France - Normandy, Chartres, Mont St. Michel

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6-4-07
I got up around 7, had a quick breakfast and was out the door around 8:00. I walked to the metro station near the hostel, got on the train and was at the train station by 8:30 man things were going smoothly this day. I got in line at the ticket counter and waited a few minutes and then told the agent I wanted to go to Chartres. They told me you have to go to the other Paris Station. Damn what was turning into a very smooth morning, just took a turn in the wrong direction. I got another ticket for the metro and headed to the other station. Fortunately, I was getting pretty good at the subway system in Paris and did not have any problem getting to the other station. At the station I made it to the ticket counter and talked to another American there. He was traveling with his two daughters. He is originally from Quincy, but now lives in the Chicago area. At the ticket counter they told me I needed to go upstairs for the ticket to Chartres. I ask them if I needed a reservation since I have a rail pass. The person said no. I was good to go and the guy I had been talking to needed to go upstairs to get his ticket to Chartres. I waited near the "big board", which tells you what platform to go to for your train. I saw the guy that I had been talking to going to get his tickets and his daughters were watching the luggage. I talked to them for awhile and the one is going to the University of Illinois. We got on our train and were on our way. I have a first class ticket; because I am old I have no choice, but to get the first class ticket. The people I was talking to however had gotten second class tickets so we sat on different cars. I could have sat with them, but for whatever reason I felt like sitting in the roomier first class area.

The ride to Chartres was rather short, probably around an hour. Paris is nice, but it is nice to get out of the big City as well. Additionally, everything is expensive there. In Chartres I saw the dad and his daughters again and they said they had lodging in the country near Chartres and I told them I planned to look for a hostel. We said our goodbyes, but I thought in such a small town there is a good chance we would run into each other again.

I walked to the tourist information center which is right near the big church. I told them I had this afternoon to walk around Chartres, what are the main things to see? He said the Church and mentioned some lesser things. It was kind of nice only having a few things to do, having just been to Paris this is a stark contrast to that City. I would check out the church then walk to the hostel.

The church is right near the tourist information office and was quite impressive. The stain glass is the main feature of this church. It has lots and lots of stained glass. Also there are twin steeples on this church, one steeple is very gothic while the other is pretty simple. The gothic one was built after the simpler one. They had to wait for additional funds before the second more gothic one could be built.

The gargoyles protruded off the steeples in several locations like the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The arches too coming off the sides of the church on it's exterior were quite unique with all the flying buttresses. Inside the church it was massive and had lots of sculptures. There were a couple paintings, but nothing like what you see in the Italian churches. Around the altar there is a wall about 10 ft. high that partially separates the alter from the rest of the church. This wall contains lots of cool sculptures some of which are damaged. As previously stated the stain glass is a central component of this church. It is everywhere and makes up big mosaics. I was wanting to listen to some music in a church and ask the information ladies if their was any music being played in the church today. She said there was tomorrow night and gave me a flier. The flier stated St. Charles, Illinois is playing there tomorrow. That seemed a little crazy, but kind of cool.

As I was walking I ran into Dad and his daughters. I gave them the flier and they said St. Charles is right down the road from them. They thanked me and I decided to head out and look for a McDonalds hoping for internet access as often they have wifi as I had found in Paris. This one however did not have wifi. Chartres is in a very rural area and I presume that is part of the reason why it does not have the wifi. It does have however, some sort of itunes thing. Not sure watch you call it, but they have headphones where you can pick a song on the computer screen and it is played on the headphones. There were about 6 screens like that. As you might imagine there were lots of kids in the McDonalds. I decided to type for awhile since there was no use going to the hostel this early in the afternoon as it might not be open. A couple moms and their kids sat down next to me the oldest kid probably 4 and the youngest around 2. I made some funny faces at the kids and they enjoyed that. I let the 4 year old type on the keyboard and see the letters appear on the screen. I was having fun with them. I taught the 4 year old my secret handshake and he surprisingly caught on very fast. At first he was too shy to touch a complete strangers hand, but mom encouraged him to do so. We enjoyed each others company for a short time and then I resumed typing.

Around 5 I decided to make my way to the Hostel. I walked in the general direction I thought I needed to go, but then realized I was kind of lost. It is very hard finding a lot of the streets on these maps as they are only that name for about a block usually and then they change. This makes it very hard to find your location on the map. I kept looking for the church to get my bearings, but was having a hard time finding this monastery. Finally I did find it and realized I needed to head back in that direction to get to the hostel.

I walked along a stream and realized this is where the tourist information center attendant recommended walking. I wondered how the tourist information center decides where this walk should be, as this affects a lot of businesses. I am sure the businesses would like as many people as possible walking past their business. Maybe it is legit as the stream is cool, but I wonder if the businesses maybe persuade the tourist center a little as well, on telling people where to walk.

In walking to the hostel the last leg was up a hill. The map showed a road, but the road actually dead ends into a sidewalk, which confused me a little as the map portrays a road. Not the first time a map has been less than accurate. Once at the hostel I looked behind me and there was a great view of the church. I checked in and the cost was only 13.50 € which is the cheapest yet. They do not provide sheets though which is a gimmick to get a little more money out of you. I had my own sheets so I used them. This is a non HI hostel and is the cheapest and very clean as well. The hostel provided lockers as well.

I laid down for about 30 minutes and a guy came in for a couple minutes during that time period. After that I went back and got some supper. They had some groceries on the shelf and one of the cans of food was beans with sausage. It was very simple to prepare as all I needed to do is heat it up and only cost a couple euros. Actually the beans were lentils with sausage. I am not sure I have had those before, but I have heard of them. They were okay and very filling. I also bought a bottle of wine, mainly because it was only 3.50 € and we were in France and figured I must drink wine here. I really would rather have beer as I knew I was in no mood to drink all the wine.

I ask a couple people if they were interested in drinking some of the wine, but did not get any takers. I went outside and began typing. There I did run into two Dutch guys one of which drank some of the wine. They were both riding individually to Santiago and just happened to meet there. One was a retired Dutch attorney and the other a retired salesman for some lighting company. The attorney is contemplating what to do with the next phase of his life. It was cool to see these guys in their 60's so physically active and doing this kind of life evaluation. I was impressed. We talked a lot and talked about our countries as well as their politics. They went to bed around 10. I wanted to get a night shot of the church so I went outside and realized it was just too dark to get a good shot. I decided to call it a night around 12. Unfortunately, these retired guys snored, which I was afraid of as snoring is a lot more prevalent by the older folks. I put a couple ear plugs in, but not all the noise was blocked. I had a rough night sleeping. I know they slept well.

6-5-07
I got up around 7 and got a quick breakfast and got packed and took off walking to the train station. It was a pretty morning and I was excited about going to Normandy. D-Day was tomorrow and I needed to get there as the allies were counting on me. At the train station I ran into the father and the two daughters again. I needed assistance in how to get to Caen which is were I was staying that night. He recommended I go to another room to talk to those folks on developing a strategy to get to Caen. I did that and it was a good move as they were very helpful. I was hoping to go through LeManns to get there, but the people recommended instead going to Paris. I took there suggestion and got on the train to Paris. Paris is cool and all, but everything is expensive and big and it takes a long time to get around. Anyway I got psyched and was ready to tackle Paris. The train I had to get on was at a different train station than the one I come on so I would need to take the metro to get to the train taking me to Caen. Upon arriving in Paris I jumped on the metro and headed to the other train station. This is common in Paris for you to have to go to another train station using the metro to get to your departing train station. I guess whenever your as big as Paris this should be expected.

