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At Battle, visitors have
a chance to walk through the battlefield and see some of the ruined buildings
on the site. Audioguides describe the action as it occurred there almost
one-thousand years ago. Visiting the battleground helped us all understand
the story told on the Bayeux Tapestry that we would see a couple of days
later. I always knew that the Battle of Hastings was really fought
at Battle, not Hastings, but I always assumed that Battle was just a field.
But there's really a nice little town there. |
| We said goodbye to Nigel at
Hastings before traveling on to Portsmouth to cach our overnight ferry.
At Cherbourg, we met our driver Jean-Pierre with Dieppe Voyages, who would
guide us around Normandy from Mont St. Michel to the beaches and on to Bayeux.
At Mont St. Michel, the Hotel Croix Blanche opened just for our group.
Although it was a little cold and a couple of the girls were feeling a little
sick, we all had a great time here. |
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Our first stop was at Point
du Hoc where American rangers had assaulted the German bunkers atop the cliffs.
Although the heavy artillery pieces had never been installed in the bunkers,
the French resistance fighters had not been able to get word to the invasion
forces. More than 135 of the 225 rangers who fought here were killed
or wounded. |
| The American Cemetery at Omaha
Beach is one of the most moving sites anyone can visit. The cemetery
is immaculately maintained, and the seemingly endless rows of crosses stand
in quiet solitude. Everyone who visits this memorial is bound to come
away deeply moved. |
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Several of the students wanted
to walk from the cemetery down the cliffside to the beaches where the American
forces had come ashore. Today, the area is guarded only by the wandering
wild boars-- although none were spotted on this trip. From the landing
beaches, we moved on to Bayeux for a visit to the Invasion Museum before
going to see the famous tapestry that retells the story of William the Conqueror's
victory in England. |
