View of Chateauneuf, on the autoroute (toll road) up to Normandy.
On a totally unrelated note, we will never again even think twice about a toll road in the US after driving around on the French autoroutes. Kevin has calculated that we spend about the same or more on tolls during each trip in France as we do on fuel, and we're averaging about 32 mpg in our 'Cacophony' - a Renault Espace diesel standard minivan and paying about 3-4 times the cost for fuel. So you can do the math on that one. Or not. Just sayin...
On Friday, Aug 14th we decided to go out to see the Mont Saint Michel Abbey.
Distant view of the Mont Saint Michel island and abbey.
The abbey was built out on the island beginning in the 8th century, which is about 1 km north of the mainland. There was a natural bridge which used to connect the island to the mainland. The natural bridge was covered at high tide, and revealed during low tide, adding to the mystique of the mount. A causeway was built in 1879 to ease the access to the island.
The area we're standing on is covered in high tide, the causeway is next to the path we're on.
walking up to Mont Saint Michel...
The abbey on the mount.
Walking up to the entrance to the abbey.
The spire of Mont Saint Michel.
View from the abbey out towards the Atlantic.
The Mont Saint Michel church.
View from the abbey out towards the Atlantic.
The Mont Saint Michel church.
Inside the church.
The cloister in the abbey.
haha. Our oldest wanted to take this picture of me :)
Parting view of Mont Saint Michel. It was very crowded and we had to fight the crowds up into the abbey, wait in line to go through it, and fight our way back down the narrow streets to get out. So for us the view from the causeway was our favorite part!
After the abbey, we went down to Omaha Beach, one of the main landing points of the Allied forces during D-day, June 6, 1944. Omaha Beach was the beach where the US forces were deployed. They met great opposition which inflicted heavy casualties. There are several memorials on the beach.
This plaque explains the strategy of the US forces and the challenges they met.
The cloister in the abbey.
haha. Our oldest wanted to take this picture of me :)
Parting view of Mont Saint Michel. It was very crowded and we had to fight the crowds up into the abbey, wait in line to go through it, and fight our way back down the narrow streets to get out. So for us the view from the causeway was our favorite part!
After the abbey, we went down to Omaha Beach, one of the main landing points of the Allied forces during D-day, June 6, 1944. Omaha Beach was the beach where the US forces were deployed. They met great opposition which inflicted heavy casualties. There are several memorials on the beach.
This plaque explains the strategy of the US forces and the challenges they met.
View up Omaha Beach.
Another memorial to the allied forces who liberated France and Europe.
There are German bunkers left as they were at the conclusion of the conflict throughout Normandy. This is one that overlooked Omaha Beach.
View from above of the bunker and the beach.
Kevin and our oldest in front of a US tank.
We ate dinner Friday evening in Bayeux, 7 km from the sea, and the first French city to be liberated by the allied forces.
The Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
inside the Bayeux Cathedral.
A personal note about our weekend trip to Normandy:
Memorial to the soldiers.
Explanation of the memorial by the artist.
Another memorial to the allied forces who liberated France and Europe.
There are German bunkers left as they were at the conclusion of the conflict throughout Normandy. This is one that overlooked Omaha Beach.
View from above of the bunker and the beach.
Kevin and our oldest in front of a US tank.
We ate dinner Friday evening in Bayeux, 7 km from the sea, and the first French city to be liberated by the allied forces.
The Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
inside the Bayeux Cathedral.
Final view of a lovely sunset as we drove back to our hotel in Caen.
A personal note about our weekend trip to Normandy:
Friday, Aug 14th would have been my Dad's 74th birthday. Normandy was the one place in all of France that my Dad would have loved to visit. He repeatedly asked us when we were going to go to Normandy and see the D-day beaches and memorials. He would have loved to join us, or even just see our pictures from our trip. I am sad that I can no longer share our travels with him, particularly one like Normandy that he was so interested in. He was a major WWII enthusiast, often spending hours watching the 'History' channel. While I am not a history enthusiast in any stretch of the imagination, I will say that I was greatly moved by seeing the place where so many brave men gave their lives to ensure our freedom. They faced a fortified army against the worst odds and came out victorious. I don't want to ever take that for granted. Thanks, Dad, for encouraging us to visit and remember those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom. Thank you for your service to our country as well. We miss you and love you, Dad.
2 comments:
My husband would have loved to have been there too. Thank you for your posts, we are enjoying your travels with you. Yes, thank you to all VETERANS!
Dear Sis,
Thanks for posting that. And I love the personal note about how much Dad would have loved your trip to Normandy. We all miss him.
Love ya,
Ruth
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