Arromanches, D-Day's Gold and Juno Beaches

Arromanches, Normandie, France: The WWII Mulberry Harbor here is still quite visible offshore. There is a new 360-degree cinema at the top of the hill overlooking this site, which has a fantastic movie of actual WWII footage which came from journalists from many different countries that fought in the war. 

On the other side of the road from the ocean, there are wheat fields as far as the eye can see. Normandie provides France with the wheat that makes much of their bread.

Next to the beach, a German bunker that was repurposed. You can see the damage from the D-Day bombing. The beaches are wide and beautiful here. Families spend the day in the sunshine, boating and scooping their nets in the shallows for shrimp (the kids, below, were having a blast catching them, "Maman, crevettes!!!").

It was fun to watch the little tractors hauling boats into and out of the water to the parking lot.

Here there is a beach, there is a city. A city where I live: Courseulles sur Mer

I loved this: a small library right on the boardwalk of the beach at Courseulles Sur Mer -- and people (even kids) were actually using it! The library provided both books and games. We decided to have a seafood lunch at a nice restaurant right on the boardwalk. Mark is always game to try the local delicacies (even when they are scary)! He ordered bulots for a first course -- a large turban-shelled sea snail, which is steamed and served with mayonnaise for dipping. Here he is, conquering the monsters from the briny deep:

After lunch, we visited Pegasus Bridge, which crosses the Caen Canal between the cities of Caen and Ouistreham in Normandie. The is the site where British Gliders successfully landed on the night of D-Day. The original bridge now sits on the grounds of a WWII museum dedicated to these brave troops. The new bridge is still in the original location, just about a block away (and pretty-much looks the same  as the original). The gliders (dozens of them) came-in silently in the dark and hit their targets remarkably well. This museum is full of soldiers' personal effects, uniforms, a diorama and movie which shows how the mission succeeded that night. They also have a full-scale replica of a glider, as well as parts of the Bailey Bridges (bridge panels that could be placed quickly by the Allies where there were no bridges).

Glider (above) and Bailey Bridge (below)

From here, we left WWII history behind for a drive out to le Mont-Saint-Michel.