Normandy, France Day 1

Dec 28

After a long rainy car ride through the French countryside, we arrived in Ouistreham. This is where the Nazi Grand Bunker is from WW2. The bunker housed a range finding device that could monitor the southwest mouth of the Seine. It would relay information on the distances of ships approaching the river to then sink them with long guns. Below the bunker is a series of floors for soldiers, weapons, food, and supplies. It is impressive in that it is still here and has been kept up quite well. We were there for an hour and a half and then had to get lunch.

We ate some quiche from a local bakery and headed down to Sword beach. This is where the British landed on D-Day. It is a long flat beach with many shells and only a few people. Thomas showed us around and was insistent on finding a clam-like creature in the sand. We saw the long skinny shells littered on the beach. Thomas said he knew how to find the ones that are alive. His father showed him how to catch them when he was younger. But, the weather was cold and digging in the chilly water turned out to be a little painful. It is, after all, December along the North Atlantic with no sun and lots of wind.

From there, we headed to the town of Trouville, where we got some fresh lobster, crab, shrimp, and boulot shells. Our reservation for the night was in the city just across the river called Deauville. Here we stayed in a nice apartment on a golf course. The low season price for the resort was no more than the price of a hostel in Paris. We cooked up the glorious seafood, watched some French TV, and wound down for the night. Thomas picked up some local cheese at the market and we opened a gifted bottle of wine from a client that made it all that much better.

Tomorrow, we will visit the other beaches, cemeteries, and the WW2 museum in Caen. Our plan is to then head to Mont-Saint-Michel.

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