Taming The Monkey Mind: Viva La France!

What follows is an explanation and a link so you can see some of what we saw in France this May.

Omaha and Pointe Du Hoc

A visit shows you why this was so bloody. Troops landed at low tide, crossed huge tidal flats under undamaged German gun emplacements and had to climb cliffs up under full combat load.

Pictures are at http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/Bloody%20Omaha/

Utah and The American Airborne

The Utah beach and US Airborne museums are some of the best landing specific museums in the area. They are well preserved and well supported. You can also get some sense of what the troops along the Merderet River had to face. In some of the pictures you can see fields that were flooded when Airborne troops landed. Many drowned because they could not get out of their harnesses. Later, the flooding prevented infantry maneuver, leading to the failure to take the bridges on D-Day.

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/Utah%20and%20US%20Airborne/

British and Canadian Beaches

The British have some of the best preserved battle sites in the area. The battery at Merville and the British Mulberry harbor at Armonche are well preserved and easily viewed. At Juno you can get a clear illustration of the power of the tides at the landing beaches. Note in one picture how a fishing boat, moored at high tide, is completely out of the water at low tide.

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/British%20And%20Canadian%20Beaches/

Caen

A lovely city, basically flattened in 1944 and rebuilt. Make sure you see the castle of William the Conqueror and the le Memorial – the memorial to the battle and to peace for a great overview of the history of World War II

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/Caen/

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/William%20The%20Conquerors%20House/

Bayeux

An absolutely charming place. See the tapestry, of course, but wander the streets too. Pictures are here: http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/Bayeux/

Norman People and Sites

The Normans are wonderful. We had a great time. In particular, the visit to the farm of Mr. et Mme Lebrec was great. We were driving back from the invasion beaches and saw his sign advertising his home made Calvados and other apple products. We stopped in and had a wonderful chat, met his very cute 2 year old son and discovered he had both a monument to an American unit that landed in 1944 and a tower.

On Sunday, we discovered a farmers market in Caen, so we bought bread, and cheese and picnicked for lunch.

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/Norman%20People%20And%20Sights/

Haras Du Pin

It ain’t a vacation unless Norelee gets a horse fix.

Haras Du Pin was founded by Louis XIV to preserve and breed French Horses. The French Department of Agriculture now uses this and other sites to preserve French Equine bloodlines, such as the huge Norman draft horse, the Perchan.

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y147/givemejava/Haras%20Du%20Pin/

Le Mont Sainte Michel

In a word, stunning