Day 12 - D-Day Tour

I've read the history books in school and watched the popular movies and TV specials about the Allied Forces invasion of the Normandy coast in June 1944, but nothing can prepare one for the powerful experience of visiting the towns, beaches, memorials and cemetaries where history was made 70 years ago.

We had signed up for a full-day guided tour with a local tour company and spent the day with four other tourists and our guide, Guillame, who was well versed in the history of the D-Day invasion and adept at getting us to many different sites between Ste-Mere-Eglise (where an American paratrooper was snagged on the church steeple) to Omaha beach and the American cemetary (where nearly 10,000 US soldiers are buried).  The sheer immensity of the invasion planning and execution is staggering; the risks of the operation were incredibly high, but what was at stake was nothing less than the liberty of France and Europe and in all likelihood, the Americas.

Our day was capped off with our visit to the American cemetary.  Ir took my breath away seeing the thousands of white crosses and knowing that each represented a life given to ensure freedom for others.  I hoped that each of those lost soldiers was now at peace somewhere and feeling satisfaction and joy of having been part of something so grand, so important that there were no regrets at having made such a sacrifice for others in this world.  

For those of you reading this blog, if you ever have the opportunity to visit Normandy, you should seize the opportunity to visit these hallowed sites and absorb the story of this place and those who were part of this historical event.  We cannot let the memory of these places and people fade as we lose the last survivors of this battle.  They gave so much for so many.    -  John

Church at Ste-Mere-Eglise (zoom in on steeple to see faux paratrooper snagged.  In reality he was on opposite side of steeple)

Stained glass inside church showing paratroopers

Inside church

St Michael (zoom in and see many parachutes in the stained glass)

German bunker near Utah Beach

Beach grass, barbed wire and French & American flags

German bunker near Omaha Beach

Guillame showing German gunner position atop bunker

Turret position for large German artillery

Cliffs at Pointe du Hoc that Allied Forces needed to scale

Large concrete slab called "Mulberry,"o ne of 500 made in England and floated across the Channel to create harbor and bridges to support supply transport

Reflection pool at American Cemetary

Monument at American Cementary

Lilly Pads on Reflection Pool

Bayeux en Photographique

We were charmed by Bayeux.  The quaint streets have retained their authenticity despite modernization of this Normandy town.  Tourism is the principle industry here but we never felt overwhelmed by tourists.  The locals are friendly and helpful.  Here are some of the many pictures we took to help preserve the memories.  Remember, if you look at the pictures on the blog, you have a perfect excuse to decline a future invitation when we try to subject friends and family to a three to four hour slide show and monologue about our trip!  Enjoy.  John

Cat count today: 1  Trip total:11?

Cathedral amongst the clouds

Charming tudor

Street Scene

Inside Cathedral

Amazing Grace & Beauty

Walled Passageway

Alleyway

Hidden Courtard

Passageway

Day 11 - Au Bayeux

In transit to Bayeux today via intercity train. Departed Gare Saint Lazare shortly after noon. Arrived at our hotel Reine-Matilde without problem. Have checked in and getting oriented. Cute town with impressive cathedral.

No cats so far but looks like a great place pour les chats.

As we started to settle in our room , we were overwhelmed by odors from the restaurant kitchen below. Ventilating fans were right outside our window. This would not do. We requested a different room and the accommodating receptionist took care of our request.  Voila!  We had a new room with no cooking odors, a view of  the street, a carousel and the cathedral spires. Only thing missing is a cat.

Went for a late afternoon walk on the cobbled streets of Bayeux. Tons of cute shoppes and cafés. Very European feel. Went by the cathedral and then inside. As you might imagine a structure dating back to several hundred years has some rough edges but in truth it is spectacular and larger than Paris' Notre Dame.   I'm sure it has witnessed many historic events. --John

Spotted a kitty! Cat count is at 12. Another cool thing--the organist started playing while we were in the cathedral. So amazing.  --Gail

Bayeux side street

Cathedral Carousel

Retiree en Bayeux

Cathedral

Larger than Notre Dame

Great spires

View from hotel window - no odors

Day 9 - Tourist Time

With a break in the rain on Saturday, we put on our walking shoes and headed out to the Champs d'Elysees to see the sights and mingle with the tourists from all over the world.  We took a pre-trip to Gare St.  Lazare to orient ourselves with the station since we'll be departing from there on Monday to go to Normandy.  It was a worthwhile side trip since the station itself is a beautiful facility and we now feel comfortable that we will have a stress free departure on Monday.

From Gare St. Lazare we rode the M3 & M2 lines and followed the stream of people heading to the Arc de Triomphe.  When we emerged from the metro tunnels the grand Paris boulevard was before us and the massive Arc de Triomphe filled the large roundabout.  Like the Eiffel Tower, the Arc is a classic icon of Paris.  One gets a sense of how large this icon is upon noticing the many sightseers standing atop the structure.  They look so small at the top of the 50 meter (165 feet) structure.  It's also difficult to frame a camera shot that includes the entire monument without standing some distance away.

The roundabout has more than a dozen streets flowing into the multi-lane circle so access to the island in the center of the roundabout is via underground tunnel.  Despite the availability of the tunnel, we saw many pedestrians that looked like they were playing a real-life game of Frogger as they started, stopped, dodged and ran across the traffic lanes.  They obviously didn't get the memo about the tunnel.  Once on the island, we explored the bas relief sculptures and the plaques on the floor and walls commemorating the French soldiers who fought on behalf of their country.  Prominently placed at the base of the monument is an eternal flame.  Fresh flowers are delivered there each day.

