After a delicious hotel breakfast, SMS and I headed into town to meet our Viator group. We cut it a little close since parking was a bit tricky but after a stellar parallel parking job (*toot, toot* that’s my own horn), we arrived to the meeting spot exactly on time at 9 a.m.
WWII Half-day tour
Our group was on the quiet side so we didn’t socialize too much, but our tour guide Matthieu was excellent. We had signed up for the half day tour from Bayeux, which consisted of a few stops along Omaha beach and ending at the American cemetery. I have wanted to see Normandy WWII sites for a long time and I feel really lucky to be here.
It’s interesting to tour sites that are “history” and think about events in my life that I directly experienced but are history to other (younger) people. Specifically, I’m reminded of how I felt at the D-Day museum in New Orleans (now WWII Museum) when there was a small exhibit showing items collected from the Twin Towers/9.11 that I toured right before going through the main exhibits. 9.11 felt more real, even though the scale of WWII was much larger. Not that it’s a comparison game, but it is interesting to ground historic events into feelings and remembrances I have about more recent events. And then I think about how there are so many post-9.11 young people in the military and it really is remarkable how time marches on. But still, never forget.
Bayeux
After the tour, we walked around Bayeux. We had lunch at L’Alcôve, where they had a really nice fixed lunch. The food was delicious and creatively prepared. The dessert was definitely the fanciest presentation. By fancy, I mean something I would never do as a home cook.
Then, we briefly went into the cathedral. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the supermarket, which was really cool. It was like a Target, but with enough differences to make it known that I was not in the US. Honestly, it felt more like a Japanese big box store than US in terms of me feeling a little out of place. But overall, we managed. We only did one thing wrong, which was skip the weigh-the-fruit lady and head directly to the main register but it wasn’t too big of a deal.
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed all the fancy outdoor spa features, including a wood-fire heated hot tub, a sauna, a cold water bucket (I did it!), and a steam room inside with a fancy shower that has different modes: tropical storm, complete with fragrance and bird sounds; light rain; etc.
Dinner was mellow. We ate leftovers in our room and then headed to the bar for a cider.
Wow, what a fancy hotel, I want to take a tropical shower!
We went to Omaha Beach when we were in France in 2018, the tide was much further out and not near the sculpture at all. There was a big group of school kids, which is very like your post, right? They were there enjoying the sea, but really they were surely learning about WWII and the DDay beaches. That Cathedral is beautiful. I’m not Catholic, and didn’t know that keeping bits of people is/was a thing. I think we were in Rouen and saw Richard the Lionhearted’s tomb, and apparently they used to have one of his organs in there? Maybe I’m remembering wrong, but it’s pretty interesting.
The hotel was amazing! Yes, there’s a big difference in the tides and I was glad we saw the beach the next day at low tide to see the expanse. Oooo, Richard the Lionhearted’s tomb?! We missed that but I certainly hope to be back someday so I’ll check it out then 🙂
Thanks for the great pictures and commentary to go along with them. That is a part of France we have not seen due to COVID! Maybe someday we will.
Yes! Another family vacation- let’s plan it!