France: The Wrap Up

In total we were gone 10 days with 8 tour days and a full travel day on each end.   William missed 2 1/2 days of school.  While we were there he was asked to keep up with his daily online math and ELA assignments for the three days they had school (approximately 30 minutes of work per day).  I had hoped those three days would be relatively easy days heading into the break, but I think they were trying to cram a lot in instead. So it has been a lot of effort to get him caught up on what he missed.  We were all jet lagged/travel exhausted during this past week that we couldn't stay up super late, so he didn't do much extra besides his current day's homework.  And for the first few days we let him be in charge of putting together the list of what was due, and he didn't compile a complete list, so under estimated his workload and pacing.  I'm thinking this might be the end of pulling him out of school for travel.  It's just hard to find a good time when all three of us have 10 days off together in a row to do a trip like this!  

Couple of notes that didn't fit into any day:

Our guesthouse in Bayeux, Le Petit Matin, was a lovely B&B and a had a cat that we named Marcel.   We found out that his name was Chicago (!), but we decided we'd stick with Marcel.   William and I enjoyed catching up with him each morning during breakfast.  John never went to breakfast.  Whether it was his cat allergy, the fact he isn't a breakfast person, or a few minutes alone in the room, we never asked! Normandy is known for its soft cheeses, and there was a selection available a the table each morning.  We mostly stuck to the croissants and butter and jam instead of the stinky cheese! And coffee!  Finally a great cup of coffee each morning.   We also enjoyed chatting with the other guests - mostly American retirees on multiweek self-guided tours.   I don't remember how I happened upon this place besides internet searching for places walkable to the spots in Bayeux.   Of the rooms in the B&B, this one was big enough for them to add a roll away bed for William and a big bathroom with full shower.  

The guesthouse side yard.  These were the pictures from the bedroom and bathroom once we opened the shutters.   The front of the house overlooked Le Place de Gaulle park/square where a lot of people ran their dogs.

We walked a lot!    I'm embarrassed that I didn't snap the screenshot until the day after we got back.   Our biggest walk day was Versailles, because after we walked all day at Versailles, we missed our train stop and had to walk from a further station.

Exchange rate was favorable, so we lucked out there versus 2020.  And versus having prepaid many things.  One potential drama we avoided was the French refinery worker strike that caused petrol shortages.  On the return to the airport, there were lines at the exit ramps to get gas.  Luckily Mate' had filled the van's tank the day prior, and we weren't impacted, but he was calling his colleagues to provide updates.

Our flight was 8-9 hours each direction.  We did not have any travel delays or luggage issues thankfully (even though we packed most things in our carryon roller bags and were ready).   We all had over ear noise cancelling headphones - best investment ever - from engine noise if nothing else.   I listed to 16 hours of The Office Ladies podcasts.  Not sure what John or William watched/listened to/read.   We each just zoned into our own thing and tried to get through it.  :-)   I did intentionally pick our seats in the back of the plane for less walk thru traffic, since we didn't want to pay for the extra leg room seats in the front.    It ended up being fine....for being stuck in a set for 8+ hours....

We were adequately stockpiled with sweets and snacks including a couple of unusual candies from the vending machine at the airport that we bought before flying home.  The Doritos weren't very good.

France Day 8: Mont St. Michel

On our last day in Bayeux and in France, we had a day trip planned with Mate' to Mont St. Michel.  Since we would be gone most of the day, I wanted to go over before we left to see the cathedral.  William and I walked over around 8:45 a.m., and there was one woman standing outside the door.  We went up to pull on the door, and another woman came up behind up rattling the key on a hook and unlocked the door!   We looked around inside the beautiful cathedral as they turned on the lights and the sun was streaming in before walking the few blocks back to our guesthouse and meeting up with John and Mate' for the day.

The Bayeux Cathedral was built in the time of William the Conqueror and consecrated in 1077.   The windows are a combination of stained glass and plain glass. With the plain glass it lights up the inside of the cathedral more brightly.

The drive to Mont St. Michel was about 2 hours.  And then after we got there it was about a 45 minute wait for the tram to the abbey.   It was a beautiful, sunshiny day.   I had been there in high school, and it was one of my favorite stops.  I had a poster of it at night surrounded by water hanging on my wall for years. But back on the rock, I actually didn't remember many of the story details or views, so was really glad to get to tour again and listen to the audio tour throughout.   We were there at low tide so saw the wet sand and a lot of tourists out in it.  It was starting to come back in when we were leaving, and it was neat to see how it was following certain lines. 

