Adventures With The One and Only: Junkyard Dog

Monday (July 9^th):  Tom walked Brad and I to the correct METRO line in Paris and then we were off to the train station “Saint Lazare.”  We got to the train station with plenty of time and we bought a few items for breakfast/lunch for our two hour train ride.

Brad and I boarded the train at the second to last compartments and took a seat and ate our breakfast.  As the departure time kept getting closer and closer, more and more kids started to board our compartment.  Then I noticed all of these parents holding up their iPhones right next to Brad’s head on the outside and were taking pictures of the kids across the row.  Then just as the train started moving, a lady wearing a bright neon jacket was making all the “adults” move, apparently we were sitting in the kids section.  We quickly moved up to the last compartment and we were able to find two seats across the row from each other at the four person table seats.  Apparently, someone gave Brad “an evil look” that caused him to feel uncomfortable and we were off to find some new seats.  While walking through the kids section to find a new seat, a little girl vomited all over her seat, aisle, and the door to get out.  The smell was foul and we quickly ran through it in search of a seat far away from that compartment.  We found some seats two carts away however we were only able to enjoy them for 10 minutes before a group of teenagers claimed the seats were theirs.  So here we are, trying to find new seats, and we come across the storage area outside of the bathrooms.  We just decide to sit down there for the remaining 1.5 hour train ride and I passed out cold on the floor of a storage closet for the entire train ride. 

Upon our arrival to Bayeux (“Bay-yo”) we drop off our bags at the hotel and walk to the tourist information center at the center of this small town.  With only having Monday afternoon and all of Tuesday to explore Normandy and we wanted to make the most of our time.  Once we got to the tourist information center, we found out that we had just missed out of the last D.Day tour for Monday and would have to dedicate Tuesday to visit the beaches of Normandy.  This would have been fine, but we were planning on going to go see Le Mont-Saint-Michel on Tuesday as it was a 3 hour train ride and was HIGHLY encouraged by all of the friends.  So we were asking the attendant if there is any way we could catch one of the last trains to see Mont Saint Michel and after spending 5 minutes looking into alternatives, she said “well I guess you could rent a car” with a “if you’re crazy enough” expression.  Brad and I exchange glances and we say “yeah, actually that sounds perfect.”  I know how to drive stick so we quickly stop in the grocery store to pick up some lunch materials and head to the town’s car rental dealership.  We book the last open car, wrote down the directions, and we were off to see Mont Saint Michel!

View of Bayeux Main Street

View of Bayeux Center River

Our Rental Car

About 1.5 hours later, we found ourselves unable to take our eyes off of Mont Saint Michel.  It was constructed on an island and has limited access when the tides come in as a natural mote is created.  Brad and I agreed that it was one of the most unique and beautiful scenes we had ever seen.  The site was very “tranquil” as we found it quiet, peaceful, and majestic with the abbey being the perfect insight for our explanation.  At sunset, we drove back to Bayeux and parked the car at the car rental agency.

As We're Approaching Mont Saint Michel

Brad and I On the Top of Mont Saint Michel 

Abbey of Saint Michel

View of the Surrounding Area with the Tides

Tuesday (July 10^th): We woke up at 8:00am to drop off the key at 8:30am, and got breakfast at a nice open porch on the main street drag.  We went to visit the Tapestry of Bayeux which explains how “William the Conqueror”, the Duke of Normandy from Bayeux, conquered England in 1066.  I had just seen his castle in London’s tower, and knew the story so we decided not to pay to see the 11^th century 70 meter long tapestry.

We then walked to see the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux.  I particularly liked this cathedral because the organ music provided an odd and somewhat unsettling aura to the cathedral, especially while walking in the crypts while someone was playing the organ which was kind of creepy.  Afterwards we grabbed a quick bit to eat and prepared for our D.Day tour.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux

We were picked up in an unmarked van where we joined with an older couple (upper 50s / lower 60s) and two guys who recently graduated students from University of Florida.  Our first site was the German Cemetery which I enjoyed as all the elements contained on the soil were from Germany (grass, stone, trees, flowers, everything).  We then headed to “Pointe du Hoc” and saw our first “German nest” which provided a view of Utah and Omaha beach and gave us an understanding of the integrated lookout military system the Germans had maintained to protect the coast.  The cannons have a range of between 12-15 miles when used correctly.  

 Crater By the German Nest (from Allied Bombing) ~30feet in Diameter

A "German Nest"

Then, we off to Omaha Beach where our tour guide explained, in detail, the layout of the attack on June 6^th, 1944.  

Omaha Beach

After spending some time on the Beach, we made our way to the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial where we walked around for roughly an hour just absorbing the magnitude of the cemetery.  I walked through the memorial and saw quotes like “When I got to the doorway (of the paratrooper’s plane) I looked out to see what looked like a solid wall of tracer bullets” and “the ocean was blood red for hours, with over 1,500 dead within the first hour.”  Very emotional.

Picture of the Thousands of Graves

I'm currently relaxing in a small town in Southern France called Axe-en Province where all I did today was sit by the pool, read, listen to music and took a bath.  Tomorrow evening I get on a train and join my parents in Vienna to celebrate our friend's wedding.  Let the good times roll.

Jay