Battle on the beach

We headed out on the road about 8am this morning to start our day covering sites linked to World War Two. It was cool, overcast and breezy today which was the total opposite of what we've experienced since we arrived last Saturday. We had a little bit of bus time before we arrived at the Omaha landing beaches. Some of us took time to gather a little sand or stick our feet in the water while others just contemplated the events that took place there in 1944.  After knocking the sand off our shoes, we headed to Pointe du Hoc, where the U.S. Rangers landed as part of the operations. We were able to walk between huge craters left from bombings and look out over the cliffs that just help us to realize and understand the difficulty of the task the Americans had to successfully take over that land from the Germans. Then we stopped at the American cemetery to pay our respects to 9,387 Americans buried there and to the 1,557 whose final resting places are unknown and whose names are inscribed in the Garden of the Missing.

Omaha Beach:

Pointe du Hoc: 

American Cemetery:

We then took a lunch break in Arromanches, where we able to see concrete blocks still out in the water as part of the artificial bridges or mulberries that the Allies used to get supplies from England to the troops - everything from tanks, gasoline, ammunition and food. 

After lunch, we drove to the Caen Peace Memorial and Museum to see artifacts and history from the eras before, during and after the Battle of Normandy, including a short film with footage from wartime.

Then we were able to make a stop in Honfleur, which was not on the original itinerary. We got to spend some free time exploring this cute little town on the mouth of the Seine. It is home to the oldest wooden church in Europe and the only wooden church in France. Then about 7:45, we headed off to our hotel for the night in Beuzeville. It's again kind of in the middle of nowhere so the kids are still bonding, playing games and hanging out. It's still light outside at 10pm so we are taking advantage of the long days.

Honfleur: its wooden church and its harbor