Sept 12th Bayeux & Omaha Beach (D-Day landing US)

It's 1845 and I am finally connected. Once again, finding the internet and connecting with the cords of communication has involved searching, walking, driving, laughing, and praying! I'm sitting in a restaurant-bar here in town having a beer and my wifi is free...needless to say I am happy!

Claude and I have been here in Bayeux for the third day after leaving Caen. We found this great little town and to find a place for the night we thought, why not walk to all of our destinations? Why not. The weather is nice and we have all day. Literally! But after walking for a few hours and getting nowhere, we both changed our tune and drove and got right down to business. We found a place for the night in a reasonable hotel. The woman at the desk frowned at me when I appeared all to happy to sleep in the spare bed (usually for children). But when I told her that Claude is my brother she sympathetically smiled, ahhhhh I see, was the look she gave. Ok...one complaint...what is up with these bloody little scooters that MUST travel at high speeds and in the highest gear possible? Crank your lawnmower on superman speed and go up and down your street a few times in the middle of the night and see what your good natured neighbors will do.
The focus here? Somewhere in our travels, we have both been inspired and have both decided to pay tribute to the landing beaches (D-Day) along Normandy's coast. The five landing beaches include Utah (US), Omaha (US), Gold (Brit), Juno (Canada), and Sword (Brit).
Above Omaha beach lies a large and overwhelming cemetary. Here in this quiet, peaceful, and windblown field sleeps 10 000+ US soldiers who have perished here on the sand below. This cemetary is one of many cemetaries. If you've seen Saving Private Ryan, the makings of the movie makes reference to the soldiers from these divisions.
The landscape is impecable and the white crosses are all perfectly aligned, stretching out as far as the eye can see. It is at once beautiful, calm, and difficult to absorb.

Omaha beach presents with soft sand, crashing waves, and a coast that is impressive with it's large jutting jagged edges...resembling the cliffs of Dover.
Claude and I found ourselves walking each in our own directions, trying to picture the large boats bringing thousands of men to fight, to live, and to die.
The feelings here are personal. You must come here yourself to see the beauty of nature and to experience the beach for what it is...a moment in time now...and a moment in time with a heavy past.

In one of our excursions to La Pointe Hoc,we saw large holes made by the massive bombs which ripped and devasted not only the land but the men and the structures they worked in. The sky was blue and the wind was ferociously sweeping over the ocean onto the land. We spent a greater part of our afternoon in this region and came home exhausted.

Bayeux is old and comfortable. The houses all look like they've been here since the beginning of time. The food, wine, and desserts continue to blow us away. I don't know what happened but I don't remember eating this much in Italy! I mean really! So when Claude and I walk a marathon in our day we smile at each other and say, this'll make up for what we are about to eat...