Everything went smooth in Paris and in a little over an hour I was on my way to Caen. I was staying with a couchsurfing host in Caen and was excited about that. It is always neat to meet knew people and the couchsurfing host are a great way to meet someone and learn about the locals in depth.

Upon getting in Caen you could see WW II stuff all over. I felt a great sense of pride thinking that my country played a key role in liberating these people. As I got off the train I walked through the streets of Caen with my backpack on, pretending I was a US soldier coming into the town in June of 1944. This historically is not accurate as the British and Canadian forces were the ones fighting here, but it is still fun to pretend. I thought how the people must have cheered when I walked into town. How I must have thought about my fallen comrades and knew they did not die in vain. They died for these people that are cheering me right now. There were different national flags all over the town I assume these were allied countries in honor of D-Day. Not sure if they are left up all year. I doubt it. There were streets named in honor of the war such as Resistance and Republica. It was cool to see this as it meant they have not forgotten that so many people had died for them.

I got on the tram and went to my couchsurfing host's place. Her nickname on the sight is grannie and she is in her late 50's I reckon. I made it to her place around 7 and talked to her nephew who was staying with her. He had spent some time in the US last summer selling books in Oregon. He said it was very hard work, but it was a great experience and he learned so much about the United States. He said people say things about the US all the time, but he defends the US and says it is not that way at all. He says they just do not know. It was encouraging to hear someone talk positively about the USA since I was Born in the USA. Who sings that song anyway? That song is actually a song of protest about the Vietnam War. I don't think most people realize that. There's a line in that song that says "He was sent off to kill the yellow man." I hope that guy goes on tour again with the E-Street Band one more time. I will try and see every show.

His aunt Bernadette (grannie) said she thinks I am the first American he has talked to since leaving the US last summer. We talked a lot. He then started talking about a movie that is band in the US. He said the film talks about the government causing the 9-11 attacks. He said the film makes the argument that there were actually no planes that flew into the World Trade Center Buildings and that there was no planes that crashed into the Pentagon nor in the Pennsylvania fields. I ask him if he believes that. He said he didn't know, but ask that I just consider it and just listen. I listened. He said there were no planes flying into the World Trade Center Buildings and that the buildings collapsed as if there was a bomb planted in the building. He said the planes landed safely somewhere else. He said the parts of the plane in the Pentagon were essentially nonexistent and so were the parts found in the Pennsylvania field. I told him there were eyewitnesses and footage of the planes hitting the towers and said the collapse of the towers is an extremely complex and dynamic thing. I told him that just because the collapse seemed odd, doesn't rule out that it could happen. The planes were full of fuel and the jet fuel resulted in a very hot explosion. I told him there were studies on how it collapsed and engineers acknowledge the cause was my understanding. I told him too that that people called from the plane that crashed in the Pennsylvania field. The Pentagon crash does seem to be the strangest crash as I know their was not much wreckage remaining. I ask him what happened and he said the movie argues that the government did it to justify war in the Middle East. I told him to me that is a stretch. As much as the Bush Administration scares me with their crazy ideological behaviors I still do not believe they would do such a thing. We went back and forth on that for awhile and it was clear Matt actually believed some of that stuff. He is such a bright kid and the kind of kid that could go far some day. I told him he is wise beyond his years. I believe his experiences in the US helped him tremendously with regards to his intellectual development as well as expediting his development. I ended by saying that he is an extremely bright kid, but when you believe stuff like this you lose your credibility. I just do not want him to get wrapped up in too much of this farfetched conspiracy craziness, where know one takes what he says as being credible. I told Bernadette that he is such a bright kid it is going to be tough to keep him challenged mentally. I hope I did not offend them at all, as they are extremely nice people. I just want Matt to reach his full potential.

I asked Bernadette about living in this area. She said as a kid she played on the beaches of Normandy and would occasionally find mortars. She said as soon as she did they would go tell the authorities and normally they would take them out to sea and deactivate them underwater. Bernadette also said the entire City of Caen was leveled except for the church and the castle. As you walk the town you see where everything looks somewhat modern. She said too that 6 of her family members were killed during the war all by British Bombs. I hate the term, but what you would call friendly fire. I don't see anything friendly about a mortar shell. The British and Canadians fought the Germans in this town. She said her mother in-law, who had a somewhat simplistic, view of the war said the German soldiers were good to her, but the British were not, as they stole all her China. I am not sure about the details, but I can see how she would have been upset if six of your family members are killed. I just can't imagine losing six family members. Like Joe Dirt says you just have to keep on keeping on! It would definitely be hard times and that kind of pain and suffering sure puts our daily worries in a whole different light.

Bernadette says even today occasionally a fisherman will get a mine caught in their net. She says it is very rare now days, but it use to be very common for a mine to go off in a fisherman’s net. She said their were certain areas where fishing was restricted due to the presence of a large number of mines. She said however that is where the fish are and as you might imagine people try to push the limits. She said a group of fisherman were fishing in this restricted area and pulled up a mine and all 8 people on the boat were killed. Wow these are great stories although very sad and I am not comfortable talking about them to much as it is dirty laundry. Just watch the news and you will get plenty of that without my contributing more.

I loved talking to both Matt and Bernadette. Bernadette fixed some fish for supper and she gave me some of her famous rice pudding that I thoroughly enjoyed. The fish were caught locally. Matt had fixed a cake and he allowed me to eat a piece of that as well as some of his cheese. He buys this cheese that really stinks and is cheap, but isn't too bad. It was pretty good, but it just smells a little too bad for me to enjoy eating it frequently. The next day I was heading to D-Day and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss that. Bernadette said our new Defense Secretary Gates would be there to speak and she said it sounds like it is going to be very neat. I told her my plan is to get to Bayeux early in the morning and just walk a round the hotels trying to hitch a ride to Omaha Beach. She thought that sounded like a reasonable plan. I decided to catch the second train in the morning that left Caen at 6:40 in the morning. We decided to call it a night. It had been a great evening talking to Bernadette and Matt. This is what couchsurfing is all about.

6-6-07
Wow look at the day and the month. A date that will live in infamy for sure. This day was the day that turned the war around and into the allies favor.

I got up a little before Bernadette who said she would take me to the train station. That was nice and eliminated one potential problem namely missing a tram. Bernadette has a degenerative bone disease in her spine and is in extreme pain at times. At times during my stay she had to take morphine for the pain. She said she is lucky to have a hospital close that helps her with her pain management. She is a great lady and I know she will fight the pain with a lot of spirit.

