Normandy: D-Day on June 6, 2012

By pure coincidence, we did the Rick Steve's "D-Day Sites in One Day" on the 68th anniversary of Operation Overlord. Our visit had further meaning, as the weather -- cold, cloudy, and rainy -- set the scene to imagine the troop's experience (without bullets and the prospect of death, of course). Leaving Honfleur, we arrived in Arromanches, a toursity, albeit charming, town between the both the American -- Omaha and Utah -- and English/Canadian -- Juno, Sword, and Gold -- beaches. After an intro to D-Day at the Arromanches 360 Theater, we visited Port Winston from the cliffs. I can report that Arromanches was appropriately mobbed, and though we did not speak with any of the vets, we had the good fortune to see a few in the flesh. Given that 2012 is an off year to reunion, the commemorations were less grandiose. Having introduced ourselves to the battle, we headed west to Longues-sur-Mer, the site of four, intact German artillery batteries, all the while anxiously anticipating Omaha Beach and the American Military Cemetary. With the images of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in my head, we drove further West to Omaha Beach. Despite its apparent tranquility, the beaches's history was palpable. Quite seriously, you could imagine the beach littered with the dead, injured, dieing, and totally freaked-out. We went up to the American Military Cemtary, which was expectedly depressing, and in desperate need of a feel-good-upper, we headed further West to Point-du-Hoc, the most interesting (but equally sad) monument in Normandy. We finished our day with a quick visit to the German Military Cemetary, which in comparison to the victory and hope the American Cemetary celebrates, evokes despair and defeat. A lovely dinner in Bayeux concluded our jam packed, jet-lag distorted day. Still in search of caffeinated coffee, but proud to report we've located mouth-gasmic cheese and charcuterie.