WALKING ON OMAHA BEACH IN NORMANDY.....

Saturday, September 16th, 2000 Normandy Area

Slept in until 10 am. Then after a big breakfast at the hotel, we left for the day. Drove first to Dinard, a very elegant coastal city, for the very rich the guide book states. Then on to Dinan where we got gasoil (diesel) for the first time. Found a great buy for 5.99 per liter. Fuel for the car is much more expensive in Europe. Had to pay cash, that’s probably why it was cheaper. Dinan is a very old town with lots of half timbered buildings. The bottom floors are all smaller as their tax was based on the square footage of the first floor! Spent about a half-hour there and then proceeded up the coast to Normandy to see the D-Day area.

Went to Omaha Beach and saw the American Cemetery. Also walked down to the beach to get some sand for Pat Wood’s collection. We put the sand and some rocks into a glad bag and the animals are coming to the top to get out! Hoping that they can’t eat though the plastic. Saw some remnants of old German pillboxes for their big guns. Then back to the car and down the coast to see Mont St Michel at night. This is the Abbey that sits on an island and has a causeway built out to it. We were there in 1992 and wanted to see it again. Arrived just before dusk and had dinner at a nice restaurant we found along the road just before you start out to the Abbey. By the time we had dinner, the timing was perfect and although we had to walk a long way from the parking area, it was beautiful and well worth the effort to see it again. Watched the tide come in…it rolled in so fast you could easily be caught if you weren’t careful!

Noticed along the road that the corn is ready for harvest but is still standing in the fields. We arrived home and walked around the St. Malo until nearly 11 PM before calling it a day. During the daytime the narrow streets are crowded with tourists but in the quiet of the night we strolled unfettered by crowds.