She dropped me off at the train station and I walked in and got on the proper platform. The train soon arrived and I was on my way. Their was a couple from Texas on the train as well and they said they were going to the D-Day services as well. They were extremely excited as he said he was a WW II history buff and has always wanted to go to this memorial. I ask them how they were getting there and he said they are taking a tour bus. He said he was not sure how long they would actually be stopped at the American Cemetery. That would concern me as I would want to make sure I have plenty of time there. There are things to see all over Normandy and you could spend a week there easily. The train ride was quick and I was in Bayeux by 7. I walked around and came across the Winston Churchill Statue. I thought there has to be Americans staying here that are going to the D-Day service. I went in and talked to one table eating breakfast and they said they were indeed going out there, but were taking a bus. They really didn't seem to willing to help me much and I really didn't feel that welcome talking to them. Maybe it was my presentation. They did say that I should wait around and I could ask their guide if maybe I could ride their bus. I waited for awhile and ask the receptionist about getting some breakfast as well. She brought me out a couple croissants and some tea. I thanked her and started scarfing down the food. Again I felt a little like Julie Roberts in Pretty Woman scarfing down the food. I saw another table eating breakfast so I went over and talked to them and they too were taking a bus and really did not have any suggestions for me. I was getting nervous. Come hell or high water or a Nazi Panzer Division I was not going to miss the D-Day ceremony. I have come too far and the allies need me!

I was starting to get a little nervous as I had not planned for this much difficulty to hitch a ride. I sat down and talked to a French guy the best I could and ask him how far it is to Omaha Beach and can it be walked. He immediately said no too far. I ask him again the distance and he said about 20 km. In miles I figured that at 12 miles. Wow that is a long way. Essentially I had a little over two hours to get out there. I thought I would have to run about 12 miles at a pace of 10 minutes each mile. I did not think I had that in me. I ask a lady sitting at the computer next to me about getting out there and she was very helpful and I liked her a lot. Now that is the WW II veterans spirit that I have bragged about all these years. She was from New Orleans and said she new a vet that she could ask. The vet came down, but I did not have much luck getting a ride from her conversation with him either. I was beginning to sweat a little and walked back up to the first table and ask them if their tour bus guide was there yet and they said no. I told them I need to get going and try a different motel. One guy mentioned a taxi and I told them that is a last resort plan. Another guy mentioned renting a bike and told me there was a shop right around the corner. Now that was a great idea, why didn't I think of that. I walked around the corner and did not find the bike shop. I then walked in a shop and ask. His English was very bad and gave me new directions. After taking them I was in an area which didn't seem right either. I asked another lady in a coffee shop and she sent me back to the original area. I ask a butcher shop there and they said yes across the street is a bike rental place, but they do not open until 9:00, but maybe they be open at 8:30. What is up with this opening shops at whatever time they feel like opening? It was now starting to sprinkle significantly. What else needs to happen? I ran across another guy and ask him if he had any ideas how to get to Omaha Beach. He said take a bus and that one leaves from the train station. I said I knew of that bus, but I thought the time was around noon that it leaves. He said he did not know what time. I thought well I have a few minutes before the bike shop opens, if it opens at all, so I will run down to the train station and check it out.

I ran to the station and tracked down a lady that had just gotten off the bus. She did not speak English and she got a guy that did. He said they are not open. I told him I just need to know when the bus goes to Omaha Beach. He said it leaves at 12:27. Damn that would not work. I saw a gas station and thought man surely somebody pulling in there would be going out to Normandy. I ran down there and I didn't see hardly anyone stopping there. I talked to a gas tanker truck and he said he is not allowed out there. I ask him if he would be somewhere, where I could walk the rest of the way. He said no he can not get anywhere close. I ask another guy in a van, but he said he is taking a private group. I finally was resigned to the fact that I was going to have to bike. I was getting desperate and panic was starting to set in. I decided to take what I thought would be a short cut back to the bike shop and I ended up getting lost. I had no idea, where I was at. I found the highway and made my way back to the train station and then took the original route to the bike shop. It was beginning to rain harder and it was windy. I got back to the bike shop around 9:10 and then couldn't find the bike shop. I knew there was a sign in the window saying bikes for hire. It was no longer there. Where the hell is that shop I thought? Now along with the panic, frustration sat in and I had lost my patience and any coolness that I had was gone as well. I finally walked into the shop that I thought was it. I said where is the sign? He didn't understand my question, but did say he rented bikes. I said I know there is a place with a sign in the window and I walked out of that store, but still I could not find that damn sign. I walked back and said ok I want to rent a bike for a day. We walked to the back to a shed where his bikes are stored. On the way out of his back door I saw that sign that was in his front window. He had taken it out of the window and put it on a stand in the alley. I thought what the hell. We looked at the bikes and I told him what bike I wanted. He said I can not have that one it is already rented. It was raining outside and he had about 12 of these large framed mountain bikes, but he said I could not have any of them. He said take this bike, which he indicated was a big framed bike. I told him no not on the wet pavement as the tires have no tread and will be slick. He did not understand so I took a bike and showed it skidding and the tires going out from under it and falling down. He said no take this bike. I looked at the smaller framed mountain bikes and thought maybe I can just raise the seat. I adjusted the seat and hurriedly said I will take this one. He said ok. For some reason he thought, rather than getting me checked out, he wanted to bring several bikes out into the rain where he has them on display for rent. He got his bikes out and then was ready to get me on my way. He said I could pay when I get back, but he needed credit card or passport. I wondered if I would need passport out there. I did not want to give either up as I was low on cash. I finally decided to pay him thinking he would not require me to leave anything. But he said he still needed one of those things. I tried to give him a driver’s license. I was making him mad and he closed his book and said no bike for me. I then hurriedly handed over my passport. I got the mountain bike out onto the road and was peddling like a mad man. I had an hour to go before the ceremony started, It was 12 miles assuming I did not get lost. Before I left he had said the ATM machine was at the post office down the street and that I need to take a left onto a certain street and take that all the way out of town. I was kicking myself for having not gotten cash earlier, but surprisingly it went very fast. It is always nice to have cash in your pocket. That will get you out of most jams. I started peddling like there was no tomorrow. The rain was pelting the side of my face but fortunately it was not that hard of rain. The conditions were about as bad as they could possibly be. Kind of like the D-Day invasion itself. I thought there was no way I am missing this service and peddled even harder. I thought if these 18 and 19 year old kids could come over in 1944 I needed to quit whining and just suck it up.

I passed some other folks about 6 miles out of Caen and I yelled at them asking them if they were going to Omaha Beach and they said they were. I yelled at them to hurry up as the allies need us and they laughed. They were British folks I estimate in their 50's. I knew at that pace they would not make it for the service. After passing them I came to a location where I needed to make a directional decision. I got the map out and they then passed me and ask me if everything was ok and I said yes just checking the map. They said I needed to go farther in this direction before turning left. I got on the bike and passed them again. I got to the town north of Bayeux and stopped again. They met me again and said they were following this road. It looked farther to me and I didn't follow them. It made sense to me just to plow into the heart of this town and turn left. I ask a City worker and he motioned straight down this road and turn left. Another person in a van listened to my conversation and said they were headed there too. He however got back on the roadway that appeared to bypass the City. I do not think he had heard the whole conversation I had with them. I peddled hard through the town and turned left where I thought I needed to. I saw another worker and yelled at them American Cemetery and pointed in the direction and he said yes. I started peddling up a long hill. I had been peddling hard now for about 35 minutes and I was spent, and I am sorry to say I actually got off the bike and walked it for a few minutes up the hill. I felt like I was letting down the allies, but I was not going to do them any good if I became a casualty. I saw the van pass me that had yelled at me. I was trying to think of a way after I left them of a way to get my bike in that van, but it would have been impossible so I didn't stop them to ask for a hitch. I got back on the bike and started peddling hard again. I passed a museum or two on the way with WW II stuff on display outside their buildings. I saw a sign that said American Cemetery I knew I was headed in the right direction. A few minutes later I saw a sign that said Omaha beach and their were security guards there. I ask them if Omaha beach was that way and they said yes. I then started in that direction not knowing if they would stop me. I then thought maybe the service is not there and ask them, "Memorial Service" and pointed that way to the beach. They said no and pointed in a different direction. I was thinking thank God I had ask that question.

