Saturday morning we woke up to gray skies. We just prayed the rain would hold off long enough for us to visit Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. The plan was to head to the Loire Valley after those two stops, so after breakfast we packed up. Poor Jacob was so tired after two days of no naps, he fell asleep on the bed while we packed.
We arrived in the little village where the code-named 'Omaha Beach' is located. The place was packed! Being the anniversary weekend of the D-Day landings, WWII history enthusiasts were out in all of their costumed glory. There were TONS of US Army Jeeps (all owned and driven by French people), people in full combat gear, and a little bit of everything in between... Since we were expecting rain any minute, we bypassed the mock military camp that was set up in a field and the military paraphernalia flea market, and walked straight down to the beach. The wind was just insane! Jacob was snug inside the Moby wrap, and with the hood covering his face and the roar of the ocean (just like on his white noise 'Sleep Sheep'), he was asleep in no time. While he snoozed, we walked along the beach, and read on our Kindle the story of the Americans landing on the beach (Kindle + Rick Steves is a great combo when sightseeing!). About 100 pictures later, we were walking back up the hill to where all of the festivities were going on. We stopped in the flea market and found a guy that was custom stamping US dog tags. We decided it would be neat for Jacob to have one as a little souvenir from our trip. I have to admit though, with each stamp into the metal, I wanted to tell the guy to stop. I know this is probably horrible, but as a mom, I hope Jacob never has real dog tags. If he chooses a military life, of course I will be supportive, and definitely proud of him. But, the thought of my baby fighting in a war.... Especially after three days of reliving the sacrifices of so many Americans (most of them just boys), the thought of Jacob being in harms way makes my heart start pounding.
Once back in the car, we headed to the American Cemetery. The cemetery is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. The land was given to the US by France and contains the remains of over 9,000 Americans, most of whom were killed during the Normandy invasions. There were some soldiers whose family wanted to bury them back in the US. It is quite emotional to stare out at the thousands of gleaming white crosses.
Raindrops started falling while we were walking around the cemetery, so we headed back to the car. This was the last stop in our tour of Normandy. We drove the 3 1/2 hours south, back to the Loire Valley. By the time we got to our hotel, the temperature had changed more than 20 degrees! I think the lady at the hotel thought we were crazy to be dressed in jeans and long sleeves. We quickly changed into our bathing suits and headed to the little hotel pool. The water was too cold for swimming, but we let Jacob stand on the first step and get get his toes wet. Except for some grunting noises, he didn't seem to mind the cold water.
The hotel was really tiny, only 6 rooms, but it was a perfect set-up for us. The room was huge, with a king size bed (well, two twins put together) and a sitting area complete with couch, table, and chairs. There was also a large entryway, and the room had a door that closed it off from the entryway. We were able to put Jacob's crib in the entryway, and after we put him to bed we could close the door to our room. We had stopped and bought some of Normandy's famous Camembert cheese and fresh bread before leaving Normandy. Matthew found a store close by and bought some wine and dessert. We put Jacob to bed and were able to open the balcony door which gave us a view of the village and a little of the countryside. As much as we love French restaurants, our little make-shift room picnic was just perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment