June 24, 2011
Dear Family,
We had a lot to see today. Having already enjoyed the treasured omelette the previous evening, we were free to enjoy the buffet breakfast at the restaurant at our hotel, complete with the obligatory chocolate chaud and pastries.
The roads Normandy are narrow and windy but spectacularly beautiful as you pass the close by the stone fences and homes which appear again remnants of the middle ages, and the rolling countryside with small farms. Immediately outside of Mt. St. Michele we saw a herd of sheep being herded down the roadway, apparently to pasture right by the bay. Ryan was driving and says it was a blast to drive on the roads in Normandy, even in our little Peugot.
Our first stop of the day was Sainte-Mere Eglise, which was the first French town liberated from occupation forces on D-Day, early morning June 6, 1944. We enjoyed the airborne museum there and took far longer than the allotted 30 minutes on our schedule.
Next, we saw Utah beach. I was struck by the beauty and tranquility of the white sand beach under the sunshine and the clear water.
The Pointe du Hoc was our next destination. This was a German gun battery, high on cliffs above the beach, heavily fortified with six foot thick, steel reinforced walls on the bunkers, and deep craters from the allied shelling. The rangers took over the position on D-Day to spare the beaches from more heavy shelling. Of the 225 Rangers who started the mission, only 90 survived by the time re-enforcements came on day 3.
The American Cemetery and Omaha Beach was the highlight of the day for me. The rows, and rows, of crosses and stars of David were sobering. I had on my mind the haunting question from the end of a movie about WWII, asked by one who gave his life for another's freedom, "Are you worth it?" What touched me even more deeply though was the circular chapel in the middle of the cemetery, with the words inscribed around the top. "Dedicated to those who gave their lives that justice among nations might prevail and that mankind might enjoy freedom and inherit peace." And inside there was another quote that said something to the effect of "Remember not that they fell here but remember the nobility of their spirits.". On the ceiling was a mural depicting some dying men, and some fighting men, with guardian angels, and comforting angels flying all around.
From the cemetery we headed over to Arromanches and the Museum d'embarchement. We watched a fascinating video about how the allied forces made an artificial harbor in that area.
After a long drive back to the Paris airport we were able to catch a brief chat on Skype with the kids and with Ryan's mom prior to taking a taxi to our hotel ( it was late so we didn't want to brave the metro ). One thing I do not like about Paris is the number of people who appear to be trying to scam you in some way. At the airport, one man asked if we wanted a taxi, and then when we said yes, took us to the fifth floor of the parking garage and his unmarked car to give us a ride. No merci! Then, there was another man standing outside the bus we had been told would take us down to the Tour d'Eiffel, ( near our hotel ). He told us the bus wouldn't take us there and then, when the bus left without us offered to take us in his taxi for 55 Euros. No merci! We ended up sneaking out another door and walking outside to the real taxi place with a good, old-fashioned, taxi with the sign on the top, and paid less, and made it there alive.
After we arrived at our hotel, we walked over to "The Terrace" restaurant where I enjoyed brochettes of chicken with a citrus sauce and rice, a small pot of chocolate ( chocolate mousse with a thin chocolate crust on top ) called an mouelleux, and a small Madeleine ( cake ). We then walked a short distance over to the Eiffel Tower ( a very popular spot on a Friday night with loads of young people picnicking all along the Champ de Mars ) before we returned to our hotel at nearly 1 am. It was a long but quite successful day.
Sincerely yours, Michelle
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