It was now 9:30. I kept peddling and a few minutes later saw signs to the American Cemetery and I was pulling into the entrance of the Cemetery. I rode the bike as close as I could and ask them where the service was and they pointed in the direction of the service, but followed it up by saying impossible. Meaning I could not take the bike any closer. I ask for a bike rack and he said by the toilettes. I hurriedly got the bike their locked it and headed in the direction of the people still filing in. They handed out programs and I got a couple extra for relatives I thought might enjoy seeing them. I walked at a fast clip as I heard drums being played indicating the start of the ceremony. If the allies can just hold on for a few more moments I will be there soon. Have you ever heard of the story of Don Quixote? I made it there, but had to stand in the back of the group and was a fair distance away from the main attraction. A French bishop said a prayer in France, which I didn't understand a lick of. Now the word lick, used to describe a quantity, is a word that really quantifies things well and I feel is underused in the English language. Lets all use lick more often to describe quantity's from this day forward.

While standing there on this cool blustery day I tried to imagine myself here on June 6, 1944. I imagined myself trying to climb the nearby beach. Maybe I got shot maybe I didn't. I imagined mass confusion. I never felt like I ever could fully take myself back to that day. I envisioned a great horrific battle hear at the beach they call bloody Omaha, but I really never felt I ever was anywhere close to feeling the emotion that these young men must have experienced. How can you really? I am not going to sell myself short by saying that maybe I could not have hacked it, because you never know unless you are there. No one really knows how they will perform until put in the actual situation. But what these young men did was amazing and this day was about them and their heroic act. They are heroes that is something that can not be denied.

France's Defense Secretary spoke and admitted hard feelings between the US and France in the past, but acknowledged when it came to war in the modern history the two countries always stood by each other. That gave me a sense of pride. France was once a great power I have learned and now in the modern age, when they are not so dominating, I think it is a little hard for them. I think some of the pomp and circumstance and sophistication that you see in the French people may be a partial carry over from when they were an awesome power. This line of thinking maybe a stretch, but I am throwing it out there anyway. You will not find me defending that line of thinking with much conviction however.

The new US Defense Secretary taking the place of Donald Rumsfeld spoke as well. Mr. Gates admitted hard feelings between the two countries in the past, which I think is wise to admit. It is not good to push problems under the rug. I think France was right about Iraq, but I am willing to concede that maybe France handled their being right in a manner to try and make the US look bad. Nobody wants to look bad and because we are the top dog these days it is fun for other countries to put us down. It upsets me royally however the US's propaganda to make France look bad after they were right and the US was wrong about Iraq and our reasons we went to war. I think the US could have handled the matter with more class than saying they were removing French Fries from Air Force One's menu and replacing them with Freedom Fries. Mr. Bush you are in the big leagues here, this is not grade school playground diplomacy. His diplomacy tactics are ludicrous I think, but lucky for him the American public does not follow what goes on in the White House they just look at catchy headlines.

Man I am getting tired of the French. I sit here in a train station in Tours, France typing this. I was hear for about 1 hour trying to figure out how to get to Madrid last night with no resolution. I finally got tired of it and gave up. Now this morning I walk into the train station totally different people working here and I ask the man if he speaks English after saying Bon Jour Masseur (sp). He says I will speak English if you try and speak French. I told him I am traveling to Italy, France, Germany, Holland, Spain etc. I can not speak all those languages and he laughed and says he understands. He proceeds speaking very good English. I am in France for 2 weeks and he wants me to speak French. This guy really got on my nerves if you had not noticed. He then said the reservation to Bordeaux is 150 and I said I have a rail pass and he said he knows and that the cost is 150. I ask him if their was a cheaper train. He said it is only 1.50 €. I then said oh I thought it is 150 . I just took my ticket and left as I was afraid I was going to tell him, that his attitude is why everybody hates the French people. I have only slept about 4 hours last night so I really need to keep my emotional comments in check. Vying for the top spot in niceness with Italy is Germany as I met some really nice Germans and the French lady I met yesterday stated how nice the Germans are too. I have met some nice French people, but I do not like their attempts at sophistication and high class, as well as the fact that so many of them are so in your face with stupid comments like this ticket agent. I am ready to leave France and I will be doing that in about 12 hours. Long live the Queen as the guy said in Versailles when that palace was being stormed. The guy that said that then collapsed and died. Not sure what I mean by those comments.

A few minutes later I met a young French lady who was going to Bordeaux as well. She volunteered to help me to get to my train as we had to switch trains at the same place. When we got off the train we only had a few minutes, but she showed me exactly what train to get on and then took off running to her train. Very nice French lady although I am still pissed at the arrogance of this French guy. Can't let one bad apple spoil the bunch. Just keep being nice and good things will happen to me as I am Joe Dirt.

I got the impression that every year they have a World War II veteran speak. This year it was a man who arrived on Omaha Beach I believe a few hours after the first wave of men. The guy that introduced him said he had been shot and the bullet rhicocheted off a rib and exited his back. The speaker said the man still ran out under heavy fire and carried a fellow soldier out of the line of fire who had been shot and that man lived. After being medically evacuated he had a free ticket to go home, but insisted on going back with his comrades. The Veteran then spoke and told about his experiences. He said the day was a lot like today in that it was raining, windy and cool. He said when they hit the beach his group of men were under heavy fire as they went up a hillside. He said some of his men were shot. He said they thought that the first round of fighting would have cleared out most of this and it would be a relatively quiet landing. He said he had a brother who was killed soon after the war started. He said after he was shot and medically evacuated, he knew he could not leave his men and the mission. He already knew his brother was dead, and he himself had a bullet that went through him and lucky it did not kill him. He ran out into heavy fire to save another man. Wasn't he about out of lives? It would have been very easy to go home, but he knew this mission was too important to leave. This guy is in no doubt a hero and the kids now days idolize Paris Hilton? What is wrong with that picture. There are plenty of heroes out there, you just have to look for them. More often than not they are the people around you. I do view Walter Peyton as a hero. He was dying I think of, kidney failure do to a weird disease, but yet wanted no special favors due to his celebrity status. Walter Peyton died of this disease never being able to receive a kidney transplant as none were available. He is one of the few heroes that are celebrities as well, in my simplistic mind.

I loved hearing this man speak. So noble in his actions, but yet so humble in his words. This is true of most WW II vets I have met. I was hoping to meet some, but I really did not get the opportunity because of the circumstances. I love that generation! They are the Greatest!

