Hotel Saint-Etienne Caen

This last weekend my program's group traveled to Normandy and Brittany. It was a very cool trip! On Saturday we drove from Paris to Caen, Normandy. We visited the Memorial de Caen, which is a museum/memorial from WWII. Caen was a city during WWII that was occupied by the Germans, and it was a major victory when the Allies were able to seize it. After Caen, we drove on to Omaha Beach to the American ...

... at each scene on the tapestry. Without it you would find it hard to depicher the story and miss the little details which bought the tapestry to life.
The town of Bayeux itself is gorgeous and miracouslouly escaped WWII bombing...even though it was only 10km inland from the D-Day beaches

... we drove past Courseulles code name Juno Beach and onto Arromanches code name Gold Beach and where the famous Mulberry Harbour was built.

The Mulberry Harbour was made by the British. Over a dozen old ships on their last voyage were intentionally sunk as the foundation of the harbours break wall. Several dozen extremely large concrete blocks which were transported across the seas ...

Arrived at Ouistreham just before dark and found an Aire de Service right on the beach and this time it was free! The downside was it was right next to the ferry terminal and the 6am ferry to Portmouth the next day was kill the tranquilo the next morning. Kim's Maison du Scooby cooked up a storm. Pork fajitas on rice - delicious. I gave it 5 stars.

The trip to Normandy was a lot to absorb. It's hard to believe, that my grandfather Kelly was there on D-Day over 60 years ago.I certainly do not think I would have survived. I am thankful he did, I wouldn't be here. Nor my mother and her siblings, my sisters, or my nieces. His sacrifice has not only affected the existence of my own life, but the daily lives ...

... narrow spots on a regular basis. The people of Normandy have greeted us with warm hospitality and open hearts. Yesterday we also went to the Abbey d'Ardenne where 27 Canadian soldier were executed by the 12 Panzer SS (Hitler Youth). We held a memorial service for them in the garden of the Abbey near where their mass grave was discovered by the local gardener the next spring. I was in the Colour Party for the service and so had to stand still (holding the NATO colours) facing a ...

... c the only other option was mussels...yuck), but it was even different than in the U.S. b/c it had a sort of sweet spaghetti sauce mixture on it. I've had a lot of sandwiches, though I have stopped eating those for now due to the inordinate preference of mayonnaise that the French have. The first day here I had fish at the "Casino Cafeteria" (I don't know why it's called that) inside the mall/grocery store. Some of the other ...

... to understand to efforts and sacrifices Australia made in World War One. There are rows and rows of headstones some with names some without and up the top of the green slope lined with these headstones is a massive structure with thousands of Australian soldiers names who were lost in battle and their bodies never found and as you look around to gentle inclines and flat plains of farm land that surrounds the memorial you can not ...

... at a tiny town with a fantastic patisserie and munching on fresh quiche, cheeses and Danish pastries as we got lost repeatedly on the winding back roads. Eventually, armed with a map from the helpful staff at the Juno Beach Centre, we found the site tucked in amongst farmer's fields. Like the beaches, we were immediately struck by how serene and beautiful it was. Orange autumn leaves fell softly onto the carefully kept grass, and row upon row of white ...

... the biggest military assault in history, from across the Channel. The rest, as they say, is history and if it wasn't for the sacrifice of the Allies who, early on June 6th 1944, stormed the Normandy beaches during 'Operation Overlord', we'd all probably be speaking German right about now. The storming of the 5 Normandy beaches (code named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno & Sword) began the Battle of Normandy, which ultimately lead to the ...