Following in the Foot Steps of the Greatest Generation
When planning the trip to Paris, I knew that there was no way we were going to be that close to Normandy and not do a day trip to see the D-day beaches and WW II history.
Duane was in strong agreement with me so we quickly starting looking for the best way to tour Normandy and the main WW II historical sites.
We quickly found a great option for a tour with a private tour company called Overlord Tours and determined we would take the train from Paris to the city of Bayuex to meet our guide for the day. Besides the cool name of the tour company another great thing about them was the tours were kept to a pretty small size. The tour we chose to do had a limit of 8 people but it actually only ended up being the four of us and another couple from Florida.
I have to be honest and say that when our tour guide pulled up, I was a little worried about the quality of our tour because the person leading the tour looked to be about 20 years old. How could someone of that age be knowledgeable enough to share details on such an important part of history? I am happy to say that our tour guide, Sophie, did an unbelievable job! She had not only the facts down and could rattle off fact after fact, her stories were entertaining and educational at the same time. One of our favorite things about the tour was how she referred to the American Soldiers as "The Boys" through out the entire tour. It was very cute to hear in her French accident.
The tour was definitely the highlight of the vacation for me. I would love to go back and spend more time in Normandy.
Duane starts the day by purchasing his Carte (tickets) for the train. 
The train trip to Bayeux was easy and quick. 
With time to kill on the train it was a great time to brush up on my notes regarding Normandy from my Rick Steves' guide book.Omaha Beach
The first stop for the Normandy Tour was the Omaha Beaches. We pulled up to a small bluff that let us look out over the beach before getting out of van and walking the beach. Today the beach is such a quiet, peaceful place. Looking out over the beach, It is hard to imagine the chaos and bloodshed that took place on that fateful day, June 6th 1944.
Normandy American Cemetery
Perhaps the most breath stealing and goose bumpy part of the tour was the visit to the American Cemetery. We were actually on the tour the day after what would have been Memorial Day in the States. The Cemetery had special services and remembrances set out to honor the Memorial Day Holiday. Walking up to the entrance of the Cemetery were many flowers,banners, and more flowers. It was a very humbling experience to see how much the French still honored the fallen and appreciated the efforts of the American Soldiers.
The cemetery is 172.5 acres and is the final resting place for 9387 American service men and women.
The grave markers of those laid to rest here, were peaceful and beautiful in their symmetry. Very few had flowers, but all had gold filigree to show who laid there and what platoon/battalion they were from and what state.
The headstones of the fallen Jewish Soldiers are designed in the Star of David and many had at least one stone on top as is the custom with the Jewish faith. 
The somberness of the Cemetery was felt by everyone and there was a quiet calm felt as one walked past the rows of headstones. The most somber event was the playing of Taps over the loud speakers. They do this twice a day. I will admit, the sound of Taps playing throughout the quiet Cemetery produced more goose bumps if that was possible and tears. 
Continuing the Tour......
After spending some time at the Cemetery, it was time to continue on to the next point of our tour, Pointe Du Hoc. Before taking off, we took some time to get a picture of Duane and Jamie with the best tour guide ever, Sophie!
Tari and I took a moment to enjoy a break in the walking and to laugh at ourselves as we tried to wipe the tears with one shriveled up Kleenex between us. Note to all that plan on visiting the American Cemetery, bring Kleenex!
Our mode of transportation for the day, The Overlord Tour van.
The monument was actually a machine gun bunker that still had the machine gun inside.
Pointe Du Hoc
Pointe Du Hoc is located between Omaha and Utah Beaches and is a 100 ft cliff. Pointe Du Hoc is where the Rangers had to scale that 100 cliff in order to knock out the German's 155 mm cannons. The picture below does not do the sheer cliff justice to just how high it was and how rocky. As Sophie said that day "The Boys had quite the job ahead of them"
Jamie took a moment to look closer at one of the cannons. That of course was a perfect photo opportunity for me.
Sophie was very good at explaining the details of the battle and answering questions as we went from one site to another. Duane took some time to walk with her and get more specific details on the Rangers and their scaling of the rock cliff wall.
One of the bunkers left behind
Point du Hoc was almost like an area frozen in time. Along with Barbed Wire still up on fences, and bunkers scattered through out the landscape there were also very large sunken holes in the ground where bombs had landed during the war. The round cement bunker below actually was a rotating gun bunker that housed quite a few German Soldiers during the war. The 155 mm guns located in these concrete bunkers were able to hit either Omaha or Utah beach with ease.
Going into the bunker, you still see some of the rooms that the Germans called home along with the fire damage from bombings on the wood walls and ceilings The only sunlight would have come through the small sliding hatch that was big enough for a gun barrel and that was about it.