Wreaths were laid in front of the reflecting pool by several dignitaries from all around the world. After about an hour the ceremony came to a conclusion. I was glad I made it. The allies were thankful that I did as well. There were several men standing around in period clothing and as you drove around the area you saw lots of period army jeeps and such. Bernadette said some of the vets have come to the local schools to talk in the past and really befriended the locals. There are monuments all over the countryside in this area and as I said you can spend weeks here if you wanted. One day was all I had.

After the ceremony I walked around for awhile. I walked through the cemetery, which sits high over Omaha Beach taking several pictures. I talked to a military service man for awhile who is stationed in Germany. He said he joined the military after 9/11. I wondered what he thought about Iraq? Had he joined for that war as that war has nothing to do with 9/11. I wasn't about to ask him however, since he may have to go there and this day wasn't about Iraq. It was about these heroes of WW II. I did ask this guy however, prefacing the question with a you do not have to answer this if you do not want to, why do you think most people join the military these days? He said most kids join because they want an education. He also added that a lot of them are poor unsophisticated kids. This is exactly why I describe the US military service as being a social program for the poor to get an education. Sure there are exceptions, but I believe this is what it is in it's simplest form. We brag about it being a volunteer force. I do not buy into that line of thinking. The bare bones of the matter is it is a social program.

I really enjoyed talking to this guy. He said he joined when he was 26 so that puts him around 32. I ask him if most military recruits know what these guys did here on these beaches in Normandy and he said no they have not a clue. He said it is so amazing what these kids did on these beaches. He said he walked the tomb stones and these kids were only 18 and 19. He said he could never do something like that. I told him not to sell himself short as until you are put in that situation you will never know. Based on my conversation with him and the fact that he enlisted due to 9-11 I believe he would perform heroically if called to action. I think if what you are clearly fighting for is well defined it helps too. The WW II vets knew exactly what they were fighting for.

He said he grew up in Maine and lives in a very northern portion. He said just down the road they speak French. I think he was referring to French speaking folks in Maine. He said he was a military photographer so I had him put some of his expertise to work and he took a few pictures of me in the cemetery. We then went our separate ways.

I walked up to the monument were all the speakers were and checked it out. The monument itself was phenomenal and there were maps on the walls near it showing the D-Day invasion locations. It is a very nice monument rightfully so.

From there I walked down to the beach itself as they have a walkway there. I walked along the beach visualizing what it must have been like back on that day. There were several other people walking the beach as well. Some of the people were older folks who I thought might be WW II veterans. I joked to the one guy asking him if there was a hot dog stand down here on the beach somewhere. He laughed.

The military guy I spoke with in the cemetery said the harbor was really cool on Omaha Beach and that portion of the beach is where the troops in Saving Private Ryan landed. I must see that movie again. I walked probably a mile on the beach fighting the wind and the rain. The weather really wasn't that bad, if you were a duck, unfortunately on that day I was not. I envisioned the craziness of that day and how the soldiers must have felt. I was no where close to what they must have felt.

As I walked farther down the beach I encountered a new monument on the beach. There were some big slices of metal stuck into the sand and it appeared to be maybe a part of a splintered bow of a small boat. I can not really explain it and calling it a small splintered dinghy is no where close to what it looked like. You just have to see it for yourself.

From there I walked farther up the beach where there was an old German gun in a block building. This was taken out on D-Day and provided one of the few locations where American troops were able to access further inland. There was a monument there. Having fought the wind and rain I was hoping to get a ride back to the American Cemetery so I asked two French guys if they were going to the American Cemetery and they said they were and I ask for a lift. They him hawed around and I knew they really did not want to, so I gave them an out by saying that they have a lot of gear in their back seat and they probably do not have room. Even though they had plenty of room. They said yes they really do not have room. I was mad again at the French. I think about the Sicilians in Assisi who really did not have room but made room and I did not even ask them for a lift as they asked me. It frustrates me when people do not do things to help there fellow man. Such is life. They did however say as I walked away that it was not that far of a walk. I thought of telling them that if it wasn't for us Americans you guys would be speaking German right now and ending the conversation by saying Hi Hitler followed by Sprechen Vie Deutch, but I didn't. I was thinking you two are so nice, now go drive off a cliff. Now, who is not being nice?

I started walking this country road and the next thing I knew I ended up back on the beach. I walked about a 1/2 mile back to the American Cemetery. I went to the new Visitor Center as I wanted to see it, as this was opening day for it. In there I typed in the last name Beisman and found one, but he is buried at a different cemetery and typed in Bick and surprisingly found one buried in this cemetery and he was from Illinois. I got the address and went back out to take a picture of his cross. On the back of the cross was some numbers that I thought might represent a social securtiy number and I photographed those as well. I am going to have to get some family members searching that. I would think it would be easy to find information about the person with a social security number.

I walked back to the Visitor center and watched the movie. The center was ok, but I really do not think I learned a whole lot from it as I have read and watched films about the war before and felt like the information was nothing new for me.

I really wanted to go to the German cemetery just down the road as there are 21,000 German kids buried there often 2 to a grave but I did not have the energy. I was cold, wet, hungry and out of gas and they lost the war. No the fact that they lost has no bearing on me. They were just dong what their rulers told them to do. I felt as respectful for them as I did the fallen Americans.

I talked to one those tourist information folks and they gave me a different route to bike back to Bayuex as thy said it was safer. I thought safer is good so I tried it. I saw lots of cows on this road. I saw one sign that even warned you about the cow crossings and I thought well that is better than a sign that has a warning for a Panzer Division crossing. I was famished and decided the next restaurant I find I am stopping as I had not eaten since 8:00 AM this morning and it was now 4:30. I finally did come across a restaurant and went in. There was me and a couple kids in there, but that was it. They had some kind of buffet where the food was refrigerated in a container with a glass lid. They opened it and showed me what they had most of which I did not recognize. The only meet were some salami like slices of meat. I was starved so I said I will eat in the best hand gestures I could muster. He seemed to understand. I also ordered a beer. The meal was not cheap, but was filling. I noticed a picture on the wall of this tavern/small town restaurant with a place with a topless girl. I am sure they will all go to hell for that.

I went outside and saddled up my Appaloosa and cantered on down the road back into town. I grew very tired wishing I would had not eaten so much. Man it seems these days I am not very good at hiking after a meal. I am not sure what changes as you grow older, but for me I have a hard time exercising after a meal. Anymore I often do not eat before and during hiking even though I know your supposed to. I made it back into Bayeux but into the town from a different direction. I saw a Canadian Cemetery. On the outskirts of town. Man this town is all about WWII. It is neat that they remember. I returned the bike and remember all the drama this morning. There was a different person working there than I had rented the bike from. I really wanted to talk to the guy that I had all the difficulty with in the morning. Not to harass him or say ha I did it but just to talk to him in a more calm setting.

I then walked to the train station and hopped on the next train back to Caen. I hopped on the mass transit system and made it back to Bernadette’s. It is always nice to go back to a place you have been to before. Surprisingly that second day is always easier. But as usual the next day I would be gone again. Wistful Dave now you see him now you do not. I talked to Matt for a little while then went to bed. This was probably my toughest day yet, but the most anticipated day as well. There was lots of fire in me though this day and I was willing to do whatever it took to get to the ceremony and I pretty much did whatever it tool. The mountain bike ride was around 30 miles through a driving rain and fierce wind. But the allies needed me so Mother Nature really was not much of a barrier. I am calling this day “V N Day” standing for Victory in Normandy Day!

