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We spent 3 days touring the beaches of Normandy war museums, cemeteries and battle sights. Truly amazing and very emotional. I know we all have relatives, friends or people we know who were there during the World War ll. I know Alice looked at every picture in every museum wondering if her father was in a picture. I also looked for my Grandmother. We stayed north of the main beaches in a campground on the beach for the first 2 days. Our first visit was to Caen where the Caen Memorial Museum is. Also known as The Center for thr History of Peace. Here you started with the 1st world war and worked your way through the 2nd world war and and the battle with the Japanese. It was quite amazing to follow how much of Europe the Germans actually had before the Allies decided to fight back. It makes every war movie I've seen seem real. The Americans and Canadians both have comemerative gardens there. After 3 hours it was time to move on even though you could stay all day. Our next stop was Juno Beach and the Juno Beach Centre dedicated to the Canadians. A lot of the memorabilia there was donated by families of those who died and lived. The centre is manned by Canadian students or graduates of University who spend 4 to 8 months there and assist you with whatever you need. One young lady helped Alice find the plaque on 1 of the memorials that belonged to a customer of hers. We took pictures and will bring them back for her. Also on the beach was a huge silver cross marking where Charles de Gaulle landed after the invasion by the allies. The next day our first stop was the Canadian Cemetery. So serene yet beautiful. Looked after like you would your own garden. Our next stop was the harbour at Arromanches. Here the allies built a portable harbour that allowed for the unloading of troops, equipment and supplies. There are still parts of the harbour in the ocean. The story of how the harbour was built is quite amazing and worth a read if you are interested in the war. Just down the beach were the Longues-sur Mur gun batteries. Huge concrete bunkers that housed the German cannons. These bunkers were so thick even the bombs dropped couldn't penetrate them. Most were knocked out by soldiers on the ground. Next is the much publicized American cemetery. The land the cemetery is on was given to them by the French and is American soil. We were quite surprised to find it closed due to the American government shutdown. It is necessary to go through security when entering and I guess like lots of American government employees they aren't working now. I felt sorry for the busloads of American tourists. Next came the vastness of Omaha Beach. You could see in either direction for miles. You picture thousands of young men and women coming ashore with enemy gunfire being poured at them. Our 3rd day started at Point du Hoc. This is where the Germans had there largest guns overlooking the cliffs above the beach. The ground is nothing but craters from all the bombs that were dropped but again it took soldiers to climb those cliffs and knock out the gun placements. Most of the bunkers still stand some damaged enough to see the thickness of the concrete and steel. Inside the bunkers you couldn't walk upright thats how tight they were for space. The noise of these big guns must have been deafening. Our last stop of the day was the German cemetery. Again immaculately kept and yet very simple. No indivdual crosses but instead in groups of 4 and quite dark. The odd flower beside a grave. On our last day as we headed down the coast we stopped at Utah Beach and visited the Utah Beach Landing Museum. This was mainly about the Americans and there part in the war. It also was very well done with a great movie and again memorabilia from soldiers and their families. As you can tell we were quite amazed at what we saw in the Normandy Beach area. I would highly recommend if you come to France or have an extended stay in England coming here for a couple of days is well worth it. As little history that Canada has, this is a huge part of it. This really does give Remembrance Day meaning.
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bonnie countdown til you are both home with these amazing pics and stories!!! Sounds like your trip has been fabulous!! Love and miss you xoxoxox