Normandy

We just got back from, yet, another mini trip. This time, we rented a car and drove to Normandy; which is a region located in the northwest area of France by the English Channel. Here is a map showing where we went relative to Paris.

My sister actually went to visit this area a little as well during her stay in France. You can read about it in her blog by clicking here. She went to the most visited sites in France: Mont Saint-Michel. As did we!

Mont Saint-Michel from far away

 Mont Saint-Michel is an impressive village built on a hill. It rises from the earth and can be seen from miles away. What is also so unique and interesting about this village is that during high tide, the hill is completely surrounded by water and therefore, becomes an island. Yes, the tides are nothing like what we Floridians are use to. The tides by Mont Saint-Michel come and go for about half a mile!

Picture I got off the internet that show the tides

Unfortunately for us, the weather was not very friendly that day. They skies were consistantly gray and it kept on raining, then stopping, then pouring, then stopping, then raining again. We didn't get to explore much of the village because of the rain, but we were able hike our way uphill to visit the abbey (which was mosly indoors)

Pretty building inside the village

Tiny tunnels

The Abbey

Once we were inside, we made our way through the many rooms of this old fortress. The old stone walls and the many stained glass windows really made us feel like we were in the olden times......that or a scene from Harry Potter =P

Some of the rooms were quite huge and the pillars that support them are several times my width! Can you imagine the efforts that went into building this place?

The fleche of the abbey

Inside the Chapel

Cloister and Gardens

Huge fireplace!

Like a scene from a video game or something!

Big, but pretty pillars and arches

From the back of the abbey

A garden

After our visit in the Abbey, we walked around the wall of Saint-Michel before it started raining again. We were able to see pretty far and what is so impressive is how flat everything around the island is. This fort really served its purpose as far as defenses goes.

Some water remains during the low tide

The sandy shore surrounding the island

We didn't stay too long because of the rain, but it was a very nice visit to this magnificent island.

The next morning (after staying somewhere in between) we made our way to the D-Day sites. The drive towards the sites was very peaceful. We were able to see a lot of the French Normandy country side.

Rainbow after the rain

Windy roads

One of the many monuments in the area

The coast of Normandy is well known for being the home of D-Day World War II back in 1944. During this epic day, allied forces landed all along the shores of Normandy to take back over Northern France from the Germans. During this mission, many many soldiers lost their lives.

Our first stop led us to Pont du Hoc. At this locations, American Rangers scaled up the cliffs to engage the German soldiers. Although eventually successful, the battalion went from 225 men to 90 at the end of two days of fighting.

Soldiers use to hide in these deeps holes.

The Cliff

The Pont du Hoc Monument

Inside an old German bunker

The fields of battle

Our next stop was Omaha beach. This is probably the most famous sites for Americans. At this location, the American troop's objective was to secure the coastline up to 5 miles inland. This was arguable the most fortified beaches of the Normandy landing. It was especially difficult since the surrounding areas are all on cliffs, which made it difficult for the Americans to attack, but easier for the Germans to defend and attack. Around 3,000 Americans and 1,200 Germans died that one day, only to be followed by a total of 93,000 over the 100 days that followed D-Day.

The coast of Omaha beach

The Memorial at Ohama Beach

Finally, our last stop was the American Cemetery. Located slightly east from the original location where troops of Ohama beach were buried in 1944, lies the remains of over 9,000 American soldiers. Dedicated in 1956, this land was given to and ran by the American government.

The cemetery spans over 172.5 acres of land and overlooks Omaha Beach. Each headstone is perfectly alined and equal in size. There are two shapes to the headstones: most of them being crosses and around 150 stars of David; all made of white mable. It was very impressive to see how absolutely perfect they looked. I also appreciate how they are all equal; that no matter how rich or poor they were before, what rank they held or what their family name was, they all died for the same purpose. It was really awe shocking to see the field of white stones marking the men who helped maintain the free world.

A monument in front of the Garden of the Missing

One end of the cemetery

One of the unidentified casualties

"Here rests in honored glory: A Comrade in Arms known but to God"

We walked around for a little while, and it was actually quite a peaceful visit, sad, but peaceful.

Before heading back to Paris, we made one last stop along the way: Gold Beach. This beach was special because when the allied forces landed, they attempted to build a seaport. This was so that they can resupply easier. Although they attempted this in all the beaches, this is the only one that still have remains.

Remains of the port in the water next to a modern village

Until our next trip!