le 25 juillet: Normandy

Saturday we got up early for our excursion to Normandy. Brittany and I both slept in however and we got up and had to like run to the metro to try and make it to the ISA office on time. We were a little late, everyone else was sitting in the bus but they waited for us so we were very happy.

Our first stop was in Caen, a town close to Omaha beach where there is a Peace Museum. We visited the special exhibit which included a couple of video presentations about the 2nd World War and temporary exhibit on the Cold War. We grabbed some lunch before going through the permanent exhibition which was gigantic. We really didn't have enough time to properly take it all in. There were videos, sound bits and interviews, copies of letters from soldiers on both fronts. They also had old newspapers and propaganda posters, some weaponry, uniforms, and models. It was interesting and we all wanted to take our time looking and reading everything. It wasn't something you can really just walk through and stop at the things that stand out. It was something you wanted to spend time reading and getting aquanted with. So we only made it through about half way by time we had to leave which was unfortunate. If I ever get the chance to go back I would like to take more time there.

We went to Omaha Beach next. That beach is where the US soldiers are buried. We went to the beach first. It was beautiful and hard to imagine a bloody war taking place there. It seemed so peaceful and pristine. The hillside was filled with greenery on the walk down to the sandy beach and the lighting was beautiful. The water wasn't too cold so we got in and waded a bit.

We went up to visit the cemetery which was a bit overwhelming. The grave markers just go on forever. It is hard to comprehend. But I was pleased to see it so well maintained. Every cross and star of David is perfectly white and straight still. There were some monuments throughout the cemetery. There was a beautiful mosoleum we looked and statues and architecture throughout the cemetery as reminders of the sacrifices the soldiers made. The land is actually U.S. soil which is pretty cool. The French gave us the land after the war as a gift.

After seeing Omaha beach and the cemetery, we went to Point du Hoc, another beach where fighting took place. This place was bizarre. The ground was completely mutilated by craters from bombs and there were remains of German bunkers. The landscape was again incredibly beautiful, however and simply looking, you would never get the sense of what happened there. There were kids running around and playing in the bomb-craters it reminded me a lot of something you might see in a Dr. Suess book. But the bunkers were creepy. You could walk into some of them. They were dark and spooky and had the eerie-est feeling about them.

After seeing the beaches, we headed back to Caen to check into our hotel. The area was charming, there was a little dock with boats all in it. We went to dinner in an area of the town that had survived the bombings and there were these charming old buildings. I had a bouillabaisse which was delicious. I had never had mussels before and I liked them very much. I had creme brulle for dessert and it was very good. The restaurant was very cute. They had live music and I recognized a couple of the songs even. One was an Emilie Simon song that I like and the other I don't know the artist or song title but we had heard it a couple of times before in Paris. It was a lot of fun. We had some good bonding time with the girls as well and we decided that we should have reunions and travel around to the different states that we are all from. Illinois, North Carolina, Louisianna, Utah, Texas, Michigan. I'm excited. I hope it really does happen.

After dinner, we stopped by this pastry shop that was open late and some girls that didn't have dessert with dinner bought pastries. We went back to Brittany and I's hotel room and were all chatting but we were told we were being too loud so we went to bed after that.

I think Normandy was my favorite excursion. It was beautiful and meaningful and I also had a wonderful time with my friends there. Here are some pictures:

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