6-7-07
I slept well last night but was up by 7:00. I wanted to find a train to Mont St. Michel, but I was not ready for a crazy day like D-Day yesterday. I can't handle many days like that are this trip would not be fun. Not that yesterday was not fun as it was fun, but it did wear me down a little and I definitely had a cold. I decided to head down to the McDonald’s in town to grab a breakfast that included eggs. I was craving eggs. Bernadette said I have one hour on the tram pass and you only validate it one time. I thought I could do all that in an hour. I left about 7:30 and grabbed the tram flawlessly and Bernadette said get off at the Cathedral. It seems every town has a cathedral around here.

I got to the McDonalds had my breakfast and got back on the tram to the train station all inside that hour window. At the train station I was behind a lady that was trying to figure out a way to get to Mont St. Michel herself. There were no trains that would accomplish that feat until later this afternoon and that was no good. I decided I would just head for Paris as I had a couch surfing place to stay. I talked to the lady for a while and learned she was from Texas and her name is Kirsten. That was a bad start to the conversation as I am generally not a bug fan of Texans, but she did not seem like a Texan. Kirsten ask me about renting a car and I ask her how much and she said she had rented one yesterday and it will cost about 50€. I didn't think that seemed too bad and then I clarified the cost and she meant that was far each of us. I told her I couldn't afford to pay that much I will just go there by train another day. I walked with her to the car rental place just to check the price before I jumped on the next train to Paris and indeed it was like 112€. I told her that was too much and I wished her well. As I walked across the street I thought well maybe I could pay her like 20 € for a ride, because there was no way I was paying 50€. I felt a little bit of a tight wad doing this, but she stood to gain from it monetarily plus she would be getting the fringe benefit of having my company which is priceless. Kirsten said she needed at least 25€ and I said that is fine. The negotiating felt a little awkward, but there was no way I would have paid 50 € that is for certain. I gave her a 30 and said the extra is for gas. We hadn't really talked about gas except I had mentioned something about paying for 1/2 of it at the 20 € level. She said that these European cars get great gas mileage. Anyway regardless we were on our way. Once we got going she said yesterday was the first time she ever drove a standard transmission. I thought man this lady is gutsy, but never really thought anymore about it. I was copilot and was watching the map closely. She was not doing too bad, but I noticed this lady drove extremely slow. More on the driving habits later.

We made it onto the interstate and Kirsten was always concerned about the speed limit. I told her just keep up with the cars as we were getting passed on our left and on our right. I added I have not seen one car pulled over in all of Europe. For that matter I am not sure I have even seen a police car on the highways in all of Europe. Like the Australian motorcycle guy I met in Siena said, he thinks the speed limits are simply advisory and not enforced. She continued to obey the speed limit while everyone else flew by us. I had a rough day yesterday and I thought this day I am just going to enjoy the ride. We plodded on and as we got closer to Mont St. Michel we could just follow the signs saying Mont St. Michel. I no longer had to be concerned with the map. I could just enjoy the ride.

Once we were getting somewhat close I noticed something in the distance. I said is that it? I was saying that thing is not supposed to be there. As you looked out over this flat area there was what appeared to be this giant castle out in the middle of nowhere. I was like you have got to be kidding me. This kind of thing can be found in Disney movies, but not in real life. Wow, Wow, Wow is all I could think while looking at this thing in wonderment. I thought of the angel like character that flies with a wand at the beginning of the Disney movies. I was looking for her, as I just knew she would soon appear. This was the most out of place thing I have ever seen. There were some people pulled off the side of the road so we did the same. I really liked my photo as their were some recently baled hay in the foreground with the castle in the background. I thought this is one of the deals that you take a bunch of pictures at first and the closer you get the pictures only got better. I was wrong as in my opinion the best picture of this castle is from afar.

We pulled into castle parking area and paid the money for parking, which I believe we paid out of the 30 I had given her. There were lots and lots of tour buses there. The castle was cool. At the top there was the church. I understand Mont St. Michel has been many things through the years. I believe monks still live there, but I may be wrong. I don't think they could get much peace and quiet these days and isn't that why monks do their thing, so they can get peace and quiet? Anyway my favorite part of the castle were the gargoyles. I like France's gargoyle population. That is something Italy doesn't have a lot of. I liked Italian churches better so far, but France's gargoyles or cool. We walked around the castle for awhile and of course paid our money to see the inside of the church and the very top of the church. It was ok, but I think I would have rather saved the money. All around the castle is a big mud flat. I expected a big old mote, but no just mud. There were people walking around in the mud. It looked like fun if you had plenty of time, but we didn't. My driver needed to get going as well. We spent about 3 hours at the castle and decided to get back on the highway. I had mentioned wanting to see the German cemetery and she mentioned wanting to go to the tapestry museum in Bayeux. I was just there the day before and did not even think twice about going. She said she wanted to see the German cemetery as well. We stopped in the town near Mont St. Michel and grabbed lunch. We thought things might be a little cheaper there, but it wasn't that cheap as it still was quite touristy there as evident by the tourist bus parked outside. I bought a triangular sandwich, chips, milk and some cookies as well as a couple bananas. I was hungry.

We got back on the highway and it seemed the next phase of our trip drug on forever. I wanted to get back so I could get to Paris and she wanted to get to Bayeux before the tapestry museum closed. I really thought there was no way I could make it to Paris at a reasonable time to couch surf there so I was pretty much resigned to the fact that I would call Bernadette and see if she would lodge this wayward soul. But lets see what happens. Maybe a tractor beam from some martians will pick us up and transport us back to Caens.

When we got off the highway, we got lost soon after and the only map we had did not show anything in much detail even most of the small towns were not shown. We worked our way through the Normandy Country side the best we could. She kept driving slow and I wanted her to drive at least the speed limit and quit killing the engine. Kirsten had told me earlier in the trip that she had insurance for her driving implying she did not have any for my driving and that she did not want me to drive. I had told her I have driven standard transmissions in the past and that knowledge was not doing much good with me riding shotgun. I think she was getting nervous that I was judging her driving and as a result her driving performance deteriorated. After getting lost a couple of times she wanted to stop and ask for help so we pulled into this grocery store. The problem about asking for help in a foreign country is two fold. First of all there is no guarantee that they will speak English and secondly it takes time for all this communication to take place and we did not have extra time. Normally their English in these rural areas is not so good.

