We boarded our train to Caen at 9am from Paris, which got us into Caen around 11am. Once we arrived we picked up our rental car and started on a new adventure in itself, driving in Europe!!! Pat and I were a bit stressed to say the least trying to get out of the city and read street signs in French, but surprisingly enough, we ended up on the right road and headed toward Bayeux.
Our chateau was located about 10 kms outside of Bayeux and was definitely nestled away in the French countryside. The chateau was amazing and was filled with every French antique you could every want to see. We quickly checked in and then headed to the D-Day Beaches. It was an overcast and rainy day but considering what we were looking at and learning about it seemed only right the weather be depressing.
We began on the cliffs above Arromanches and Gold Beach. The beaches here still have all of the beached military boats and it was haunting to see the actual boats. After seeing Saving Private Ryan and the horrific scenes as they approached the beaches, it was hard to see the actual boats hundreds were killed in. We then walked through Port-Winston and bought a bottle of Pear Cider, one of the things this region is famous for.
Our next stop was the American Cemetery and Omaha beach. The Cemetery was difficult to walk through, especially with all of the graves for soldiers that could not be identified. The cemetery is set on a cliff above Omaha beach and is really a beautiful resting place for the thousands buried there.
Our final stop was at Pointe du Hoc. This was the famous site where the naval ships bombed the Germans and the Army Rangers scaled the cliffs to eventually defeat the Germans and disarm them. This was by far the most amazing section of Normandy to us. Pat and I both said that at times you could actually feel a presence there, considering all the blood that was spilt on the hill it would not be surprising it something may still linger there.
After an emotional day we decided to wind down and walk the grounds around the chateau and drink pear cider at a gazebo on the property before heading to dinner.
We headed to Bayeux for dinner to try some "Norman" dishes. Unfortunately I cannot say I was very impressed :(. I liked the wine though :).
Heading back to the train station early in the morning we said goodbye to Normandy.
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