Normandy

Our last stop on this 5 week journey was Normandy, known for cows, cider and Camembert. We camped on the beautiful, peaceful grounds of a grand chateau, about 15 km from Omaha Beach. Roosters, chickens and baby chicks cruised around the campsite and, again, the kind and respectful Dutch (and a few Brits) were our neighbors.

The first day, we visited the D-day beaches. First we went to Bayeux and visited the Musee Memorial de La Bataillede Normandie, which was, for us, a great introduction to WW II in Normandy. We then visited Omaha Beach, where the most brutal of the fighting took place on D-Day (known as “Bloody Omaha” to U.S. Veterans). Today it is a peaceful and beautiful beach of golden sand and children playing. It is difficult to imagine the violence and tragedy that took place there just 67 years ago. At the time of our visit, there was a ceremony going on for some visiting American high school students, during which the students raised the flag of each country from which soldiers died on that beach as each country's national anthem played. It was quite moving.

We then visited the huge Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, which is on a bluff above the beach. It is the largest American cemetery in Europe and contains the graves of nearly 10,000 American soldiers. White marble crosses and Stars of David stretch in seemingly endless rows across the pristine lawn. It made us pause and really appreciate the bravery and sacrifice of these soldiers and their families.

The cemetery also had an associated excellent visitor center, in which everything was very well presented and very, well…American. The bathrooms were especially nice (for me, five weeks into camping, this is noteworthy), with toilet paper and soap, and even well functioning hand dryers!

You may think that it would be difficult to explain World War II and the Battle of Normandy to five year old kids, and…it was! Aaron took a real interest in it, especially the tanks and airplanes and the “baddie” called Hitler. I think that they both gained a bit of understanding of what took place on those beaches on that terrible day and the role that the United States played in it- something to build on at least……

We spent the last (34^th) day of our trip at our campsite in Normandy. It was a warm and sunny day. We swam, played at the playground, and read. That evening, we enjoyed one last French meal at the campsite’s restaurant finished with Camembert, baguette and a bit of Calvados, which is apple brandy named after this department of France.

We are now on the ferry from Calais to Dover, and so ends our 3,000 mile road trip around Europe. This also essentially marks the end of our two year stint living in England. Once we return to England, we will spend three days in Windsor at a friend’s flat, say a few more goodbyes and then fly to the States (via three days in Madrid, because....... why not go back to Spain, where we just came from?)