Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Not just any old sand... Normandy and Omaha Beach.


Now off to France, we hopped on a ferry ((Brittany Ferry)) from Portsmouth England to Caen, France (around Normandy) The Ferry was way more than a ferry, it was more like a miniature cruise ship. It was about 3-4 hours across the water and when we arrived another little drive to this very remote Accord hotel. lol but it was very close to the NOrmandy attractions. The hotel was so interesting though, especially the bathroom, specifically the shower. Haha, ummm it was open, like it only has 1 pane of glass and didn't close, it was halfway open. What an interesting experience. Oh and by the way none of the staff knew any english, broken at the MOST. Rooms were cool too,balcony and an upstairs w/ 3 single beds. 

Morning come and we are on our way to "Point du Hoc" Ok [first of all] this whole experience dealing with NOrmandy was just a moving experience. Point du Hoc was Hitler's Atlantic Wall and a German gun battery. [feel free to correct me if I'm wrong] When we got there it opens up to this grand view of both OMAHA and UTAH beach. I could just imagine soldiers fighting and firing guns and waging war. You could see all the damage done by the war bombs (from the aircraft) and also from the ships offshore. YOu could see the ruins of the bunkers and the pill boxes, etc. WOW! Then we went to the Normandy Cemetery and saw all the graves of the men who died in WWII. We also saw a grave that was used in [the movie] "Saving Private Ryan" ((I'll have to tell you this story later)) Anyways finally we get to OMAHA beach. WOW! [again] I cannot believe I am here ((remember the reoccurring theme)):) Just being in this presence, I have heard over and over in countless history classes about D-Day and OMAHA beach and just wow, I'm standing in the sand where this all happened. We even got some sand! We then proceeded to listen to [a guy][I will edit this with his name later] speak about the events here and other different insights that he has had. Unbelievable [as Mr. Crain would say] ((We also ate french banquettes on the beach here)) 

[DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THE SLU 301 PICTURES AS I CONTINUE TO POST THEM]

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