Normandy/Paris/London

Today was an emotional day. Well, my emotions were definitely on the surface. The weather played perfect to the emotions that were so prevalently on the surface. We woke up early this morning and packed up our hotel room in Bayeux. We then headed out to Coleville de Mar where the American Cemetery from D-day is.

I knew it was going to be emotional going to a place that so many Americans lost their lives fighting for world freedom. We got to the memorial a little early. The sky was a dreary grey, but it never rained. We were able to walk down to Omaha Beach. There was a ship out there. We could almost envision the mass of battleships, aircrafts, guns and bombs going off while we were standing there. It was very peaceful with no one there. The birds were chirping and the ocean made its wonderful sound. As we walked back up to the memorial the workers were just putting up the American Flag. That’s when the tears started flowing.



We couldn’t get to the actual graves today since the workers were mowing the lawns and getting everything ready for the D-Day anniversary. The cemetery was absolutely beautiful. The museum was hard to get through as well. I was happy to see that I was not the only one with tears running down my face as we watched one of the videos. There were quotes from some of the military who served during the invasion. It was a hard fought battle, but one that needed to be won. I think they knew that and that made them accept the responsibility.

We are so grateful for the men and woman who fought for our country and freedom back then and now. Words never seem adequate for what they do or have done.

After the cemetery we drove to Caen. I was in a somber mood and I think it has stuck with me for the rest of the day. We dropped off our rental car and Fleur and found the train station. We again cut it pretty close and my stress levels rose(sp) and anxiety kicked in. When we got in the room to have our tickets printed up we ran into 2 missionaries from our church. It was almost reassuring to see them. One was from Utah and the other was from Beaverton, Oregon. We had a nice little chat with them. We got to cut some more people in line so we could make our train.

The stress continued after we made our way back to Paris and then had to navigate through the Paris metro which was really crowded. Then we had to navigate through the Paris Nord station, which is huge and the SNFC is having a strike today so there weren’t as many workers. We finally found which way to go and where to get our tickets and then we waited to board our train.

I stayed relatively calm while going through the chunnel. I really thought I was going to be in more of a panic, but I just tried now to think about it. It went by really quick. We finally got to our London hotel after taking the tube, bus and walking. Something was not working on the train we were supposed to get on so we decided to walk. We are but two weary travelers seeking a bed now. I think the two fast days in Normandy were really exhausting.

Tomorrow will be a new day and we will be rested before we take on London.