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Published: July 22nd 2009
Saturday, July 18- Deauville and D-Day Beaches
After market and petit dejeuner, Eric takes Jackie, Jeff, Sixtine, Caitlyn, Dean and I on a tour of the beaches. Our first stop is Pegasus Bridge- so named because it was liberated by RAF glider troops. Outside there is the bridge itself, a replica and part of a real glider, guns and other equipment. There also is a small museum with a video and displays in French and English. From here, we walk across a modern bridge to see the first house liberated by the allies, which is now a café. We all have a drink and relax for a few minutes before returning to the car and on to the next site. Mom, Eric takes ALMOST as many photos as you or me, but he has a professional camera that takes multi-shots. (We’ll see some of his photos later today-lots of portraits and landscapes).
It seems like a long way from here to Arromanches- the beach where the Americans sank ships to create a harbour. We stop and see it from a cliff above, then drive down. The museum is a disappointment. It is too crowded to appreciate the displays, and the video and audio guides alternate between French, English and at least one other language (I heard Spanish). Since we are short on time, we go down to the beach where we can see the “harbour” more closely. It is amazing what these men were able to do. Most people are walking in silence.
It is 4:30, so we get in the car for our last stop, the American Cemetery and museum, which will close at 6. This is definitely the most meaningful stop for us. There are rows upon rows of white crosses and stars of David. There is a memorial detailing the movements of each division. The cemetery overlooks the beaches that are so peaceful today. At 5:30, the sound of a solitary bugle playing taps carries over the cemetery, and we look to see the American flag being lowered and folded. Realizing the time, we spend less time than we’d like outside in order to see some of the visitors’ center museum. Inside, the displays (that we have time to read) are the best that we have seen. Perhaps Dean, Jeff, Jackie and I will return here on our own next week when we spend a day near Caen.
The kids doze off in the car on the ride back to Deauville. Eric and Sabine are in charge of dinner, so Dean and I go for a walk along the beach. The homes/villas here are fantastic. After our walk we have a wonderful dinner. Sixtine’s Godfather, Eric’s best friend Damien arrives. He speaks fluent English because he spent three years working in Atlanta, USA. He is very friendly, and reminds me of a cross between Bob Rosen and John Vincenzo (for those of you who know them). While we talk over champagne, Eric cooks the turbot, and we have a relaxing dinner, with lots of teasing and laughter.
Dean, Jeff and I are all attempting to speak French, but Jackie has fallen right back into it. Sabine comments how it seems she has not forgotten anything! Eric takes pity on us, conversing in English more often than not. When the talk morphs into fast-paced French, Dean, Jeff, Caitlyn and I just sit and smile.
After dinner, Eric and Damien press Jeff and Jackie to perform, and, after some persuasion, Jeff agrees and plays a short piece, then gives Sixtine a lesson! Buzzing isn’t easy, but she is a good sport. We all have fun watching her attempts. It takes 10 minutes for her to imitate Jeff’s demos/instructions, and play a note. On that note, Dean and I leave the kids and our friends downstairs and head up to sleep.
Sunday, July 19- Barbecue, La Chapelle de Notre-Dame de Grace, Honfleur, and Veulles-les-Roses
I wake up, and go downstairs in time to go with Eric to the boulangerie, where he buys bagettes and brioche. When we return, Dean is up, so we have tea, bread, butter with Eric’s homemade raspberry and apricot jams. The pool opens at 10, and Eric wants to help me with gas and a SIM card for the cell phone, so we take our Renault to bring Dean to swim on the way. There is free parking for 30 minutes, and the pool is on the beach, so Eric shows us the famous Deauville parasols, and the Roman-style bath house-each dressing room door has a railing outside with the name of a film star (“Robert Redford”).
Once Dean is inside, Eric and I drive to the gaziol/petrol station where he shows me how to check for the correct type of fuel, and checks to be sure my tire pressure is ok. All French stations have free air pumps, very easy to read and use. That was the easy part. The clerk at the “tabac” counter where they sell lotto, phone cards, and newspapers is not very personable. I would never have been able to deal with him. Between other customers, Eric explains to him what I need, and the man impatiently sells us a SIM card and top up time. After this, we do a quick supermarket stop for a few nonperishable items to take to our next home to get us started. Back at the villa, no one else is yet up, so I go up to the room to be sure we are packed to go.
Once Dean is back, and the kids are up, we have dejeuner of steak and duck, and pack the car to follow Eric and the girls to Honfleur. Before we leave, Eric poses us all on the stairs, then enlists a passing neighbor to take some pictures.
The drive to Honfleur is less eventful than the tollbooth episode, and we drive up a narrow lane to park near La Chapelle de Notre-Dame de Grace, a sailor’s chapel, with an outside carillon (every bell has a name “James”, “Matthew”) and a high crucifix that overlooks the beach. Jeff takes the wheel and we descend into the town itself. He does an excellent job parallel parking on a narrow street in a tiny space better suited to a “Smart Car”. Honfleur is Scandinavian for shelter (fleur) of a (hon) Norse settler, so the Viking influence is evident. Ste. Catherine is a wooden church, rather than stone. That is because Honfleur had plenty of boat builders, but no cathedral architects. It has two Naves, both built in the 1400s, and a bomb fell through its roof during WWII, but did not explode! The harbor, called the Vieux basin, is full of small to mid size yachts/sailboats/fishing boats. Many people are lounging on their boats, drinking wine and eating cheese- and taking cover below when it starts to rain on us. We wait for it to slow from beneath a bistro’s awning, then say good bye to Eric and the girls and follow them as far as the bridge across the Seine. Then we are on our way to Veules les Roses! The Pont de Normandie is the longest suspension bridge in France, and part of it actually looks like a roller coaster! We arrive in Veules with no further incident, find the keys, and unpack. To be continued - maybe I’ll be up to date by tomorrow!
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Ed Raftery
non-member comment
How you goin to keep them down on the farm after they've see Paree!!