May 21, 2024 ~ Caen, France

What a long day we had. Our breakfast this morning was a bit of a let down after the beautiful feasts we had enjoyed in Paris. This is not as much of a commentary that the food here at our hotel was not good. More so, just reliving how great it was the day before.

On the bus at 8:00 for what our tour manager, Ana, had labeled the longest day of our tour. Driving directly to the furthest point, we had our first stop. Looks like we are going to get wet. The sky is threatening and we are thankful to have brought rain jackets and an umbrella.

We have had long days and not nearly enough sleep, so I’m not going to write as much about each stop as I would really like to truly do justice to our day. However, if you click on any of the IN CAPITAL LETTERS items below, more specific information on each place will pop up.

UTAH BEACH

Moving on to SAINTE MÈRE ÉGLISE where we toured the fabulous Airborne Museum, had lunch and then checked out the church.

Private John Steele of the 82^nd Division was hit by shrapnel shortly after he began his descent. He could not use his leg and landed on the church tower around 4.00 am. Beneath him, the battle was raging. John Steele spent two and a half hours hanging from the church steeple. After trying to cut free with a knife, he dropped his gun and decided to play dead to avoid becoming a target of the Germans. He was finally cut free by a soldier named Rudolf May. His wounds were treated and he was taken prisoner by the Germans. John Steele managed to escape three days later. He rejoined the Allies and was transferred to a hospital in England. ~ Office of Tourism

POINT DU HOC

OMAHA BEACH

NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY (Colleville-sur-Mer)

Preparations are being made for the 80th anniversary of D-Day which will be held here in a few days. Unfortunately, that prevented us from having access to several areas. It was also raining heavily upon our arrival so only a few waited around outside for the flag ceremony. We did however all leave a small bundle of roses along the wall at any place we chose to honor the missing soldiers.

We arrived back at the hotel just after 6:00 with time for a brief refresh before going to dinner. The four of us had decided that we wanted a nice dinner, close to the hotel, that was delicious food, but was not outrageously expensive. Once again Ana came through by recommending Carlotta’s which was within sight of our hotel.

After a brief stop once again at an ATM, and putting some very wet jackets in a dryer at the local laundry, we walked past the harbor to dinner.

Le CARLOTTA’S

The food was so good that I decided it needed a CAPITALIZED section of its own 😁.

GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that although it was a wet day, it was also a good day. I was once again humbled by the tremendous number of young men who sacrificed their lives that eventful day. Thanks to them, the fate of Europe and perhaps the entire world, was turned around.