Part 4: Le Mont St Michel and Normandy

We returned to Paris and then went on to Caen, France to pick up our rental car.  Yes, we know...we NEVER rent cars overseas.  But to see Le Mont and Normandy, the only sensible way to go is by car.  We drove to Le Mont St. Michel, parked the car at the B&B and walked up the causeway to the old monastery:

When we arrived, we found that for the first time ever, a French strike (le greve) was working to our advantage.  The money-takers and multi-lingual tour guides were on strike and admittance was free!
Inside the church:

 
This giant wheel was used to bring supplies up from below during the time that the monastery was used as a prison.  It pulled a sled up the side of the building:

And finally, a hallway walked by generations of Monks.  It almost looks like the ghost of one is at the top:

Now, on to the Normandy Landing Beaches:

June 6, 1944.  We all know much of the story.  The Allies landed on five beaches:  Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.  At Omaha, seasick soldiers struggled under the immense weight of their gear to cross the water and then the beach, to huddle at the bottom of the ridge...while the German Army fired from the top of the ridgeline above.  Here is a mosaic showing troop movements from June 6 forward:

 

We chose to stay at Arromanches-les-Bains, which overlooks Gold Beach (a Canadian landing site).  Arromanches has some of the most fascinating history in the area.  A couple of days after the initial landings, construction of Port Winston was begun at Arromanches.  In two weeks, the Allies sunk 15 older ships to anchor the piers, towed in concrete bunkers from England, tied them to the shore with metal bridges, and constructed a huge man-made port.  This was called Mulberry B (for British).  There was supposed to be a Mulberry A (for American) at Utah Beach, but weather destroyed it while under construction and Port Winston became the major supply hub for the invasion.  The remains of the Mulberry are still in the water and visible from the beach:

 

 

Next, we visited Utah Beach, where troops landed and headed toward Cherbourg to take the other port.  Here's the memorial at Utah:

 

 

Our next stop was the fascinating Pointe du Hoc.  Pointe de Hoc was a major German gun installation, sporting five 155-mm cannon.  Here's a cannon installation:

 

 

 

 

Prior to D-Day, the allies had bombarded the area heavily, scoring some good hits with some big guns.  Check out this crater:

 

 

On D-Day, Rangers climbed the ridge from the beach to the gun installation, only to find that the surviving guns had been repositioned to a hedgerow south of the location...dummy guns made from wooden poles had been made to fool Allied aircraft.  Rangers found and destroyed the actual guns.

 

A look at Pointe du Hoc, left as it has been since the landings:

 

 

And finally, a look back toward Utah Beach from Pointe du Hoc:

 

 

We visited the German cemetery at La Cambe.  Different from the Allied cemeteries, but moving, especially since so many of the gravesites are young men only 18 or 19 years old:

 

 

A German Unknown Soldier:

 

 

And finally, a visit to the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach.  Here, one finds so many young men from all over the United States who gave their lives on the beach on June 6, 1944.

 

 

 

A visit to these beaches should be mandatory for all young Americans, especially those who are currently leaning a little too far left.  Socialism is not what these people died for...rather, they died to prevent Socialism and preserve our liberty.  We realized that we weren't taught all that much about the Allied invasion when in school and read extensively before our visit.  It was worth it...you usually only hear about the landing at Omaha, and not the whole story of that, even.

 

A quick overnight in Paris and we were on our way home.  While enroute, Gordon pointed out that compared to the boat ride over, flying home sucks.  Ah, yes, and one important thought as we close one of our best trips ever.  Weiner Dog count:  Gordon 11, Pati 4. 

 

  

Part 3: Le 24 Heures du Mans

Next stop, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  We left Epen, regretfully, via bus and two trains.  Arriving in Paris for a quick overnight near the Gare du Nord, we stayed at the very new and modern Hotel Hor.  The weather looked a little threatening, so we dashed to the nearby Carrefour to grab some supplies...and got back to the hotel minutes before a horrendous thunderstorm.  Lucky!

The next morning we commuted via the Paris RER from Gare du Nord to De Gaulle Airport during morning rush hour.  This is an experience we'd rather not repeat.  Between packed trains, hurried commuters, and folks jumping the turnstyles to avoid paying the fare, it's not a fun place for geezers with luggage.  By afternoon, we were in tranquil Tours and checked into our hotel for a four-night stay. 