At this place their English was really bad. The first person I talked to was really bad and then the lady got another person whose English was maybe a step up, but I still considered really bad. Her English speaking abilities did not move her up to the bad level even. Based on her hand directions I ciphered what direction to head and the first turn to make but after that nothing. My driver didn't understand more than that either. She tried to be nice to the ladies for their time and effort and I did as well, but I was ready to go. We got out to the car and my driver revved the engine and thankfully the engine did not die as I was afraid it might. We made it to the next turn and then we were back to following the poor map. Finally we made it to the road that was on the map and I was confident from that point on we would find the cemetery. About 5 minutes later we saw a sign that indicated the German Cemetery and a minute later our journey was over. At first glance I was surprised as it was nicer than I expected. I was happy to see that, as these kids deserved, they have a decent resting place. It was not nearly as nice as the US Cemetery, but regardless it was ok. In the entrance point there is a small building and in it their is a guest sign in sheet and place for comments. I saw where someone wrote something in German and another person in English wrote Never Again. The words Never Again really touched my soul. I thought man I sure hope not. I wondered however how many 1,000's of people are dying in Darfur right now. Darfur is not invading other countries however and they do not have natural resources that rich countries want, it is only people dying which makes it ok by the rich country’s leaders. I am being facetious with those comments, as I realize we can not be going around to every country where people are dying. Only in those countries where we have interest in a commodity of theirs. A commodity like oil. Tough decisions need to be made by our leaders I realize that, and I am glad I do not have to make them. I am not going to sit back though and believe all this crap leaders tell us about why we do the things we do. We are in Iraq because they have oil. That is the trump card. We go over there create their country in our image and then start getting their oil and Americans can get cheap gas allowing us to buy more goods from China allowing them to be the next world power. Elementary my dear Watson.

From there we walked into the cemetery and saw groups of five tombstones scattered across the cemetery. We walked towards the middle of the cemetery where a monument stood. As I walked past the inset stones with the soldiers names I observed most of them appeared to have two names on each stone indicating two soldiers buried per grave. I had read where some graves had as many as 3 people buried in them. I only saw two names and in looking at the dates it appeared the majority of them were only 18 and 19 years old. These were just kids and the majority appeared to have died in 1944.

The monument was perched on top of a mound about 30 ft. high with a big cross with a mother and father standing on each side of the cross. The cross signifies the dead son and the parents weeping on both sides of the cross. There were steps on the back side of the monument, which enabled you to walk up to the cross. I walked up the steps to the monument and looked down on the cemetery and all the buried soldiers. I took a couple pictures and looked at the monument. I really felt disrespectful in a way at this spot even though the steps were clearly meant to be climbed. I told Kirsten who had climbed the steps as well that I felt disrespectful being here. I felt I should not be at a level looking down on these brave young men. I felt like I needed to get off this perched location and back down at the level of the graves. This was a very weird experience for me and I felt much more respectful when I got back to the bottom step.

There were more people at this cemetery than I expected as well. As might be expected there were lots of German speaking people. Some were putting flowers on some of the stones inset into the ground. I saw one lady and I presumed her husband was with her, who appeared to be extremely sad almost to the point of tears. This cemetery had 21,000 German soldiers buried here over twice as many as the Americans, but it appeared less than half the land area.

As we walked out past the entrance monument I felt deep sympathy for the men and there families that had died there. More sympathy than I felt at the American cemetery even. I think because the American Cemetery was so nice it was hard to see the death there. Even the monument of a vibrant angelic looking young man seemed alive and strong to me. There was definitely a feeling of death at the German cemetery. The simple monument of the weeping parents by the cross on the elevated monument and the words Never Again in the attendance book. It all just left a big lump in my throat. I was moved.

I hope their right. Never again. War is never good and you better be damned sure why you are going to war. Finding out later the reasons you went to war were all wrong, just doesn't do it for me.

After leaving this cemetery my frustrations with the trip there seemed to just disappear. You know so what if I do not make it to Paris tonight. So what if Kirsten doesn't make it to the Tapestry Museum. It just didn't seem that important anymore. I recommend anyone that comes to the American Cemetery be sure to visit the German Cemetery as well.

We continued our journey to Bayeux. When we got close I recognized the location as the same location where I had entered the day before. I knew just a little ways up the road in Bayeux there is a cemetery, which I believe someone said to be a Canadian cemetery. After driving a little ways farther we came across this cemetery. We then saw a sign that said Tapestry Museum and we agreed to go there first as Kirsten was concerned about it closing, which it did in a few hours. We found it and were looking for a parking spot. I think when you travel and even live so long by yourself you start thinking from your perspective only. I always thought I was pretty open-minded and a reasonable guy, but when Kirsten wanted to ask for directions, whereas I wanted to go with the information we had, I felt like I was losing my patience more and more and I just bit my tongue a little. I was thankful for the ride and all as it was cheaper for me, but it had been a long day. I guess I am not that patient of a guy. I figured I would head to the train station, while Kirsten went to the Tapestry Museum. Even though we had similar personalities really, I had just lost my patience during the day with the slow driving and engines dying. It was heroic for her to rent a car with standard transmission for the first time in Europe, other people might call her doing that something else, but I just felt I was stressed and needed to be on my way. Additionally, me going to the train station was the only possible way that I could make it to Paris yet that night. We said our goodbyes and I said if the train didn't work I would be back, but otherwise I would have to keep moving. I made it to the train station and I had about a 45 minute wait before the next train. I thought about going back to the tapestry museum and riding back with Kirsten, but then I thought if we have any kind of problem getting back to Caen I might miss the train there. I also needed to check my internet email to tell the person in Paris I was coming. This was by far the best thing to do and the less stressful thing to do as there were fewer things that could go wrong. I thought if I have time I will go to the car rental place and ask Kirsten about the tapestry museum.

The train arrived on time and about 20 minutes later I was in Caen. I asked where to get Internet Access and know one knew. I had 45 minutes before the train arrived. I thought where can I get internet access and remembered the McDonalds by the church might have it as the McDonalds in Paris had it. I went over to the tram and went to get a ticket. There were some people having difficulty with their machine and the one I got a person was removing money from the machine. Their was one lady in front of me and she was getting her ticket. The people from the other side of the tram came over to the side I was on and started talking to the attendant and the next thing I know they were putting money into the machine I was at. I was getting a little irritated at this blatant line cutting infraction. They were French speaking and in their 50's. Occasionally they would look up at me and I would just stare at them. They knew what they were doing. After they finished I got my ticket and the Tram came and we got on the same Tram together. No advantage gained from the cheat.

