The Allisons: Normandy,

Our second vacation in as many weeks took us to Normandy, France. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I kind of thought Normandy was a town or small area in France. Rather, it is like a state or region in France's north west corner. It's about a 7 hour drive (if you don't stop--which of course we did). We arrived at our apartment in Bayeux around 4:30. Then we ventured out into the drizzle and cool temperatures to find the Bayeux Tapestry.

The "tapestry" is about 2 ft tall and 70 meters long. It told the story (in numbered scenes) of William the Conquerer (the Duke of Normandy) and his rise to the English throne in 1066. It was amazing to see needlepoint that was 900 years old in such great condition. There are no pictures because they were not permited. The tapestry was in a darkened corridor, behind glass and lit by some kind of suitable lighting.

Then, we went into the beautiful Bayeux cathedral (which went undamaged during WWII).

The next day we drove another 1.5 hours west to the border of Normandy and Brittany to Mont Saint Michel. It is a monastery built in the Middle Ages on a giant rock that sits in the middle of a tidal flat.

Here is Ezra in the beautiful walkway that surrounds the cloister.

Don't worry. Although Jonas looks frightfully close to the edge, there is a plexiglass wall separating him from a very long fall.

Mike and Jonas in front of Mont Saint Michel before our ascent.

Ezra, Jonas, and Judith in the cloisters.

There is one street in Mont Saint Michel. As you can imagine, it's very crowded. We avoided it on the way up by walking along the wall part of the way. Here are me and Judith on the wall. It looks like a long way up to the cathedral, but I guess the steps are spread out enough that it didn't seem too bad.

Inside the cathedral, monks were doing some chanting. It was very cool. I was thankful that we were allowed to explore their church and observe their worship.

Ezra and Jonas sitting on the wall above the tidal flats, eating a little snack. All those steps make a boy hungry!

Out on the tidal flat Mike and the boys found a little crab.

Here's sweet Judith. She passed out on the way to the car with her bagette tightly in hand. The girl is serious about her food.

The next morning we went to the Memorial Museum in Caen. It had free child care which the kids were REALLY happy about. Oh, we were pretty happy about it too. Our first stop was up to the cafe to have a cup of coffee that was uniterrupted. Then off to view the museum. We checked the kids out for lunch, then checked them back in while we finished up in the museum.

Here's Judith and Jonas outside the museum.

Here's a random roundabout near Bayeux. I think that's a statue of Eisenhower in the middle near the arch. In Normandy, it is definitely "cool" to be an American. Normans have not forgotten the sacrifice made by the Allied Forces to liberate France. You see the American, British, and Canadian flags flying everywhere. It was nice.

After the WWII museum, we headed to Arromanches. Also known as "Port Winston" this was a completely pre-fabricated port that they transported across the English channel and assembled right off the coast to create a landing area for troops and supplies going to the Allied forces. Built to last just 18 months, there is much of it still visable off shore.

Ezra wasn't concerned so much with what was in the water, but he really enjoyed the war machines set up in the area.

Me and Judith at Arromanches. Although it was windy and chilly (but sunny), there were some crazies out in the water. Mike was convinced that there would be no recreation at these Normandy beaches, but that was not the case. Even at Omaha beach beneath the American Cemetary, there were beachgoers enjoying the surf.

Mike and the boys with a Higgins boat. These boats carried many troops to beaches during the Normandy invasion. Troops were seasick and miserable. In The Longest Day (a book about the Normandy invasion that we read while on the trip) one seasick soldier remarked, "That guy Higgins ain't got nothin' to be proud of inventin' this G%$#@&* boat".

This was atop a hill above Arromanches where we could see the remains for the enitre port. Of course I could not get it all in one picture, so I picked the picture where the water looks the prettiest.

Our next stop was the American Cemetery above Omaha beach.

Jonas hugging a Star of David.

The Memorial and reflection pool at the Cemetery. We were there around 5pm. As we walked by a cemetary custodian he asked where we were from. Mike usually tells folks we're from Texas so as not to let them know he's American military stationed in Germany, but I suppose he felt more secure letting this custodian (obviously American and possibly a veteran himself) know that he was stationed in Germany where he serves in the Air Force. The custodian offered to let Mike join a few other guys (tourists) and help out when he took down the flag for the evening at 5pm. Mike declined saying that since we was out of regs (not having shaved in several days) he would not be a very good representative of the military. But I thought it would have been a really cool opportunity if he had known in advance that he could take part in that and had come better prepared.

This was a huge map on the left side of the Memorial.

Ezra, Judith, and Jonas.

Mike took the boys down the Omaha Beach. You can see a bunker up on the hill.

This is one of the many cool chateaus we saw all over the countryside.

Judith in front of our apartment.

We ran out of time on Thursday, so we had to hit Point du Hoc on our way "back" home on Friday (even though it was the opposite direction).

At Point du Hoc, US Rangers scaled this cliff under the rain of German fire to destory a large battery that was a threat to the landings at both Utah and Omaha beaches.

Mike and the boys exploring the ins and outs of destroyed bunkers and batteries.

This monument was a sword at the tip of Point du Hoc. On the hilt of the sword is a summary of events (English and French) on June 6th at Point du Hoc.