Touring Normandy

After "doing" Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, we moved on to Normandy by way of Le Mans.

Henry II was christened in the Le Mans Cathedral and it was one of his favorite towns.  The "Old Town" of Le Mans has been restored to pedestrian-only Medieval/Renaissance appearance, but I will spare you another cathedral picture.  This is the office of the organizers of the 24-hour race, where you can buy shirts and hats and books.  We ran out of time, so I did not get to the course or its racing car museum. 

The movie theater in Bayeaux: another example of the "non-mall society."  French and Belgian towns are compact.  You use your car to get between towns, then park the car and walk.

The Tourism Office in Bayeaux.  Architectural contrasts with the States struck me.  Europeans tend not to tear down and rebuild, but to re-purpose.  No idea what this little stone building used to be--maybe a train stop?--but instead of turning it into a parking lot, Bayeaux renovated it and installed plate glass windows.  Works for me!

D-Day: Omaha Beach looking toward Pointe du Hoc.

Display on the wall of the memorial pavilion at the American Cemetery in Colleville.   Every bit as complicated as it looks, and well has it been said that your battle plan becomes obsolete when the first shots are fired.

American Cemetery in Colleville.  The memorial pavilion is in the background.  I have been reading about D-Day since I was a teenager and have seen so many many anniversary observations on TV that I became jaded.  My visit to Omaha Beach left me speechless and contemplative.

Pegasus Bridge, over a canal, east of Caen.  Rommel's reinforcements for the Germans defending the beach-heads would have to cross this bridge (among other routes).  It was taken and held by British paratroops, for several days at great cost, before the link-up with beach-head troops.  The modern bridge is a replacement, but is identical to the one fought over in 1944.

The Pegasus Bridge Cafe.  It was there, then, and is run by the daughter of the then-owners today.  When we visited, half a dozen British paratroop veterans of the First Gulf War and their wives were there too.  The bridge is an iconic site for the British Army.

Caen Cathedral viewed from the old Norman fortifications of Caen.  Henry II slept here too.   In medieval times,  in winter, it was not uncommon for people to wait as long as a month for favorable winds and weather when trying to cross the English Channel.  The D-Day Plan called for General Montgomery to take Caen quickly and use it as his break-out base for armored thrusts south and east.  The Germans stopped him cold.  Caen was flattened by Allied air-raids and tank and artillery fire from both sides.  Civilian casualties were huge.  Everything seen here other than the Cathedral has been built since World War Two.