Back to Paris

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Normandy is a lovely part of France, rolling rural landscape with cows and horses, hay rolls and high hedge rows. The small villages reminded us of England. The rugged coast and unspoiled beaches look peaceful and it’s difficult to believe that they were the scene of the death of so many Americans and allied forces, French civilians as well as German soldiers during D Day June 6, 1944. The people and stories came alive for us after two full days of tours; every small village had a memorial erected by the French citizens of the village. Today we followed the combat course of the "Band of Brothers", part of the 101st Airborne Division". Many buildings showed damage. Bayeux, where we spent two nights, was one of the few villages that were spared air attack or ground attack. Bunkers and evidence of German occupation and fierce fighting by the allies were visible in many of the places we visited. One of the most moving sites was the American Cemetery. It is on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach 172 aces and over 9,000 graves marked by white crosses and stars of David.
We ate some memorable food but I must say that the local cider was not a hit with Bev; September was a great time to come, cool sunny days and free of the tourists that come to see the D Day sights and enjoy the beaches in the summer months. We are on the train traveling towards Paris to spend the night before we board Air France for the 11 hour flight to Johannesburg.

Bev and Ron