Vierville sur Mer (on Omaha Beach) was where the Americans established their first road inland. We drove down to the beach and were able to find a little spot to play away from those peering down from the American cemetery. I think the water was pretty cold but the kids had a great time playing in the sand. A definite highlight for the kids and something they had been looking forward to for awhile.
Omaha Beach…
We spent several of our evenings at the chateau watching select scenes from ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and the entire ‘The Longest Day’ movie and loved hearing the account with the names of all the places we had become familiar with.
After learning so much about the the D-Day Invasion we were really looking forward to visiting the Pointe du Hoc…
“This was the Germans’ most heavily fortified position along the coast, thanks to its strategic location. For the American landing"s to succeed, the Allies determined that it was essential to take out this cliffside Germany battery, which could punish American forces attempting to land at Utah and Omaha beaches. For this task, 300 US Army Rangers were hand-picked to attempt a castle-style assault of the German occupied cliffs, using grappling hooks and ladders borrowed from London fire departments. Only about a third of the Rangers survived the vertical assault.
The large monument at the end of the bluff is the Ranger “Dagger” planted firmly in the ground. The German bunkers and the bombed-out landscape remain just as they were found. This position was the most heavily bombarded of all on D-Day, receiving more than 10,000 tons of bombs.”
Huge holes all over the fields where bombs had landed…
The thing Bayeux is the most famous for is the Bayeux Tapestry… made of wool embroidered onto a 70 yard linen cloth. Ya, 70 yards! The tapestry tells the story of William the Conqueror’s rise from duke of Normandy to King of England and shows his victory over Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Long and skinny, it was designed to hang in the nave of Bayeux’s cathedral. We were able to see the actual tapestry and listen to an audio guide in English of exactly what each picture meant. It was really interesting. (No photos).
After viewing the tapestry we made our way to Bayeux’s Cathedral. Loved the red door. We grabbed sandwiches on the way our way out of town and ate in the van on the way to stop #2. (Chris and I are loving the long tuna sandwiches with tomato and egg inside these days. Yum)