One had to walk carefully as the craters that were caused by the bombings were still very much as they were then, giant holes in the ground.Sainte Mere Englise - The town with the church and the paratrooper
The town of Sainte Mere Eglise is well known by WW II buffs as the town with the chruch where paratrooper John Steel hung by his parachute for 2 hours. Due to horrible weather conditions it was hard for the many airborne divisions to land where they had planned. Many had landed miles away from their planned dropped zones. For Mr. Steele he landed where he should except for the church steeple. As he was landing, his parachute snagged on the church steeple which caused him to dangle from the steeple for 2 hours. He pretended to be dead so the Germans would not pay attention to him. Unfortunately the Germans finally came for him and took him prisoner. Luckily for him he did not stay a captive long as was able to escape and join his division a few hours later. The story of John Steele became well known due to the movie The Longest Day.
A German counterattack was neutralized on June 7.
Sainte Mere Eglise is proud to be one of the first Norman towns liberated on D-Day
The inside of the church. Some how the stain glass survived the D-Day invasions.
A German counterattack was neutralized on June 7.
Sainte Mere Eglise is proud to be one of the first Norman towns liberated on D-Day
The down town area of Sainte Mere Eglise, I wish we would have had more time to spend wandering the streets here. There were many cute shops and restaurants to spend both time and money.
We stopped briefly here to see the paratrooper church and lunch. Lunch in Normandy is a little different than what Americans are used to. Omelettes are very popular for lunch, so all three of us order one. The omelette is not the same are used to in the states. They are lighter, fluffier and about twice the size that we are used to. One of the things Normandy is famous for is Calvados. Calvados is an apple brandy that is made in the region of Normandy. it is normally aged for two years in oak barrels. Most Calvados is very smooth almost like a Cognac. We ordered some as we completed our lunch. The server laughed at us when we ordered it. That should have been a clue. The local home made Calvados at our lunch spot was not going to be the same we had drank after dinner in Paris. This home made version was not quite as smooth and definitely had a high alcohol content.
La Fiere .......Germans, Marshes and Floods
The area of La Fiere was 6 kilometers from the town of Ste. Mere Eglise. and is a low land o marshes. The Germans were concerned (and rightfully so) that the Americans would try to use this area as a landing area. To hopefully stop that from happening, the Germans took time to flood it to try and make it inhabitable.
Unfortunately for the 82nd Airborne Division, the orders of General Gavin did change even if the land was flooded. The marshes of Meredet had to be guarded against German attacks as there were two strategic bridges in this area that was important to the defense of Sainte Mere Eglise.
Utah Beach
The day was quickly coming to an end, we spent part of the afternoon at Utah Beach.. Utah Beach was where the 4th Infantry Division had their successful landing. The group was lead in part by Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Utah is the furthest wet of the five beaches that make up the D-Day landings.
Unlike Omaha Beach Utah still had many artifacts from the war around to look at along with a museum to wander through if one was so inclined.
ANGOVILLE AU PLAIN....
The final stop of the day was Angoville Au Plain. This is a very, very small French village that is home to a 13th century church that two American medics turned into a hospital for 72 hours as the Normandy invasion was taking place. Bob Wright and Kenneth Moore treated over 80 German and American soldiers.The villagers were so thankful they honored the two men with a memorial outside the church. They have also installed a stained glass window to commemorate the events.
Train Time
After a wonderful day spent in Normandy it was time to take the train back to Paris. Even though many miles were walked and feet were tired, we were all smiles during the train ride. This is one tour I think we would all recommend and do again if given the opportunity.
Time to EAT!!!!
We had all worked up quite the appetite and were ready to try a restaurant that we actually had walked by on the way home from dinner a few nights prior. We did not know it at the time, but this place is actually in one of Rick Steve's guide books too.
Course 1 - The Entree
In America, the Entree course is normally the only course. That is not the case in France. Here is it actually what we would call the appetizer. in France that normally means a pate, foie gras, or a small salad.
Course 2 - Main Course
The main course in Paris is often a beef or chicken dish. Tari was actually able to order a fish dish which is unusual. I had a wonderful Beef Burgundy dish that came out in a cast iron crock.
Course 3
Mmmm... Dessert! Tari of course had to get the cheese plate. Duane got the creme brulee. Jamie stayed with what he knows... chocolate lava cake and I branched out to a pudding parfait.
With full bellies, this was one happy and contented group! Our server was the son of the owners and was happy to take our picture. He was also a huge fan of American sports and talked baseball and football with us once he saw Jamie's Atlanta Braves t-shirt. What was really funny was he was a HUGE Seattle Seahawk fan, so he spent quite a time talking to us about the team and previous games. For being in France, he was well versed on American Football and more specifically the Hawks.
This Calvados was much better than what we tried at lunch time!
I don't know why this little creamer had my attention as much as it did, but I really wanted to take it home with me!Go to 5/27/15
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