As we headed down the boulevard, we saw break dancers, clowns and artists working the crowd.  The sea of bodies thinned only slightly in the first few blocks with many people ducking into restaurants or cafes.  The Golden Arches were present and apparently do more business than any other McDonald's on the planet.  We passed on that opportunity in favor of a Rick Steve's recommendation: Brioche Dore which boasted air conditioning, a WC and reasonable prices.  Food was just OK, WC marginal and the A/C not operating.  

Back on the street we strolled and popped into a few stores to browse.  Most notable was the Swatch store where we found a nice souvenir watch for Gail.  I ducked into the Mercedes, Alfa Romero and Citroen "stores" to ogle the shiny cars and snap a few pics.  I was disappointed that there wasn't a Tesla store.  Guess Elon Musk hasn't cracked the French market yet.

Despite the best intentions, we didn't make it all the way down to Tuilleries choosing instead to take a break at a park bench near rue de FDR.  We consulted our maps and headed for the metro.  Despite our best efforts, we just couldn't find the right hole in the ground for the right M line until we crossed the Seine.  Nevertheless, our wanderings afforded us the opportunity to see the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais as well as some nice views of Les Invalides and the Eiffel tower.

The City of Light is such a feast for the eyes and we haven't even been out after dark.

Gare St. Lazare

Go stand in the corner if you don't recognize this Paris icon.

Sculpture on the Arc de Triomphe

Zoom shot of Le Grande Arch in Paris business district

Come out of the corner and try again;

Eternal Flame

Gull wing Mercedes

Another Mercedes

Just like Ndamukong's SUV

Possible Google Bus Sighting

Old Alfa

Another Alfa with dummy driver

Sir Winston Churchill

La Tour Eiffel from Pont Alexandre III bridge

Les Invalides

Day 10: Becoming French

• You will never, ever guess what I did today! I did something most Parisians do all the time, but which Americans tend not to do (except for Amy Wertzler) unless it's for a formal occasion. Give up? I ironed clothes. Yes, really! I even jokingly ironed John's underwear. ;). I had given up waiting for Mother Nature's humidity and the steam from our daily showers to release the plethora of wrinkles in our clothes. It just wasn't happening and I was running out of unwrinkled clothes to wear. Numerous sources (and I mean numerous--guidebooks, blogs, travel essays, biographies of ex-pats, and more) say the French don't leave the house without neatly pressed clothes. I found myself on a bus yesterday looking at a 20-something in a very cute, but very wrinkled, dress. I thought, "How gauche!" How dare I judge. Then another funny thing happened. We were doing a bit of housecleaning today and I decided to go with John to the basement to take down the garbage and recycling. But before I went, I put on lipstick and a scarf. Of course I already had on my neatly ironed sleeveless t-shirt and dressier capris. Shut the front door! Whaaaaa?  Oh no you di-nt! Well, yes I did, and without so much as thinking about it. OMD! Qui est cette femme? It's a good thing it's a rainy inside kind of day every now and then, otherwise I'd have no time to iron things. We keep saying we're going to go out for a walk, but then say, meh, it's about to rain and we have to pack for Normandy and wash clothes and write blog posts. Man, I love retirement!     --Gail

Channeling my inner Parisienne

Day 8 - Rainy Day Pleasures

It's such a treat to have some rainy weather.  Makes me think we are in Seattle or Portland perhaps.  The air smells so rich when it rains.  Our pace tends to slow a bit too when it's rainy and our destinations tend to be closer to homebase.  After a leisurely morning at chez Gabay, we headed out to explore the area above Tolbiac on Buttes aux Cailles where we went on our first day in Paris.  Besides seeing what we missed due to sleep deprivation, we had targeted a creperie where we wanted to have le dejeuner.  This particular area has an abundance of restaurants, brasseries, and cafes to choose from and can easily be a go-to location when in need of a meal or a coffee.  We found the creperie and got right in with seats right next to the tiny work area so we could watch the crepes being made.  Our confidence has been growing with each dining experience and we found it rather easy to order en francais though I still rely on the point and shoot method where I point to an item on the menu as I attempt to speak French.  I had a great buckwheat crepe with tomato and gruyere and Gail had a sweet crepe with apricot jam (recommended by Shiela Warren).  Both were delightful.  Afterwards Gail explored a nearby Monoprix while I had coffee at a nearby cafe and read on my Kindle, out of the rain but within smelling distance.

After dinner I decided to go for a bit of an explore on my own and was rewarded by meeting a lady walking her dog who had stopped adjacent to a walled in area of a water department reservoir.  I noticed she was sliding a bowl of food between the bars of the fence.  "Le chat?" I inquired.    That was good enough to start a nice conversation about the black & white feral cat hiding in the bushes beyond the fence....I quickly confessed my limited ability to speak French but that didn't inhibit our exchange about le chat or her chien who waited patiently for his walk to resume.  It was a nice interlude and made me feel a part of the neighborhood.  Looking forward to future encounters - with citizens du Paris et les chats et les chiens.  --John

Cat Count:  Day - 1  Total - 9

You lookin' at me?