The chain behind us was the conveyor down to the bottom of the abbey that was used to pull items up to the top.   The giant wheel behind us - operated by six men walking inside of it - is what propelled it.

When we got back to Bayeux, I wanted to get some pictures of the cathedral from across the field.  Instead we got to see a new calf.   It was a lovely idyllic scene to close out our time in France.

John and I walked around town a little before dinner, and I saw this little free library just like we have at home.  Bayeux's compact downtown area was very walkable and a neat look into small town Europe.   We saw more of Bayeux as we drove in/out to the various sites and it had more industry and spread around the edges of town.   Population is around 13,000, about the size of my hometown in Kansas.  

When we walked by the cathedral again, the 7 p.m. bells were chiming and it was really beautiful.   For dinner we had reservations (made via Facebook Messenger in a combination of French and English) at La Normande, the restaurant we weren't able to get into the first night without a reservation.....The food was so good!  My ice cream was coffee, vanilla and creme d'Isigny.   I have no idea what is creme d'Isigny, but it wasn't really ice cream, and it was the most delicious ever!  We also ordered an after dinner drink of calvados apple brandy, the local specialty.  I think this was the 20 year.  It was good!

France Day 7: Omaha Beach Sector

We started the Omaha Beach day at Pointe Du Hoc.   The biggest difference between the Omaha Beach sector and the Utah Beach sector was terrain.    While Utah was flat, Omaha was very rugged.   I didn't realize until this trip that the Normandy beaches were vacation resorts prior to German occupation.   Locals sent vacation photos to help scope the terrain.   The villas were razed but have been largely rebuilt in the last 70 years.  And much of the area behind the beachfront has returned to farmland.   

Pointe du Hoc had been bombarded from land and sea to take out the big guns, so the land is full of craters.   They're now overgrown and full of grasses and rocks.   While the bunkers didn't seem to be destroyed by direct hits, it seem to slow the installation of some of the guns under construction, and it caused the Germans to pull the five or six big guns back to the orchard where they were not in use on D-Day.   Rudder's Rangers who scaled the point with the aim of neutralizing those guns didn't know that dummy guns (wooden telephone poles) were in their place.  Of the 225 Rangers who invaded this key position between Omaha and Utah, only 90 were still fit for combat when the battle ended two days later.   

We then went on to some of the main access points for Omaha Beach which are far more touristy than Utah Beach.  You can also see here very clearly how the tides impacted the landing and why the weather pushed back D-Day an entire day and how the landings the day of were delayed, as well.   When we got to the first beach it was high tide so we did not go out onto the sand.  Over the course of several hours as we saw various sites and worked our way further down the beach the tide receded and we were able to go out onto the beach.  The sand was gold versus the lighter shades at Utah.  And here you could see all the pillboxes dug into the sides of the cliffs to fire onto the approaching boats/troops being unloaded on the beach.

Next was the American Cemetery.  There are 9,400 Americans buried there.  The wall of missing is also vast.  For remains that are later identified, a rosette is placed next to the name.  Some families choose to have the bodies repatriated and buried elsewhere.  

For lunch we went to Port au Bessin where I saw an entire shop of nautical striped shirts to match the one I'd packed unknowingly!   We also got a big bag of Normandy caramels in all sorts of flavors. 

Next up was Mulberry Harbor at Arromanches where an artificial harbor was constructed for Allied landing craft since the ports on either end of the Normandy beaches weren't under Allied control nor were they in good shape for use for another 4-6 months past D-Day.  The American port suffered severe damage in storms shortly after D-Day so the British one, nicknamed Port Winston (Churchill) was bolstered with the supplies for both.

At Longues-sur-Mer there were similar bunkers to Ponte du Hoc, but they had not been as heavily bombed so they were in excellent condition still and the guns were still in place.  William enjoyed exploring every single (virtually identical) one.

After a very long and heavy day, we decided on takeaway pizza at our guesthouse.  We had spotted this place the night prior.  Since we couldn't find a way to order online in advance, we just walked up to the window and ordered and waited.   The Bayeux Cathedral is there at the end of the street.   The primary savory ingredient in France in jambon (ham).   That was the meat on pizza, sandwiches, galettes, etc.  The chili oil was a new and wonderful discovery.