04/26/2026 – Time to Storm the Beaches in Normandy!
In the morning, after a nice breakfast (did we mention it was free??), we took an Uber back to the airport where we picked up a rental car and drove to Bayeux. The car was another Fiat, but at least it had an automatic transmission and was not a “convertible” like the last Fiat we had in Italy. The drive was pleasant and we made it to Bayeux by mid-afternoon. Bayeux is at the heart of the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 1944 when the Allies began the liberation of France and the downfall of Nazism. At the hotel, we met up with our dear friends Chris and Elena. They are from the UK and we met them while touring the Galapagos Islands in 2022. We have stayed in touch with them ever since. We were hoping that they would come to Bayeux on a boat and storm the beach on foot, but “no”, they drove their German-made Volkswagen from London through the Channel Tunnel. Maybe it was because Elena is originally from Italy that they downplayed the huge battle against fascism? Anyway, it was great to meet up with them again and we spent all night talking and catching up.
04/27/2026 – Utah, Omaha, Sword, Juno and Gold Beaches
We got up early and had a nice breakfast in town. Then, we walked to the Commonwealth Cemetery and learned a lot about how many people from the many different countries gave their lives during this huge battle. At 1 pm, we met up with our guide for the day, Adrian. Adrian took us to a few of the beaches and taught us how the battled unfolded. Seeing documentaries and movies about the biggest naval invasion in history does not do the actual area justice. And learning things like how the beaches got their code names, or how the Allies soldiers accomplished the things they did was amazing. We eventually ended our tour at the US cemetery where we observed the playing of taps and the lowering of the flags at the end of the day. Solemn and heartfelt come close to describing our feelings.
After Adrian dropped us back off at our meeting point, we walked back to the hotel, picked up Chris’ vehicle and drove to a relatively new memorial at Gold Beach which had silhouettes of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, chaplains, and nurses – along with placards placed by family and friends of those who served there – in a solemn, head-down pose as if bowing to those great women and men. Seeing the scene at sunset was incredible.
Next on the list, find dinner, a not so easy feat. Not as hard as the D Day landing, but when you are hungry and everything is closed it feels pretty daunting. We wandered around the town trying to find a place to eat, but there was absolutely nothing open except for a tiny store where we got some pop and chips (or “crisps” as Chris confusingly calls them!) to tide us over until we could drive back to Bayeux and get a proper meal.
It was another very long day with miles and miles of walking, but it was so worth it to see the battlefields and spend time with some dear friends.