Friday
Hooray, nobody got sick on the passage over the English Channel. We arrived in Caen to the voice of a young lady giving directions in both English and French. Though she woke us up an hour earlier that we needed to just to make sure that we had the opportunity to buy breakfast from the ferry company before we left the ferry, we were able to save time by not needing to look for food in Caen. Because the ferry was late, time was now a problem. While docking we looked out the window and discovered snow mixed with rain, and indeed, it was a cold, wet, day. Leaving the terminal we headed for the Bayeux Tapestry museum and got off to a terrible start after leaving the coach. We took a wrong turn and walked 20 minutes in steady rain before we found the museum. Were richly rewarded in the museum through reading the displays and finally seeing the tapestry itself. Honestly, while the displays were good for French readers, the text for English readers was horrible. The English text was on separate placards placed in small type in low light. The tapestry, though, was a perfect compliment to all that we have been teaching about William the Conqueror by telling his story in pictures nearly 1000 years old. We then had a delightful walk around in Bayeux to find lunch as the city has lots of old world charm. This was the first town that was the first liberated from the Nazi’s after the Normandy invasion. We saw the location of the invasion firsthand when we visited Pont du Hoc, where American soldiers had to climb steep cliffs against stiff Nazi defenses. They were successful, but the site gives a powerful reminder of the power of war and the will of men to overcome. The whole site is pocked with craters where American artillery lobbed shells from several miles at sea. These craters were big enough to bury whole cars. If Pont du Hoc wasn’t impressive, the American cemetery nearby is. 9300 servicemen are buried on a site covering 17 acres. The monuments that review the accomplishments of the men and the shrine that remembers their spirit make a tear-jerker moment for all who care about freedom and the USA. I am always amazed at the number of graves their straightness whenever I visit military cemeteries. Most of the men died in June and July 1944. The monuments are designed to engage the viewer in the great effort put forward by America and her Allies to win the war. Monuments cause one to reflect on the great sacrifice of the men and the eternal fate that each faced. It was moving experience. Interestingly, there were more visitors here than at any site that we visited in Normandy. The late start to the day meant that we had only an hour to take in the entire Liberation of Normandy Museum in Bayeux. A museum that rightfully would take 3 hours if one had the opportunity. Finally, we headed north to Rouen and checked into the Kyriad Hotel. We ate dinner at a local pizzeria where the language barrier made things interesting. Oh well, it is all part of the experience. The rain continued on and off throughout the day, but was on more than off.
The group just before lunch in Bayeux
