Last Day in Normandy

Left around 1000 this morning for the American Cemetery in Colleville sur mer. It is only 15 mins from Bayeux. Very few people were there when we first got there. The first thing we did was go out to the cliffs and see Omaha Beach and the English Channel from this point. Then we went to the winged

memorial where the British RAF was having a ceremony to honor the Americans. It was such a moving tribute. There were 2 British Generals there with an abundance of medals on their chests. One was in a wheelchair and another was doing pretty well with a cane. They must be in their 90’s. I had to stop reading the messages on all the wreaths because I was becoming too emotional. It was wonderful to see all of the French people who came to the memorials, there were also Polish, British, Germans and of course, many Americans there. Then we walked the graves and went to the chapel. Behind the winged memorial is the Garden of the Missing. The last thing we did was visit the Visitors Center where they have a detailed account of the Normandy Operation and a short film by some of the family members of the servicemen that died on June 6th, 1944. We were very impressed with the whole American. Cemetery. It is also very nice to see all of the French and American flags being flown together from the houses in Normandy. They are very thankful for the sacrifices of the Americans.
Next we drove to Lounges sur Mer where there are German gun batteries still standing. It was raining pretty hard by this time so we just took some quick pictures and headed down to Arromanches-les-bains. This is where the British built a huge artificial harbor so that the supplies could be brought into the troops for the Normandy campaign. Parts of the artificial harbor ramparts can still be seen today. We were in luck when we arrived, it was very low tide and the ramparts were out of the surf and quite visible.
We had lunch of St Jacques (scallops) and moules (mussels) here in Arromanches at a restaurant called Juin 6. Then headed back to Bayeux.
Found an English newspaper so it is nice to finally get some news. We have had no TV and very limited internet for the last 5 days. I am having to ask our host to use the Internet to post my blog so I am hesitant to stay on too long.
Addendum: Right now we are at McDonalds eating dinner because they have free WiFi!!!
The last pictures is of our hosts Jean and Anna - tres chante!!