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Our next stop after Rotterdam was Le Havre France. We were scheduled to tour the Landing Beaches of Normandy from this port. When we boarded the ship we were assigned a boarding card that identified us as passengers and is even cross referenced to our picture (the wonders of digital photography). As we were in line to go to the bus, the security people would not let Marci leave the ship. It seems she picked up the wrong card. By the time I went to our cabin, got her card and returned our bus for the tour had left. From the port to the Normandy Beaches is almost a two hour drive and much too far to take a cab so we were out of luck. As a substitute, the tour company added us to a tour that was getting ready to leave for Honfleur. As it turned out we enjoyed the substitute tour very much. Honfleur is a small perfectly preserved 13th-century Norman fishing village located where the Seine River empties into the sea. It is very old, established sometime in the 900's by the Vikings. It survived many wars through history including both world wars. It is considered the birthplace of the Impressionist and Romantic art movements. Even today, it is visited by many painters as an ideal place to enjoy and paint. It is very picturesque with many old buildings and has the largest church made of wood in France. Another interesting feature of the church is the bell tower that is not part of the church but a separate building across the street.

Before we got on the bus, we were introduced to the tour guide. He was informed of our disappointment at not going to Normandy and ask if he would spend some time with us to talk about the Beaches. It seems Christian (the guide) was a student of the area and the invasion and said he would be more than happy to talk with us. When he finished the tour and turned everyone loose to shop or eat, we went to a small café with him to have coffee (European style). Christian spent about 45 minutes with us explaining the countryside around Normandy and the movement of the Germans as the battle progressed. It was obvious that he was very familiar with the history and we really enjoyed the time spent with him. Someday we will go back to the Normandy Beaches and also to Honfleur.

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