Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Day 11


 
Today was finishing off WWII!!!

 WE headed west again for about 25 miles to Utah Beach the final big beachhead that was part of the big invasion and was to be the most elaborate museum we have seen.  I drove today for the first time and the car is incredible…..it is a Peugeot 308 SI (I think) and it is HUGE in caparison to the normal European model.  But comfort is a theme.  It has all the modern conveniences.  Perfecto!!!!!!

WE drove to Utah Beach and it truly was the most elaborate.  The museum was absolutely awesome.  It was very large and truly covered all the branches of service involved…..Navy, Army, Air core, Medical care, Engineers……everyone, with vehicles, pictures, movies and even a plane.  IT WAS INCREDIBLE.   It is interesting that the Utah part was very successful and really assisted in the success of operation.

We also watched several movies which told even more details of the operation.  It was great.  Once done we traveled into the nearby town (no idea the name) and ate lunch and  walked around and came upon all kinds of small signs that told unheard of stories of what happened in that particular town during the invasion….it was really cool.   This was the area where the paratroopers landed and all kinds of situations occurred.  Some cool, some cruel.  We wanted to see the town where the famous paratrooper dropped and got caught other church steeple.  We found it and they ACTUALLY HAVE A REPRODUCTION OF THE PARATROOPER HANGING FROM THE CHURCH STEEPLE……cool.   WE walked the town and also read small signs that told unheard of stories of what happened.  It is sooooo cool that one could spend days traveling the area town to town researching the history.  But we had lots to do, so we were off to Bayeux to see the famous tapestries.  It was only a few miles away and we arrived and parked near the place, which happened to be right near the huge Notre Dame of Bayeux.  So we visited the tapestry museum which was really good. ….not at all what I expected.  It is a like 100 foot long tapestry that they made in 1060s to celebrate the victory of William the Conqueror over his brother at Hastings.  It was really interesting and quite informative.  After we walked over to the cathedral and went in…..it was really a nice example of ancient churches.  Back to the car and home……we got home around 5:30 and OOOOOH YEAAA….relaxed with wine, cheese and tonight a delicious hard sausage.  WE sat outside on our picnic table and really enjoyed this wonderful warm and sunny day end.  For dinner we had a wonderful salad with local veggies and chicken we bought cooked.  But dessert was a real treat.  We bought strawberries yesterday and with some cut up apples (from our back yard) and nectarines we enjoyed a wonderful local meal.  Now they are watching FRENCH TV while I type and off to bed soon.  NO ENGLISH TV HERE!!!

Tomorrow we are off to Mont St. Michel the famous monastery west of us.  We plan to stay overnight there so we will have to pack nights worth of clothes.  WE want to get the most out of it plus we have reservations to a 5 STAR restaurant on the water nearby…..for you Anthony Berdain fans, it was on one of his shows.  It will be a real treat to our trip. 

I must say now that we lost our internet about 30 minutes after it was restored and so now I am doing it on WORD and sending it later.  WE, I guess just gave up on it after awhile.  They are just not into the internet like we are. 

I really cannot say much about the local color other than everyone we meet are sooooo nice and 90% speak English.  WE got gas (really diesel) today and every customer at the pumps helped us out getting filled up.  Oh by the way for you gasoline (diesel) fans…the bill was around $70 for alittle
over a half tank to fill!!!!  So be happy you live in the US and have our prices!!!!

One really negative thing is that our cards just do not work here in France….IN MACHINSES.  I have one with the new “chip” but it did not work either, so cash is the main go here!!!!

So maybe tomorrow in our new hotel in Mont St. Michel will have WiFi and I can send these out…..we will see.

Good Night!!!

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