a wonderful way to celebrate a true history buff's birthday!