July 14 - Normandy

Headed to the beaches of Normandy. Me being the WWII history lover couldn't wait. On the way, we almost ran out of gas because we didn't realize it was a holiday and that most gas stations would be closed! We did a lot of praying from our little car and just barely made it to an open station. Spent most of the day at the American Cemetery that is located above the Omaha beachhead. The cemetery is located at the point where the Americans finally breached the German fortifications. We were there during low tide just like them that day and it was a LOT of open ground. Trying to imagine what kind of hell those guys went through... very touching. The museum that opened last year was great. Had a lot of interactive videos and stuff. Told a lot of personal stories of bravery and sacrifice. It had one section where survivors retold stories from that day... tough stuff to hear. We witnessed a veteran returning to Normandy and were unable to hold our tears back as he began to cry remembering. Walked around the cemetery, over 9000 graves are there. The Americans lost 3600 just on Omaha beach that one day. Just amazing to think about.

Later that day, we went and found our hotel in Arromanches. This small seaside town was the site of Gold beach and later was made into an artificial harbor by sinking some ships and constructing bridges. We walked around the town and had a lovely supper by the seashore. Since it was France's independence day, they had a fireworks show and some live music. Just a wonderful time. We didn't get to celebrate the American independence day but learning about the sacrifices of our forefathers and being able to witness France's independence day was a decent substitute.