I got off at the Church and walk hastily to the McDonald’s. I thought I have to be back at this tram with at least 20 minutes of time left and I was down to 35 minutes. I got to the McDonalds and checked my phone and it was not picking up any wifi. I ask the attendant and they said they do not have it. I ran outside and ask for internet point and the first people acted like they did not understand. The next kids knew where one was and said past the monument and they pointed in the direction. I was distraught as the distance appeared to be a 1/2 mile away. I started that way in a jog with my backpack on and got to another monument a little closer and saw the internet point. I was down to about 25 minutes before train departure. I ran in and said I need a computer fast. He was waiting on another customer and did not seem to be in a hurry. I waited extremely anxiously and finally he gave me the necessary password. I jumped on the computer and could not get the webpage to come up. Finally the guy beside me got it and I was fumbling my fingers across the French keyboard, which is the most confusing to use in all of Europe. I got to my email typed and emailed to the couchsurfing person and told her I can not get her phone number to work and that I will be in Paris at 10:30 and left my number for her to call or text me. I quickly tried to find the email from her that had her phone number, but couldn't find it. I ran out of there and left a euro on the bar. The fare was only 0.70€ and the person yelled at me for the change and I told him to keep it as the door closed behind me. I ran to the tram stop and noticed there was no tram. I had already bought the ticket, but decided to run towards the train station along the tram tracks as I only had 10 minutes now before the train left. If the tram came I would jump on if not I would keep running. As I ran I kept looking back and no tram. I thought to myself I had to keep running. I was growing tired. I am not sure how far the station was, but I know it had to be over a 1/2 mile. I finally was exhausted and had to walk. The weight of the pack was too heavy to run at this rate. I walked and caught my breath and saw a tram back behind me coming my way. I quickly debated should I wait or keep going. The tram had several stops along this stretch and it seemed to be going so slow. I decided I had to keep going. I ran a little farther and looked back and it appeared the Tram and I might make it there at the same time. I couldn't risk it I had to keep going. As I went under the train trestle the Tram past me. I had about 100 yards farther and looked at my watch and I was down to 2 minutes. The tram was going to beat me by just a few seconds. I actually think running was about 5 seconds faster as I still had to get off the train and run over to the station from the Tram Stop. As I ran past the security guard I yelled at him, “train to Paris what platform?” He said he didn't understand. I ran out onto the platform and there were two trains waiting. I yelled at the people closest and said is this the train to Paris? They said no. The security guard must have realized what I had said because he came around the corner yelling platform two. Meaning I had to run down the steps and through the tunnel to get to the tracks above. I was wearing down, but kept pushing. I ran up the stairs and jumped into the first door on that train I could find just as the doors closed. I was breathing heavy and ask the first person I saw, “this train going to Paris” in the best exhausted voice I could muster. She said yes. I thought thank God! I thought to myself this is absolutely ridiculous I can not be doing this crap. Next time I just miss the damn train. Anyway I walked into the passenger compartment and sat my bag down and then continued pacing up and down the car still trying to catch my breath. I was hot and sweaty and just feeling miserable. After about 10 minutes of doing this I finally felt like I could sit down and still get enough air to breathe. I was still trying to figure out how in the hell had that just happened. I thought I was lucky not to have been shot by the security guard. He did not know who this guy was running into the train station with a backpack on. I could have been anyone.

Finally I was cooled off enough to walk back to my seat where my bag was and there was another lady sitting there now. I typed for about an hour then on the way back to Paris. I was tired after this long day that seemed to never end, but the run did seem to at least wake me up if nothing else. I typed pretty much all the way back to Paris. Now what was happening with the couchsurfing person. Now I would have to arrive in Paris at 10:30 at night and try to find internet access. This night was far from over.

The trip to Paris seemed to go faster than expected. At the train station I looked around and did not see anything that might have internet access. I walked outside and asked a few people where there might be internet access. I saw two ladies playing Badminton on the street and they did not know as well and did not speak English very well. I was getting desperate I walked into a motel and ask the person at the desk if there was any chance I could use their internet. I am not sure if he understood the question. He said there was an internet point near the Opera and it was open 24 hours a day. It was now 10:30. I needed to know if I could still stay with the person or if I needed to find a hostel as she had never called. I headed to the location he described, but soon was confused where I was at. A lady voluntarily saw me looking at the map and helped me. She was a French Lady. I was back on the right track and found the Opera and after a little looking I found the internet point. I jumped on the computer and was happy to read the email that said, "You are not going to sleep on the street you are staying at my place." Wow what a nice thing to hear in a foreign place. Those words seemed like something a family member might say. It made me feel good. I told her I would be there a little after 11:00 as I needed to take a couple different metro lines to get there. I went to the Metro stop there at the Opera and in about 15 minutes I was where I needed to be. For a change everything went smoothly. I stopped and got a couple hamburgers and a shake at the McDonalds and walked to her place. I rung her room so she could open the door. Before I knew it I was at her place. It felt good to finally relax after going like a mad man all day. I took a shower and we talked for awhile. I was her first couch surfer, which has been the case with me a lot. I take that as a complement. This person was one of the nicest people I have ever met. She had taken her medical exams to be a doctor, but the grades did not work out so she got a degree in business. She made the comment that the work is ok, but she is not helping anyone. I thought that was a great comment. She had a small couch that pulled out into a small bed. It was a very quaint apartment, but it seemed awesome mainly because I was staying with an incredibly nice person. I would rather stay in a studio apartment with a nice person than in a mansion with a cold, materialistic person. My cold had not gotten much better and I told her I was just needing to get some water to help stop the coughing as I was coughing a lot. She got up and opened a box that had lots of medicine. She said her parents are pharmacist. I decided against the cough syrup because I did not want my blood pressure to go up. I told her I would go with the advil. She gave me the whole box. We headed back to bed. It was now after 12 and time to call it a night. I went to sleep thinking about the comment at the German Cemetery that said, “never again”. Man I sure hope so!

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Photos

This is Normandy
This is truly a beautiful place for an amazing thing that the Americans had done.

Bloody Omaha Beach
They called this Beach "Bloody Omaha" because of all the Americans that died here.

Chartres Cathedral
See the different spires. The one on the right was the original one and then the left one was finishd when more money was available. Of course the later one had to show up the original.

Inside the Church
This church is famous for it's stainglass.

Little People
See how much shorter this door is than am I.

Supper at the Hostel
The hostel had some food and wine of course so I had this for supper. See the Church in the background.

Retired Traveler
This guy was on a pilgrimmage from the Netherlands to Santiago Spain. He was staying in the same Hostel Room as I.

Retired Traveler
Like the other guy he too is from the Netherlands and biking to Santiago. He said he is just trying to figure out what he wants to do with the 2nd half of his life. I was impressed with their trips.

Laundry Detergent
This is what my couchsurfing host used in her laundery for detergent. They are crushed walnuts. She says she gets multiple loads laundered with this amount of walnuts. I found this interesting.

Walkway to the Beach
I suspect the Germans did not build walkways like this for the Allies to access the Beach.

More Period Vehicles
You saw stuff from WWII driving all over this area.

Relation?
Well he is from Illinois with the same last name. I suspect there is a good chance this person is Blood.

Tough Day
I was too cheap to take a taxi all the way out to Normandy and could not hitch a ride so I rented and road this bike the 14 miles from Bayeux through rain and wind to get to the memorial service. I kept telling myself the allies need me.

Mont St. Michel
When I first saw this place I kept saying, "That place should not be there! Is that place really there?" What a weird, cool, unreal thing.

Mont St. Michel Up Close
I like it better at a distance. A big tourist trap when you get there.

Lower the Draw Bridge
They definitely lower the draw bridge for the tourist.

Mont St. Michel
I like this photo of this place but my favorite photo is of it at a distance.

German Cemetery
The Germans buried their soldiers two in a grave.

German Cemetery
This is the monument in the middle of the German Cemetery.

German Cemetery
This cemetery is just down the road from Normandy. Normandy was immaculate here they were buried two in a grave with 5 crosses for several hundred men. These men fought just because their leader told them to or else they would be killed. I hold nothing against these men.

German Cemetery Guest Book
The guest book at the Germany Cemetery says "Never Again". That statement was chilling and gave me goose bumps. I hope they are right, but I do not think they will be. Leaders start wars for all kinds of reasons. We are currently in a war for what reason I do not know? Taking a country to war is the most important thing a leader can do and the person that does it better have their facts right. Oh well the leader's immediate family will not be affected it is the common people that suffer.