Paris Catacombs
Welcome to the Empire of the Dead, the creepy eternal resting place of more than 6 million people 60 meters under the streets of Paris.
William the Conqueror and the Bayeux Tapestry
If you have a chance to visit Bayeux, you should definitely go to the Tapestry Museum in town. The tapestry is really more of a work of embroidery and it depicts the full story of William the Conqueror so that the masses who could not read would be able to understand and learn the story.
Bayeux Cathedral
The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux is a stunning example of Gothic architecture built 1000 years ago in honor of William the Conqueror.
Caen, Normandy
On our last day in Normandy, we took the train to Caen. It’s a quick and easy trip from Bayeux, about 20 minutes. Caen is much bigger than Bayeux but unlike Bayeux, it was almost completely destroyed in bombing raids as part of Operation Overlord (the Battle of Normandy). Fortunately, a few historical things remain, including part of William the Conqueror’s Ducal Château and two abbeys: Abbaye aux Hommes (men’s […]
Bayeux, Normandy
I’ve written about our tours to various D-Day spots and Mont St. Michel, but here, I’ll write a bit about Bayeux, the charming city we stayed in while we were in Normandy.
Bayeux was the first city to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy (aka, Operation Overlord, which includes but is not limited to D-Day) and because it was used as a headquarters of sorts, it miraculously escaped destruction via the bombing raids that the Allies completed throughout the region.
Magnets from Normandy, Paris, and Bruges
For several years, we’ve been collecting magnets during our travels. They make great souvenirs since they are inexpensive, small, and easy to bring back home even while traveling carry-on only. Plus, we can revisit our trips every time we look at them displayed on the sides of our fridge. However, several trips ago, we ran out of room on the fridge so we’re trying not to go overboard with adding […]
Mont St. Michel in Normandy, France
The day after our D-Day tour in Normandy, we took a guided tour of Mont St. Michel. If you have a chance to visit Normandy, I would put this as a must-see on your travel itinerary. A Visit from St. Michel: If you build it, they will come Mont St. Michel is about a 1.5 hour drive from our base in Bayeux through the Norman countryside. Along the way, you […]
Cafe Dog in Bayeux
After so many D-Day posts, I thought I would lighten up the mood a bit by sharing this. I took this photo a few days ago, impressed by this shaggy little dog’s patience and discipline while waiting for his or her owner who was in the cafe. I think this pup earned a pain au chocolat (my fave!). This must be a regular ritual for them because I spotted the […]
Normandy D-Day Tour: German and American Cemeteries
This post is the fourth in a series on my D-Day tour of Normandy, France. See the rest of the posts here. German Cemetery We started our tour at the German cemetery. The French government has allotted about 17 acres for this space, which is mostly maintained by volunteers and German family members. There are still more than 20,000 German soldiers missing in action, presumably waiting to be found in […]
Normandy D-Day Tour: Point du Hoc
This post is the third in a series on my D-Day tour of Normandy, France. See the rest of the posts here. Point du Hoc: A hard-won and costly battle Point du Hoc was a strategically important location for D-Day since it was the highest point between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach. The Germans recognized its importance too and heavily fortified it with concrete bunkers and heavy artillery capable of […]
