If you are getting this for the second time it's because the original post disappeared from my site after sending the email.
Today we had an all day shore excursion to visit the D-Day sites. We were scheduled to leave when the ship docked and return at 6:00pm, the ship’s All Aboard time, We did leave pretty much on time, but returned at 6:30, time the ship was acheduled the leave! We had 3 more busses behind us so at least we were not the last ones to board the ship. Sure glad for the Princess shore excursion guarantee.
We had a lot of stops today so I’ll be brief.
Our first stop was a village where a paratrooper got stuck on the church steeple. They keep a life size dummy of him hanging up there for the tourists (click on the picture to enlarge so you can see him.) Next was Utah beach, one of the two beaches where the Americans landed. It was nice to be able to walk the beach and see what they facedToday we had an all day shore excursion to visit the D-Day sites. We were scheduled to leave when the ship docked and return at 6:00pm, the ship’s All Aboard time, We did leave pretty much on time, but returned at 6:30, time the ship was acheduled the leave! We had 3 more busses behind us so at least we were not the last ones to board the ship. Sure glad for the Princess shore excursion guarantee.
The American Cemetery at Omaha Beach was next. This was very moving. Mary enjoyed seeing the invasion maps which showed where her dad served. The museum had displays of equipment carried by typical GIs and that her father probably used.
We arrived at a small beach town for lunch around 1:00 pm. It was a very nice lunch with wine and a pasta and chicken main dish.
After lunch we headed to Arromanches where the Allies built a temporary harbor in only 10 days after the D-Day invasion. They used prefabricated modules built in England and towed them across the English Channel. That was quite a feat! Some of the modules still exist as ruins after 74 years. Check out both the foreground and background of the picture. Last we headed to Point du Hoc, a German bug battery that had to be eliminated early in the invasion since it could cover both American beaches.
Now we are on our way to Belgium for a tour of the town of Bruge.
2 comments:
WOW! One of my TN cousins was killed in France during WWI is buried there and it was called the American Cemetery. His marker looks just like those crosses. I will have to go look at my family history notes. His mother took a photo when she went there in 1920, with other mothers, in the 'Mother's Pilgrimage to France.' So glad the ship waited for you. I bet the last hour or so of that tour was a nail-biter! Great pics....thanks! ~Sylvia
Great pictures and yes so glad the ship waited for you or it would have been a long swim home for you both :-) Pat
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