Normandy, France - Honfleur and D-Day Beaches

After our cruise, Colin deployed and I visited the States for a bit.  Then, a day after he returned from his deployment, his parents came to visit us!  We had so much fun traveling with them to Normandy, France and Rome, Italy.  

On our way to the Normandy beaches, we stayed in the lovely harbor village of Honfleur, France.    We visited its unique church (looks like an upside-down boat) and had a delicious dinner - one of many amazing French meals to come!

Colin and Tom standing in front of Honfleur's St. Catherine Church ...There's no resemblance at all between these two handsome guys, is there?  ; )

Colin and Judy catching up on Rick Steves outside of St. Catherine's Church

The next day, we visited the Caen Memorial Museum, where we learned or refreshed our memories on all WWII history, as well as the specific events leading up to D-Day.

Then we went out to the D-Day beaches, beginning with Arromanches.  At Arromanches, we stood on the cliffs and looked out of the the remains of the Port Winston Artificial Harbor.  We watched the 360 degree movie that fades back and forth between the calm, gorgeous beaches of today to the calamity of the war-torn times. 

These remains of the Port Winston Artificial Harbor don't look that big, but they are actually the size of a football field.  500 tugboats towed 115 of those cement blocks across the English Channel to help form the harbor.

Our next stop was the Longues-sur-Mer Gun Battery at Omaha Beach.  At this stop we saw four German casemates (3 with guns intact) built to guard against seaborne attacks.

Observation Bunker

Colin in the observation bunker at the edge of the coast.  Field telephones connected this bunker to the gun batteries by underground wires.

Finally, we went to the WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.   At this beautiful and touching site, we saw the 9,387 white marble crosses and Stars of David that memorialize the Americans who gave their lives to free Europe. 

 

We walked down to the beaches below, which are absolutely pristine.  Its hard to believe that it was once the site of so many deaths.  It is a beautiful tribute to the Americans who lost their lives in battle.