Caen and Omaha

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March 20th 2008

Published: April 15th 2008

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emak

A Cathedral

A Cathedral in Bayeux

March 18 - 20
Tuesday March 18
Tuesday began to be a very long day after my flight got in from Edinburgh. CDG airport in Paris is a big airport, what I would call a real airport, not like East Midlands where you can walk through the whole airport in under 10 minutes. Pack on back, I made my way down to the metro station and into Paris. I really had no clue what train station I needed to leave from because I hadn't bought tickets yet. So I got off at Gare du Nord, which as far as I could tell was a train station. Not the one I needed, as it turned out, but I got tickets and directions. At 5:55 I bought tickets and was told to catch the 6:30 train from Gare d' Lyon. Unfortunately, the directions got me slightly turned around and I missed the 6:30 - not good. Luckily, another train left at 8:30. Unluckily, it was a 2 hour ride and reception at my hotel closed at 10. I called the hotel - tired and I probably could have pulled out tears pretty easily - and they said, after thinking about it for awhile,

American Cemetery

that they could remain open until 11. Relieved but anxious, I could not sleep on the train and read nervously instead glancing at my watch every 2 minutes. When the train pulled in, I ran for a taxi, showed the driver the name of the hotel, and we pulled up in front of the hotel at 10:50. After checking in, I went and collapsed on my bed.
Wednesday March 19
After breakfast on Wednesday, I went and found the Tourist Info Center, and asked about getting out to the D-Day beaches. It was easy, there were plenty of tours - that cost like 65 euro. And the tours that left from Caen were full. This was really turning out to be my couple of days. SO I asked about seeing just one beach, using public transport. Which one? He asked. Well, if I can only see one, I would like to see Omaha. Turned out that that one was pretty easy to get out to, just take a train to Bayeux and take a city bus out there. So I headed down to the train station, grabbed tickets, and was on my way. Once in Bayeux, I had a bit

Omaha Beach

"Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices."

of a wait before the bus came, and I met an American couple that were supposed to meet their tour group at the station, but couldn't find them. I wasn't unable to help, not being able to speak more than 5 words/phrases in French. Luckily, soon after, the tour group pulled up, and my bus arrived a few minutes later. A half hour later, the bus dropped four of us off in front of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. The cemetery was very moving. All those perfectly straight rows of crosses and stars. And it sat right above the Omaha Beach. After spending time in the cemetery, I made my way down to the beach. After a bit, I got brave enough to put my toes in the water. I was able to let the water wash over my feet for about two seconds. And in those two seconds my feet were completely frozen. So frozen that it was a bit hard to walk for a few minutes. Later, I made my way back up and to the bus stop where I waited for a while before catching the bus, then the train, and then walking back to my

American Cemetery

hotel for the night.
Thursday March 20
My train for Paris didn't leave until 2ish, so I had some time to explore Caen. William the Conqueror had once lived in Caen and was in fact buried there. So I went to the monastery that he had founded, which is now a hotel. His grave was in the church connecting to the monastery. I thought it was pretty cool. Then I made my way across town to Le Chateau, what was once William the Conqueror's fortress. There was nothing much left of it now, just foundations and outlines of where St. George's Chapel and William's dining hall had once stood. After I had seen all that there was to see, I wandered down to the train station to wait for my train to take me to Paris.

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