Now on to Tuesday, August 22.

After another scrumptious French breakfast we packed up from the B&B and headed to the nearby town of St. Mere Eglise, which, if you are a student of D Day history, will know that this town was the centre of the American airborne paratrooper operations in the early morning hours of D Day. The goals was to protect the landing at nearby Utah Beach as well as to secure important bridges in order to facilitate the breakout from the beachhead.

This is the town that has an effigy of John Steele hanging from their church steeple where his parachute got hung up. Their is a wonderful museum in the town with all sorts of photographs, films, equipment, a Waco glider and a C-47, rifles, machien guns, bazookas. All sorts of great stuff for kids (and some adults too!) We wanted to find a museum that the boys would enjoy... and they did.

Next we headed to the massive American cemetary at Omaha Beach (remember "Saving Private Ryan?"), which both Dad and I agreed that a visit to Normandy would not be complete without a visit to. Over 9000 Americans killed from all over France are interned here. It is stunning and sobering. The cemetary is immaculate and as you walk through it, songs of patriotism and mourning, chimed by bell, are piped out of the large white memorial structure at the head of the cemetary. While it seems to be a tad over the top, it is nonetheless very moving.

Mom's legs couldn't handle the walk down the steps to the beach so she headed back to the van, Nanc and the boys went down to the beach to play, and Dad and I just walked through the headstones soaking it all in. Dad and I then headed down to the beach as well where it was a beautiful day. Jonas joined us for a walk down the shore and up a bluff to a bunker complex that is remnant of the Atlantic Wall that the German's built in the early 1940's to repel any Allied invasion. The building of the Atlantic Wall employed 2 million workers and was reported to be the largest construction project of the 20th century. As we stood on the bunkers looking down on the beach, it is easy to see why it weas called "Bloody Omaha". Just above the bunker is a memorial to the 1st Infantry Division that landed here (Big Red One to you history buffs).

Leaving Omaha we had a pleasant lunch at a cafe with most of us having omlettes and then stopped in at a farm to sample the local Calvados. Calvados is a apple cider hooch that this area is famous for. In fact, this area of Normandy is called Calvados. The Allied troops were quite willing to 'liberate' the local bottles of Calvados. Mom stopped sampling after the first 40% alcohol sample, but Nancy and I soldiered on and left with a few bottles for posterity.

As we left the area to head down to our B&B about an hour south we stopped in at the German cemetary at La Cambe where over 21,000 German soldiers are buried. Although I had wanted to, Dad was not too keen initially, it was Gideon who wanted to and we made the visit at his request. Admittedly I had mixed feelings about it but when you realize that these men (and even boys) did not always choose the cause or the fight, and were sons, husbands and fathers as well, it becomes very significant. With it's dark grave markers set into the grass, it is quite a contrast to the nearby American cemetary.

Our B&B for the night was in Le Luot in the south of Normandy. Not my best pick of B&B's, and more of a rooming house, but still comfortable. We had dinner with Johan and Anna Mieke, but more on that later...


John Steele's effigy where he landed on the church on D Day


Gideon on the trampoline at our B&B at Le Luot



Omaha Beach cemetary

Jonas'photograph of Mom and Nanc and a half track at the museum at St Mere Eglise