Our Day In Normandy

The reason to come to Caen was really to get to Normandy. After all, the whole trip can't just be about where to find the best Macarons at a reasonable price.

Again, Jenny wanted to follow me in my car, and once again, my GPS acted like a drunk local who just wanted to see how many crazy things this idiot tourist would do just because they said so. There were paths my GPS led us down that Google maps had never heard of. But... man was the drive scenic.

We started off the day at the Canadian Cemetary. It was very pretty but a lot smaller than what I was expecting. I guess we have 2 cemeteries.... who knew?!?! We took our time, read a pile of names, looked for graves from the south saskatchewan regiment (Jen's grandpa served in that regiment) , and the Regina rifles, and then we left on our way to the Juno beach centre. Once there, we made our way through the museum part and then took part in a tour of a couple of bunkers. It was all very interesting. Apparently the Germans had a cataloge you could order bunkers from. They got really good at it and had like 900 different types of bunkers.

After that we went to find Canada house which is famous for having been the first house liberated.... and having survived. You can see it in some of the earliest photos after D Day.

Then it was the adventure to find food. It was a Sunday so a lot of the stores and restaurants were closed. We decided to head to Omaha beach because we figured it would be more open. And boy..... was it ever. After a relatively quiet experience at Juno, Omaha was insane!!! We drove up and down the beach looking for somewhere, literally anywhere to park. And we just couldn't. We lost each other at one point and spent 20 minutes trying to find each other, so we decided it wasn't worth it and we decided to leave. It didn't help that we were hot
, tired, and running on empty stomachs. So we drove 25 minutes to Bayeux, finally found some food, and then regrouped. After settling down a bit, we decided to give it one last try. While Omaha beach would be cool, what I really wanted to see was Pointe Du Hoc. It was enough out of the way that we thought it wouldn't be as busy as there are no beaches because it is on a cliff. We wanted to see the bunkers and the really big craters left by the shelling of the bunkers during d-day.

Again, my GPS led us on an adventure driving down farmers lanes and restricted areas with gates. I finally pulled over, had a little talk with it, and said "Forget you" and I let Google take us the last kilometer or so.

And we are really glad we did. Pointe du Hoc was not busy and was really cool. It is surreal seeing craters bigger than my house littering a field right beside a large bunker. After taking it all in and reading every placard we could find we were back in the vehicles heading home. This time, my GPS took us down the highway and we were home in no time with no miscellaneous death defying adventures. I guess the GPS just needed a talking to.

Then it was time to pack up again, clean things up in the apartment, and prep for our journey back to Paris tomorrow.

All in all, we didn't get close to seeing all we wanted to but I am greatful for what we did see. We could have spent a week here trying to get to everything and really immerse ourselves in the history of this place and what it went through in ww2. I will definitely come back... but for sure in more of the off season 😉. And there is no way you could do it without a car or a tour company so I am glad we had the cars.

Ok. Off to bed. Good night and we will talk to you more tomorrow.Read more