This time, Grand Prix Tours added a pit walk, garage tour, and a trip to Le Mans town for the driver's parade on Friday.  Here's the pits:

 

And we got the grand tour of the Visitflorida.com entry:

 

 

They didn't finish the full 24 hours...the car conked out sometime overnight while we were back at the hotel.  On Saturday, we took our usual stroll all over the fan area, and found the Nissan Delta Wing (which we thought was going to compete, but apparently it was just for show this year):

 

 

We've posted a lot of stuff on here from previous years, so here are a few different views.  First, the flag and anthem ceremony.  They present the flag and play the anthem of each participating driver's country:

 

Here's the start:

 

 

The pits at dusk:

 

 

The winners!  Audi again, but Toyota game them a run for their money:

 

 

And the fans mob the main straight for the podium ceremony:

 

 

The event was saddened this year by the death of driver Allan Simonsen early in the race.  This marked the first driver death during the race since 1986.  The show went on, of course, but a somber speech from Jacky Ickx reminded us all that this sport is, inherently, dangerous.

Next stop, Part 4, Le Mont St. Michel and the Normandy Landing Beaches.

Part 2: The Netherlands Again

We took two trains and a bus from Hamburg to reach Epen, Holland.  We had such a great time two years ago that we wanted to get out there and hike again, hopefully finding new and different trails.  Somehow, even though we started off in a direction we recognized, we always ended up in a place we hadn't been before.  We even got up onto the Grand Randonee one day and mixed it up with the real backpackers.

We stayed at the Ons Krijtland again and we can report that the food is as good as ever and the people are as nice as ever.  Since we posted the view from the balcony before, this time we offer the happenings in the field below:

 

The bride had a tough time keeping her dress out of the cow patties.  Here's one of our new paths:

And reaching the higher altitudes, we found several "ghost forests" like this one:

Of course, occasionally one encounters large (but friendly) obstacles on the path:

Last time here we walked to the American Cemetery at Margraten, Holland only to find that our camera was dead.  This time, we've done better.  Here's the cemetery...notice that almost no one's there.  It's quiet, somber, and touching.

While there, we talked for almost an hour with the docent.  A Dutch gentleman, he really knew the history of the war and the cemetery.  When we got back to the hotel and were talking to one of the Front Desk employees, we learned that the docent was his uncle.  Small world.  We found the grave of Lt. General Maurice Rose, a gentleman with a colorful, but not well documented, past.  Look him up, it's interesting.

Finally, there are so many names of those who are missing, and over 300 graves of those who are unknown.

After eight days of hiking and eating, we were sorry to move on, but Part 3 of the trip was getting ready to fire up at Circuit de La Sarthe and we needed to get there!

Heading for Europe The Old-Fashioned Way

May 31, 2013 marked the beginning of a month-long, four-part odyssey.  Part one began when we arrived New York and Cunard had arranged an overnight stay at a Hilton that was located, literally, in the middle of everything.  Six blocks from Central Park, across the street from television studios (CBS and Fox), one block from Radio City Music Hall.  We walked to the Whole Foods and passed even more sights.  Fun.  But!  Adventure on the high seas awaited...the next morning we were off to board the Queen Mary 2 and head for Southampton, England and on to Hamburg, Germany.

Here's the view from the ship, leaving the Brooklyn pier:

The shuffleboard deck:

 

This isn't the type of cruise we're used to.  Normally, we're in warmer climates and rougher water.  Crossing the north Atlantic, it was cool, and for the first four days, foggy.  Nice smooth crossing, though.  This was also our first time on a ship that wasn't "all inclusive".  We found that a different atmosphere exists when drinks are that expensive...you don't make new friends at the bar!  We did have a great time.  And speaking of time, we had a time change just about every day...for some reason, the British like to do that at noon, so every day at noon, the clocks all marched forward one hour.  Odd.  Didn't seem to bother the lunch crowd much, though.

 

First and only stop was Southampton.  Across from the ship, thousands of Mini Coopers sat in a garage waiting to head for their new homes (they're built in Oxford, England and shipped from Southampton).  Here we are leaving merry olde England and pursued by another cruise ship.  They eventually passed us like we were sitting still when we lost a generator and slowed to a crawl while they got it fired back up.

 

 

A couple of other inside shots from QM2.  Here's the main lobby:

 

 

 

And the ship's bell, rung the traditional eight times at noon each day (just before the clocks all marched forward):

 

 

Finally, we arrived in Hamburg, Germany early in the morning.  We were able to walk to our hotel (another new adventure...we'd never stayed at an Ibis hotel before and we were VERY pleasantly surprised).  Spent the remainder of the day walking around downtown.  Hamburg is really very nice and we thought we'd like to go there again when we have more time.  Lots of see and do.  And, there's a lake in the middle of town:

The following morning, we were off to the train station to catch our train to Maastricht, Holland for Part 2.  More to follow!