So the adventure is over, the Driver and I have been back in Australia for a week or so, but I still have a couple more stories to share.

Quite a lot of our stay in Normandy was spent exploring the many museums, sites and monuments that commemorate the Battle of Normandy . “Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day). A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August.” Operation Overlord Wikipedia

I knew very little about the Battle of Normandy and D-Day, it was another just another battle I heard about in school and at Anzac Day ceremonies and I certainly wasn’t ready for the stories that unfolded as we visited each site.

We started off at the Museum of the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux, just to to get a background and understanding before we visited the beaches. I was particularly taken with the human element of the museum, the stories of the soldiers and villagers and the efforts of the auxiliary staff

 

The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located in Bayeux, Normandy. The cemetery contains 4,648 burials, mostly of the Invasion of Normandy. I wasn’t all that fussed whether I went to the cemetery but I was so glad I did. It was very peaceful and well maintained, and so moving to see the rows and rows of headstones.

 

The memorial to the 2000 plus war correspondents killed since 1944 was also moving. Without their efforts and sacrifices we wouldn’t be aware of the what happens on the battlefields.

Omaha Beach is probably the most well known of the D-Day beaches, it is the setting of the movie Saving Private Ryan. It was the bloodiest of the D-Day beaches, with roughly 2,400 U.S. troops ending up dead, wounded or missing. Surrounded by cliffs and pounded by heavy seas which made landing difficult, the Americans struggled on the first day but managed to overcome the enemy and take a toehold on the territory.

116th Regimental Combat Team memorial

The Normandy American Cemetry is the burial place of over 9 000troops and marks over 1500 troops missing in action.

Mulberry harbours were temporary portable harbours developed by the British to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy. After the Allies successfully held beachheads following D-Day, two prefabricated harbours were taken in sections across the English Channel from Britain with the invading army and assembled off Omaha (Mulberry “A”) and Gold Beach (Mulberry “B”) at Arromanches. The Royal Engineers built a complete Mulberry Harbour out of 600,000 tons of concrete between 33 jetties, and had 10 mi (16 km) of floating roadways to land men and vehicles on the beach.

There is so much to see and learn along this fascination coastline and we’d only explored a little of it. But I am so glad to have had this opportunity, it is a fascinating commemoration of the ingenuity and cooperation that went into the D-Day landings, the absolute courage of the battle troops and auxiliary forces in storming and holding the positions along the coast and a stark reminder of how lucky I am to live on a beach that has never seen war.

And so to our last week, Normandy. I didn’t choose Normandy for any particular reason other than we didn’t want too long a drive to Paris at the end, and we wanted somewhere close to the coast. With all that I’ve learnt from our Airbnb stays I was rather particular with my filters when I was looking for somewhere to stay, and being summer holidays in France, our choice was rather limited. But what a delightful choice we made, the tiny village of Sommervieu, about 20 mins drive from the D-Day beaches and 10 mins from Bayeux, home of the Bayeux Tapestry.

There I was enjoying my morning coffee in the local bar on our first morning when I got a lungful of smoke and a sprinkle of ash in my coffee. It was the Sunday chicken rotisserie van! Having shared the smoke I had to get one, potatoes included,  I whipped up a salad, and that with a bottle of rosé was Sunday lunch in our beautiful garden.

Bayeux is a medieval city which remained remarkably unscathed during the D-Day campaign. I couldn’t get over how old the city is. The Norman-Gothic Cathedral de Notre Dame was dedicated in the presence of William the Conqueror in 1077. Doesn’t that just blow your mind – 1077!

The Bayeux Tapestry (which is technically an embroidery, not a tapestry) is housed in the the Bayeux Museum. It tells the story of the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Beginning in Normandy with Harold promising to support William’s claim to the English throne, then following Harold’s journey back to England where he takes the throne for himself. On hearing this news William gathers an army of 7 000 men , trave’s to England where his men rampage through the country, culminating in the Battle of Hastings where William sizes the throne. The Tapestry is wool on linen, 70 meters long, and is viewed in a long room. It’s wonderful. You are not allowed to take photos, this is a photo from Trip Advisor of the viewing room. The full story can be read here The story of the Bayeux Tapestry

The MAHB, the Museum of Art and History is Housed in the Bishop’s palace (11th – 18th Century),and offers a journey through the history of European art, from archaelogy to Modern Art. I absolutely loved the lace exhibition which included beautiful, beautiful pieces of lace as well as tools used in lace making.

 

And of course, there was the food!

 

The wifi in our gite didn’t work so I spent quite a bit of time at the local bar

I’ve never seen these charging stations for electric cars before, plug it in and pay by credit card!

Be like Australians, take your rubbish home!

 

One of my  favourite days was our visit to the floating abbey, Le Mont Sainte Michel, a magical island topped by a medieval abbey. It is situated on athe bay where Brittany meets Normandy. It was a really rainy day and I felt for the Driver driving under those conditions, but it did make for a very misty and mystical walk of 3 kms across the walkway to the island. I was all psyched up to climb the 900 steps to the abbey, but in the end the thought of all those steps in the rain was too much! Instead we had a very expensive hot drink in the crowded alleyway of souvenir shops and cafes. Le Mont Sainte Michel

 

We spent a lot of time in Normandy at the D-Day beaches and memorials, but that is for another day.

 

This village is one of the most powerful sights in France, a very sobering reminder of the not too distant past, evidence and memories of which are still so present in the lives of many French people.

“Village des Martyrs, as it is known, was machine-gunned and burned on June 10, 1944, by Nazi troops. The Nazis were either seeking revenge for the killing of one of their officers (by French Resistance fighters in a neighboring village) or simply terrorizing the populace in preparation for the upcoming Allied invasion (this was four days after D-Day).

With cool attention to detail, the Nazis methodically rounded up the entire population of 642 townspeople. The women and children were herded into the town church, where they were tear-gassed and machine-gunned. Plaques mark the place where the town’s men were grouped and executed. The town was then set on fire, its victims left under a blanket of ashes. Today, the ghost town, left untouched for more than 60 years, greets every pilgrim who enters with only one English word: Remember.” Rick Steves Village des Martyrs

I only took a couple of photos, I think we can get too involved in what would be a good photo, and lose sight of the real picture.

I love the Limousin area of France, of all the places I have visited in Europe, this is my favourite – the countryside, the villages, the food, wonderful! We stayed in a lovely gite in the tiny village of Thiex, it was so relaxing after a few weeks of traveling and sightseeing. We just enjoyed reading in the garden, going to the lovely village of Bussiere for our baguette and pastries each morning and driving to the nearby towns in the afternoon, coming home and having a swim in the pool in the afternoon and enjoying a beer or wine in the evening.

Our gite in Thiex

We spent an interesting day watching the harvesting in the field over the road. The harvester turned up in the morning and having maneuvered it’s way into the field promptly broke down. This caused much gesturing, hands on hips and animated conversation.

However they finally managed to get it going and the harvest done

Hmmmm, I think it’s full mate!

 

Delicious food

Market day at Morillon

The villages and countryside

 

Every Thursday evening the people of Le Dorat and surrounding villages gather for a communal BBQ. The local producers showcase their produce, you can buy meat and have it cooked, and everyone sits together on long benches and eat and drink to the music of the local band. It has a real sense of community, I loved it.

I will return!