Normandy and Paris - Fall Break 2012, Part I

  One of the many things I do here (besides lots of laundry that takes an inordinate amount of time - although it is really clean) is plan our travel. (We are trying to take advantage of our time here!) I completely understand now why travel agents make their money.  It is a big job to plan and book a trip that will please everyone and fit the budget.  Particularly when you have 3 boys, one who hates to travel and one who is a bit too young to appreciate fully the history around him.  I have to say, however, that I was talked into Normandy as our choice for this trip (and PARIS!) by all the expats around here who had been.  Even a mom of 3 girls said it was one of their favorite trips, and I would not have expected 3 girls to enjoy WWII history, etc.  

So once we decided, I booked our places to stay, our tours, etc. and tried to figure out how to pack our car for a full week of driving and traveling.  (Normandy is about a 7 hour drive from us, Paris around 4-5 hours.)

After the 7 hours, and about 40 euros worth of tolls (no kidding!), we arrived in Normandy.  And after the initial recovery of all that driving, I have to say...we LOVED it.  The boys still say it is their favorite trip we have done yet.  And that includes choices between Rome, Paris, Bruges, Amsterdam, Germany and a Centre Parc! 

We began in Bayeux where we met our tour guide for our 1/2 day tour of Omaha Beach and the American cemetery as well as Pointe du Hoc.

The boys at the German gun battery on the Normandy coastline.

Our family on Omaha Beach - look how big the beach is at low tide.  This is when the Americans came ashore and this is why so many of them died...but also why it was so successful.  A paradox, to be sure.

  I can highly recommend the movie The Longest Day about the D-Day invasion  - the storming of the beaches, the paratroopers invasion, etc. It is very well done, rated G (the whole family watched it) and available on Netflix. There is of course violence, and people die. But it is done where our youngest was able to handle it and we were able to talk about it. It really connected with the boys (after the first 45 minutes - a lot of German and English speakers talking about the plans), and they understand a LOT about D-Day now and even WWII.

The American cemetery - it is very large, we did not have time to explore all of it. It is in a beautiful location on the cliffs of Normandy overlooking Omaha Beach.

This is a crater left by one of the Allied bombs at Pointe du Hoc - this is where the soldiers literally climbed the cliff with their bare hands and a knife.

Walking to the memorial at Pointe du Hoc and playing in the craters.  The memorial is a knife sticking in the ground - to remember how the soldiers climbed the cliff.

Pointe du Hoc memorial

Boys at Pointe du Hoc

Gold Beach  - the cliffs into the water are stunningly beautiful, but also filled with reminders from the war.

On Gold Beach with the cliffs of Normandy in the background.

 That first day was a great introduction to Normandy.  The next day we went into the town of Bayeux and explored a bit on our own, including the Bayeux Tapestry. The boys actually really enjoyed this bit of history that ended with the famous Battle of Hastings of 1066. The tapestry is actually quite gory and graphic (heads and arms cut off with blood in places) and had several nasty stories to tell. We listened to audio guides and because we had a big family, we got the family discount - 10 euros for all of us to see it and have audio guides for adults and children. Only took about 1 1/2 hours and was totally worth our time. We also went to the Arromanches 360 degree museum at Gold Beach. It had real news footage from WWII and some re-enactments in a 360 theater (like Canada at Epcot!) That actually brought me to tears in the 15 minute movie because it was violent and sad. But through all of this we had great discussions about the war, why it happened, why Americans were involved and right and wrong. 

The next day, we decided to go ahead and do the 2 hour drive to Mont Saint-Michel. We debated doing it truthfully right up to the last minute. We are SOOOOO glad we went. We all LOVED it. Stuart was overwhelmed by the size, the history, the architecture, the secrets (it is a commune and since the 8th century AD a monastery). I have read about it in several fiction books and was also really taken by the narrow windy roads and the beauty from afar. The boys just loved the quicksand! We also got to squeeze in even more WWII history going by St. Mere Eglise, the first town liberated by the Allies during D-Day when the 82nd Airborne division landed here.

Watch the movie - you will understand this picture better. Let's just say this fooled the enemies!

Memorial to John Steele, the soldier who got caught here on the church when parachuting in - it actually saved his life and is depicted in "The Longest Day." 

This was the public toilet in town , just off the sidewalk. I don't know what to say about this.

Mont Saint-Michel in the distance. Under construction right now to get rid of the road and build a bridge so it can be surrounded by water again like it used to be.

Okay, I want to publish this tonight.  So this will be part I!  I will conclude tomorrow, or at a later date with the rest of Mont Saint-Michel and then PARIS in the next post, Fall Break part deux!!  But I will at least end with a picture -

More of Mont St-Michel to come!