This weekend, I went with my program to Normandy (and Brittany). Our trip was packed; in just two short days, we saw Bayeux and its' famous tapestry, Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer, the Point du Hoc, Le Mont St. Michel, and St. Malo. It must also be said that these locations are not necessarily very close to each other, so we also spent hours in busses and trains. Certainly a busy time!
Since I studied abroad in Brittany with the IU Honors Program in high school, I had already had the opportunity to visit each of the locations that we saw this weekend, and was excited to go back. Obviously, I did not remember every detail of each place, and I was still able to learn new facts and see things from different perspectives. Having already visited, I had the luxury of enjoying the activities without worrying about having to see everything there was to see without missing anything! Plus, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Bretagne (Brittany in French), so it was great to get to go back there!
Saturday, we left Paris on a train headed for Bayeux. The town is best known (let's face it, probably only known) for the famous Tapestry that it houses. The tapestry tells the story of William the Conquerer and is nearly 70 meters long! However, the town also boasts a flamboyant gothic cathedral, Notre Dame de Bayeux, that is quite impressive.
The visit to The American Cemetery and Memorial at Colleville-sur-Mer is something that I don't think should be missed by Americans if they have the opportunity to visit. I was very moved by the tranquility and the simple beauty of the memorial. Last time I visited on July 4, 2008. With the American band playing, and people walking through the cemetery laying a red carnation on every cross and a little stone on every Star of David, it was really a manifestation of how deeply people were affected by the war, and how it still touches people today.
This visit showed me a slightly different side of the memorial. I took time to see the visitor center, which is basically a little museum telling the story of D-Day. I had not done that before, and it made the memorial that much more impressive for me. Then, I took the time to walk all the way to the back of the cemetery (which is kind of the front, because all of the headstones face the West, which is away from the visitor center but looking towards home) and see the memorial from that perspective. I was particularly struck by the grave markers, like the one above, that simply said "Here Rests in Honored Glory A Comrade in Arms Known But to God." I was brought to tears by the thought that, unlike most of the families with a child or parent or sibling buried there, the families of those who could not be identified never even got to choose if their loved one would be buried in the land they fought to liberate or in the land they called home.
Fun Fact #18: The American Cemetery and Memorial were actually given to America by the French after the war so that they could build their monument. This means that we were technically in America Saturday, but more importantly, it means that the brave men who lost their lives on D-Day are buried in American Soil.
From the Cemetery, there is a path that leads down to Omaha Beach. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with not a cloud in the sky, and the beach is pristine. I found myself thinking about how different it must have looked on June 6, 1944. This picture looks down the beach towards the Pointe du Hoc, which is barely visible on the left in the distance.
Our next stop was the Point du Hoc, which was a German stronghold taken over by the U.S. Army Rangers early on D-Day to keep the weapons there from posing a threat to The Allied attacks on Omaha and Utah beaches. Unlike the Omaha Beach Memorial, this site remains largely unchanged. There are barracks and weapons storage buildings, wholly or largely destroyed in some cases, that remain on the site, and the current terrain, which the picture above shows as rocky and rugged, was created by arial bombs and grenades during the two-day fight there.
Leaving the Pointe du Hoc, we headed about 2 hours north in a bus to a small town near Mont St. Michel, where we spent the night in this adorable little hotel.
Early the next morning, we got up and headed to Mont St. Michel, a Monastery built on an island not far off the coast. In fact, when the tide is low, it is possible to reach the island by land. Today, you need a guide to do this, though, because the quicksand there can be dangerous. This building has been standing, despite modifications due to fire and other disasters, for nearly a thousand years!
Fun fact #19: Mont St. Michel was the only island never to be captured by the English in the 100 years war.
After Mont St. Michel, we headed to St. Malo, which is in Bretagne. This meant that we got to enjoy some of my favorite things about Bretagne-- the foods! I ate traditional Galettes for lunch and, for dessert, enjoyed a Kouign Amann, which is a traditional Breton pastry that is filled with butter and sugar and is absolutely delicious. They are the ones on the right side of the above photo.
After a delicious lunch, we walked along the ramparts of St. Malo, which is a walled city. It was a great day to enjoy the view of the English channel, though the water was not quite as inviting as it looked.
Hope everyone has a great week!
~SKS~
Glad you enjoyed your weekend, that the weather was great, and you took wonderful pictures for us!
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