Me and Daniel are sharing a room while Peter and Dad have the room next door. The latter got up for a run in the morning (crazy people) while I and Daniel took a sleep-in. We met in the lobby at 10 to get into the city center to find some brunch or lunch. We soon realized that the restaurants hadn’t really opened yet so to spend some time, we found a place that could serve us a croissant and some coffee and juice.
We moved on to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch. However, the place hadn’t opened yet but they sent us across the street where he said we could eat. That guy said it was only for take-away, but apparently made an exception and let us have a table at the window. I normally don’t leave food on the plate, but it was quite large portions.
On the way back to the car and hotel we bought a couple of sandwiches as a snack during the afternoon. We were going on a five-hour-long guided tour of the beaches of Normandy and we didn’t know if there would be any opportunities for a “fika” along the way.
We took the ten-minute walk from the hotel to the Caen-Normandie Mémorial from where the guided tour should originate. Our guide was Mario (as in Super Mario he said), an Italian who’s been working as a guide for the last ten years. It was us four, a couple from the Netherlands, Mario, and the driver.
It took about 45 minutes to get to our first stop, Pointe du Hoc, during which we got a crash course about the second world war. When we arrived Mario pointed out some key elements, the foundations where the cannons stood, the bunkers, and the different areas on the beach. We strolled around on ourselves for about half an hour, taking pictures and enjoying the view. Quite a lot of people but not crowded.
Back into the minivan and off to Omaha Beach. Fascinating to hear about the numbers (~150 thousand soldiers in total) and the different tactics used to take the beaches, and why Omaha Beach is called the Bloody Omaha.
We took some more photos and then moved on towards the Normandy American Cemetery which contains roughly 10 000 graves for American soldiers that died during the war. Because it’s a holiday there were loads of cars and the queue went so slowly that we left the minivan and continued on foot. A ten-minute walk probably saved us 30-45 minutes.
Vast fields of crosses in white marble. Lots of people and beautiful grounds. We witnessed when they lowered the flag at 17. The Americans sure know their ceremonies. We gathered the group and then headed back to the museum arriving only five minutes late.
A power nap and a beer at the hotel before heading into town for dinner. This time a smaller restaurant called Le Bouchon du Vaugueux. They didn’t have an English menu, the first server that helped us didn’t speak English, and Daniel managed to smash a glass. Off to a great start! But when we got past that, managed to order starters and main course, drinks, and got our food, it was delicious! Entrécote for me and Dad while Peter and Daniel shared a meat platter.
We got back to the hotel for some coffee and cards and me writing this post. Tomorrow it’s time to visit the museum itself.
