Victor meets us at 5am to take us to the airport. We arrive 3 hours later in Paris to find one of the suitcases has been damaged. Reporting the damage is not a smart move as it takes over an hour to complete the report. We collect the car and set off for Honfluer . We are convinced the GPS is not working, but I think we will just have to get use the way it operates
Honfluer is picture postcard town. Every second shop seems to be selling original paintings. However all is not lost as I soon find the local supermarket and get a supply of wine. The local restaurants surround the water front and we are soon tucking into a feed of local mussels. With our early start to the day, we feel quite sleepy and head home for an early night.
Tuesday it rains all day but we still venture out [thank God for Tasha’s raincoat] but we still get drenched. Finally we find a souvenir shop selling umbrellas so we can continue to explore this fascinating town. Treat ourselves to a wonderful meal at a great restaurant where the food is devine and the service exceptional. [And so was the wine!]
Next day the weather is great and we take lots of photographs before heading off on our journey.
Ken discovered that the flapping sound we heard after collecting the car was really our front number plate coming loose and we find ourselves san numberplate.
We decide to see the D Day landing area of Omaha Beach on our way and are amazed at the number of army jeeps beetling around the area carrying visitors to the area. We meet two WW2 veterans at Pegasus Bridge and have a great yarn with them about the war. They proudly show us all their campaign medals. Both were 85 years of age and bright as buttons. They were only 19 when they landed and showed us pictures of themselves as young soldiers and the bunker they took out on that fateful day. We passed a war cemetery which was beautifully maintained. Sadly some of the graves only had the inscription “a soldier of the second world war” with no indication of his name but “known only to God”. At Omaha beach we met some more British veterans who invited us to view their 64th celebration on June 6th at Bayeux. They were equally well decorated for their efforts and one had helped liberate the Australian soldiers from Burma.
La Reverie is a beautiful apartment with excellent furnishings and all the mod cons you could imagine. Cat welcomed us on our first day with a basket of goodies to get us started which included a bottle of wine, coffee, bread, milk and fruit juice. We were glad to do a full clothes wash for the first time in a week and have settled in reading from her extensive library.
We return to the Normandy beaches for June 6th and the town of Bayeux is alive with WW2 jeeps, motorbikes and other ex-army vehicles. We tour the WW2 museum at Bayeux (this is one of about 20 in the Normandy area) and get talking to the Vets again. They invite us up to the memorial service to be held at the Commonwealth cemetery which we accept. Once again, we find it immaculately maintained and we join in and watch proceedings.
After the ceremony has concluded we go off to view the Bayeux tapestries. This tapestry is about 30 metres long and tells of the story of William the Conqueror. It came with an excellent audio guide and reminded me of all the history lessons I have forgotten. Thought the tapestry was looking a bit old. I think they should buy a new one.
After this we go down to the American cemetery overlooking Omaha beach. The Americans have created a large visitor centre there, with videos showing some of the action during as well as interviews recorded with the various Generals. Before we are allowed in, we have to go through security checks similar to boarding an aircraft. There are big crowds at the site with many tourist busses bringing people in for the visit. We spend some more time walking through the cemetery before heading back to our house. On the way back, the police notice I have a missing number plate. They speak English so I tell them the story. They are not too concerned, but suggest we go the garage and get a new one fitted. Now I have a different coloured number plate on the front, but at least every time I park the car I won’t have someone telling me about the missing plate. The next day we go to a village market and there is a stall making number plates.
Sunday we set off for Mont St-Michel. This is a huge monastery built on a rocky outcrop just off the coast. At times, high tide covers the lower car park and there are warning signs telling of the tide movements. We climb hundreds of steps to get to the church built on the very peak and go to mass. It is beautifully sung by about 12 religious (priest, brothers and nuns) and although the majority of people visiting are just tourists, there are about 200 people attending the mass. After the mass we become tourists again and complete the tour of the monastery. Although there are many restaurants and hotels at the monastery, we decide to head back to the town for a much needed coffee. We use the Michelin guide to find the scenic route home and a well earned glass of wine.
