Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Normandy Weekend: Day 2

Friday morning we woke up, and we were all pretty tired!  Jacob woke up several times throughout the night, and since there wasn't any insulation between our rooms, we heard every grunt, every coo, every time he rolled over... Luckily, he put himself back to sleep each time, but it still left us all with dark circles under our eyes.  We had to shake it off though, because we had a big day planned!

After a simple, but yummy breakfast downstairs (with some of THE BEST strawberry yogurt EVER), we got back in the car (much to Jacob's dismay) and headed to Caen.  Our first stop of the day was the large Memorial Museum in Caen.  The museum is really well done, and isn't just limited to WWII.  It starts after WWI, and they even have a wing dedicated to the Cold War.  Beware though, strollers are not allowed.  They did have a daycare center for children under 11, but since we were there right in the middle of Jacob's first nap time, I was worried he would be a terror for the adults in charge.  Instead, we decided to put him in the Baby Bjorn.  Like everything in Normandy, there were a ton of people, and the museum got very crowded at places.  It is a must-see though if you are in the area.

Our next stop was Arromanches-les-Bains.  Here, you can see "Port Winston", a temporary harbor built by the English to unload cargo onto the beaches.  We first stopped for some "feesh and cheeps" at a little restaurant recommended in the Rick Steve's guidebook.  The restaurant was packed and while we waited for a table, I snuck off to the bathroom leaving Matthew by himself.  Unfortunately, while I was waiting in line, Matthew was seated and left to deal with the stroller by himself (French restaurants are notorious for putting tables so close together that even the waiters can barely squeeze through).  He got some dirty looks by the people who had to move out of the way for him to get to our table.  After a quick lunch, it was time for some sightseeing.  It was extremely windy, but we braved the weather to walk down to the waterfront. 

Next stop on the itinerary was Pointe du Hoc.  If you are a fan of the movie The Longest Day, then this would be a must see sight.  It was at these 100 ft tall cliffs that 300 handpicked US Army Rangers attempted to scale the vertical cliffs (using grappling hooks shot by rockets, and ladders from the London fire departments).  The Rangers only had 30 minutes to make it to the top (while being shot at!) before the tide would come in and wash them away.  Only about a third of the Rangers survived the assault. 

For dinner, we headed into a nearby fishing village and found a little crêpe restaurant. Then it was back to the b&b and bedtime for all of us!


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