Villedieu les Poeles
En route to Bayeux, which would be our home base for exploring the Normandy beaches, we stopped briefly for lunch in the little village of Villedieu les Poeles. We had a great lunch and ... found another church!
Bayeux and the Normandy Beaches
The American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. We chose this photo as our background simply because it speaks volumes all by itself. Grave markers almost as far as the eye can see - imagine the number of young men killed on June 6, 1944. D-Day.
The little town of Villedieu les Poeles. The church is Notre Dame du Bessin.
An impressive organ!
Bayeux
And on to Bayeux, our home for the next two nights. The main attraction in this town is the Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Battle of Hastings (1066), in which William the Conqueror defeated King Harold of England and became the King of England, a pivotal date for England and for France. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed inside, but it is truly awesome!
We even had fun after the day's sightseeing. For dinner we went to a local restaurant recommended in Rick's guide book. We had a truly nummy lamb dinner, enhanced by listening to the group of Canadian tourists sitting near us who were discussing ... of all things ... American politics and the campaigns of Trump and Clinton. Truly entertaining to listen to, but there was no way we were going to jump into the middle of THAT conversation.
Our home in Bayeux, the Hotel d'Argouges. Lovely, and very comfortable.
Normandy Beaches
Our visit to the Normandy beaches was emotional for a lot of our group. Just seeing where so many soldiers died was sobering. Our local guide for the area was so knowledgeable about the towns and the battles that were fought. You could tell that he really loved the history. He made it come alive.
We began our tour of the Normandy beaches region with a stop at the German cemetery. As an American, I had never focused on the huge number of Germans who also died here and I found the black crosses strangely disturbing.