Day 7 - Of Detours and Destruction

Hey folks! Welcome back!

In case we didn't convey last night how awesome our Bayeux digs are, here's a picture of the former 18th century mansion we're staying at.


It was as we were leaving our lodgings this morning that our troubles began. Despite having lots of room, and a reverse alarm that beeps loudly whenever he's about to hit something, Handler 2 managed to back into a large sycamore (yes, Handler 1 did, in fact, take the time to identify the tree).

Here's the damage.

Handler 2 just has no luck with rental cars.

Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it now, so we took off into wilds of Normany to go sunbathing.

Wait...there's no sunbathing? We're going to a beach aren't we? What do you mean it's too cold today? We, regardless, here we are at Utah beach! That's the D-Day landing site farthest to the left (west) as you look at a map.

Also, of interest to pretty much only Handler 1, there were people trining racing trotters on the sand.

On our way to the next stop, we took a quick side trip through the town of Carentan (featured prominently in the TV series, Band of Brothers), then headed out towards Ponte du Hoc (where US rangers made a famous assault up a cliff). Unfortunately, we met a detour sign which took us from our path. At first, this was an enjoyable side track. We got to cruise through idyllic parts of the French countryside you wouldn't normally get to see. And Handler 2 got to drive through harrowing things such as this.

That reminds me, Handler 2, in general, is doing very well at not freaking out while driving in pressure situations in a car he's not familiar with, within a foreign country. That doesn't mean that he doesn't freak out a little, but he's justified in doing so. For instance, France is full of suicidal motorcyclists. The night before, while traveling to Bayeux, we saw one such individual who shows you exactly what we mean by suicidal. He was riding his motorbike (more of a scooter, really)...on the highway....at night....without his lights on. Yeah...crazy.

Handler 1 was becoming disturbed because we did not seem to be being routed back to Ponte du Hoc...in fact we seemed to be being herded farter and farther from the coast. After we passed where Omaha Bech should be (having left Ponte du Hoc far behind) she really got...displeased is probably a good word. After being routed in this incredibly stupid manner for some time, we gave up on following the detour signs. This turned out to be the correct thing to do because, even though we couldn't get to Ponte du Hoc, we did manage to find our way to Omaha beach, and finally to the American Cemetary.

There, a guide indicated to us that the roads leading to Ponte du Hoc were closed that day because a number of potentially still live mines had just been discovered and they were in the act of being removed. Think about that for a moment...it's been almost 70 years since those were placed, and they just now found them.

One thing about the American Cemetary, which was also true at Utah and Omah beches as well, it was all very peaceful. All very quiet. With beautiful views out over the water.

Giving up on Ponte du Hoc, we traveled onwards to Longues sur Mer, which is the only place where you can see the German guns intact in their emplcements.

Here's the view from the cliffs at Longues sur Mer (you can see the remains of the mulberry harbour at Arromanches way off in in the background).

What's a mulberry harbour? It's a harbour created by sinking platforms and then linking the platforms up with floating docks to the shore. This allowed large ships to dock and unload cargo even though the Allies didn't yet have control of a deep water harbor. Pretty neat, huh?

And here we re at Arromanches, where the mulberry harbour was actually built.

There was still daylight left to burn, and Handler 1 thought we could make it to Bayeux in time to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry before the museum closed. So we jumped in the Plucky Pugeot and headed back into town. It took us a while to find parking, and a little bit longer to navigate the tiny streets of Bayeux, but we finlly made it to the tapestry museum!

Only to find out that the last entrance permitted was 45 minutes before the closing time, and we had missed it by about 15 minutes.

Depressed at yet again missing out on a good site (but knowing that Handler 1 had planned for us to see it tomorrow anyways) we decided to take a look at Bayeux's tiny cathedral. The light was just right at this time of day, and the whole building was just beatiful. It may not be as big as some others, but it makes up for what it lacks in a delicacy of style that Handler 1 really appreciated.

After taking pictures of the outside, we headed inside...only to realize that the cathedral (like everything else recently) had just closed for the day.

Having been now thwarted at every turn, the Handlers thought they would pop into a gift shop (that, at least, was open). You see, they'd tried to get a Christmas tree ornament (their vacation habit) from the D-Day sites, but had found very few museum shops. As such, they thought they might be able to find a Normndy themed ornment in the tacky souvenier plce next to the cathedral. Wonder of wonders, they did! And they brought it up to the counter to pay for it...and Handler 2 dropped it.

It promptly broke into five pieces, which the Handlers dutifully collected and paid for, and Handler 2 swore he'd glue it later that evening.

Then it began to rain.

The Handlers made it back to their car, picked up their raincoats, and heded back into town to find someplace to eat. They eventually found a likely place and ordered what looked to be a good meal (don'tworry, it was...this story isn't all horrible). Soon, another American couple was seated next to them and they struck up a conversation which then proceeded throughout all of their dinners. These nice folks totally turned the thus far disappointing day around, and we were able to head back to our lovely hotel in a mindset that was something like contentment.

Tomorrow, Bayeux Part Deux and Mont St. Michel!

New Trip Strategy: Meh. If something happens that's not in our plans, the correct response is "Meh".

Quote of the Day: "Who's a pretty Cathedral?Yes, you are. Oh, who went and put that tree in front of you, that ws silly."