In case you didn’t know today is VE Day, aka Victory Europe Day. On May 8th, 1945 the allies officially celebrated the surrender of Nazi Germany and although we didn’t plan our current Normandy visit based on this date, I’m very glad it has worked out that we are here on this day.
Today we visited the Musee du Debarquement in Arromanches. This is a museum dedicated to explaining the logistics surrounding the building and operation of the artificial harbour, known as Mulberry ‘B’, that the allies created here back in 1944. This harbour, during its 8 months of service, became the largest in the world in terms of gross-tonage-per-day. Quite amazing. After a very interesting tour of the museum we walked around the lovely town of Arromanches and we especially enjoyed the waterfront boardwalk which is flanked on one side by the English Channel and on the other by beautiful homes. After a quick lunch we then departed towards Mont St Michel.
Mont St. Michel is a tall rocky island, located in Normandy near Avranches. It is apparently the third most visited attraction in France after the Eiffel tower and the Palace of Versailles. In modern times one can reach the island using a causeway but prior to the causeway’s existance one would have to walk across the sand during periods of low tide. Mont St. Michel contains an impressive assortment of very old buildings, the most prominent of which is the Benedictine abbey which effectively crowns the island. The lowel levels are filled with tourist shops, hotels, and restaurants. We explored the island, enjoying the lovely views, the impressive ramparts and the interesting architecture. Many of the buildings appear to be homes so I assume that there are people who actually live there. I wonder what a house there would cost?
We have a long day of driving ahead of us tomorrow. We’re going to drop John and Anne off in Rennes where they will catch a train to Paris while Marissa and I continue south back to our home in Giroussens. What a week it has been and from it we will hold so many special memories.
I didn’t check the blog for a few days (life takes time away from surfing) and didn’t realise you guys made your way to Normandy. Wow! The posts from Paris and Normandy seem to be so packed with info that they will require some more detailed reading and surfing. Have fun!!!!
Comment by off2europe2 — May 8, 2007 @ 11:32 pm
Normandy has been one of the real highlights of this adventure. I’ve been reading WW II history for a couple of years now and actually seeing some of the sites really helps put things in context.
Comment by admin — May 9, 2007 @ 4:45 pm
Before reading your comment at the begining of the post I actually thought you’ve planned to visit Normandy on May 8th 🙂 This was knowing your intereste in XXII history. Maybe you secretly did plan it that way 🙂
Comment by off2europe2 — May 10, 2007 @ 4:06 pm
The dates for uur trip up to Paris and Normandy were chosen because thats when our friends Anne and John could meet up with us. John also has an interest in WWII history so perhaps it was he who secretely planned it that way. 🙂
Comment by admin — May 11, 2007 @ 12:32 am