France July 2103 - Day 2 - Omaha Beach Normandy

Our second day in Normandy was spent in awe at Omaha beach and the American cemetery.  We both have a fascination with World War II history.  This day was unbelievable.  We spent the morning at the American Cemetery, where they have a wonderful museum that gives all the history of the war, with wonderful displays and documentary movie clips.  Then we made our way into the cemetery.  Wow.  I find it difficult to put into words the feelings I had.  If you have ever been to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, you will know what I mean.  The sheer volume of pristine white crosses is almost haunting. 

 

After we explored the cemetery, we made our way down to Omaha Beach.  It is not commercialized.  It is an enormous beach, comparable to Daytona Beach in Florida.  When we walked out onto that beach and I thought about all the troops that disembarked and fought their way across that enormous beach, dodging artillery and wicked looking German beach obstacles and mines, I felt my stomach flip flop.  My heart broke for all those men that stormed the beaches of Normandy that day.  I felt sad, angry, grateful, proud...all at the same time.  I went down to the water and looked back up the top of the hill, where the cemetery is, and thought how impossibly far it looked.  I thought about all the blood that was spilled by that greatest generation.  It was a very humbling and reverent morning.

 

We found a wonderful little restaurant on the beach and enjoyed our lunch at the beach. Then we got in the car and drove down the coast through charming small towns.  We saw Utah Beach, Juno Beach, Gold Beach and Sword Beach, a man made port used during the war and all kinds of old churches and buildings that were destroyed by bombings but have been since rebuilt.  They had photos of what they looked like before the war, during the war and after the war.  We stopped a few more places and saw trenches and foxholes and tunnels used by the Germans.

Manmade port at Juno Beach

Foxholes and tunnels.

 

 

 

 

 We ended the day at Pegasus Bridge, where the British gliders landed to take out strategic bridges to ensure the Germans couldn't advance.  This is the preliminary strike before our troops took the Normandy beaches.

It was a day full of history, emotions, beautiful weather, charming French villages and wonderful goodies found at out of the way bakeries.

We also realized how good it was to drive again.  It made us realize how restrained our lives are in Algiers.  We felt free and it felt good! 

 

 

France July 2013 - Day 1 - Etrétat and Houlgate in Northern France (Normandy)

After planning the 4th of July official event for the embassy, I was so ready for a break!  Kirk planned a wonderful weekend in France.  We flew into Paris at night, rented a car the next morning and drove to Normandy where we spent 2 wonderful days!   We stayed in this place, where we had a small apartment with a balcony (where we enjoyed wine, cheese and baguettes)!

 

We spent the first day in Etrétat, where we explored the archipelagos (natural arches).  We hiked up to the top of each arch. 

 

                               It was VERY windy this day!

This is the village, nestled in the small cove.

This beautiful old church and the pasture of lazy French cows were at the top of one of the arches.

 

  The beach is not sandy but made of smooth stones.

There was a really big cave that we walked into to explore. 

We felt like pirates searching for booty!  Arrrggghhhhhh!

 

 

 

 

After our day in Etrétat, we drove to a small village called Touques on our way back to our hotel.  My relatives have traced our family tree back to this small French village in the 1600's.  The church is where one of my ancestors, Marthe Rainville, was baptized. 

Some of these buildings have been standing since the 11th century or earlier! 

It was an amazing afternoon of exploring and seeing so much history.

The view from our room in Houlgate.

This is the sunset from the beachside restaurant where we enjoyed a leisurely

French meal and a lovely bottle of wine.

 

 

Alicante Spain May 2013

Memorial Day weekend was spent in Alicante, Spain.  It is in the region known as Costa Blanca (the white coast).  We enjoyed 4 days of sun, relaxation and good food!  It is a quiet beach town, much smaller than Barcelona but we enjoyed it very much.
Here
 are some photos from our trip:

The sidewalks on "Las Ramblas", the main street near the beach.  These were a little challenging after a couple of sangrias!!  Actually, even sober, they messed with my mind!

 



Me Tarzan...

You Jane!

 

 This is the view of the Castillo Santa Barbara from outside our hotel (way at the top of that hill).  We hiked to the top one day and had some beautiful views.  It was a great day hike and we worked off some of the great food and wine we had been enjoying!

The view from the top, with the Spanish flag flying behind us.

 

  Sunset at the beach, right outside our hotel.

 

On our way to dinner.