Bayeux is a great central location for visiting all 5 Normandy beaches, all the guide books say so. While the town itself wasn't bombed, it is easy to access all the major sites that were targeted. Easy, unless it is a major D-Day anniversary. My last couple days did not go as I had originally planned; I ended up staying in Bayeux both days and not going to the beaches. Originally, I thought I'd hit the events in the various beach towns….parades, ceremonie...

I goofed, around the middle of today's tour when the guide pointed out the Manor from Band of Brothers then sped right by it, I realized I was not on the right tour. Instead of the Omaha Beach/Band of Brothers tour, I was on the Omaha Beach/Utah Beach tour. Oh well. I checked my original confirmation, and Omaha/Utah is what I booked (months ago). The tour was good, even though I had already visited many of the places. The guide was excellent, and just doin...

Three parts to today: Utah Beach area, German cemetery, and Monet's Garden in Giverny. Actually, I'll add a 4th part: photos of an old country church. For the first time since vacation started, I set an alarm clock….for 7:30. I've been getting really good at sleeping in late, and I wanted to have a productive day, hence the 'early' alarm. The beaches and the areas around them are getting more and more congested as the anniversary approached. I headed to Ut...

It is only Monday, and I'm already fretting because I need one more day than I have scheduled in order to get in all I want. There was one big 'to do' I didn't get done in Paris, and that was a trip to Monet's home and gardens. From Paris, this would have been about a 45 minute train ride. I had every intention of going, but in the end I didn't want to give up a Paris day. The house is in the general direction of Bayeux, but it is a 2-2.5 hour trip by car. I...

As I was leaving this Bayeux this morning, they were stringing lights across the streets, I'm assuming in anticipation of June 6. The place feels festive! First stop was the city of Arromanches, which basically splits the American beaches (Utah and Omaha) with the British and Canadian beaches (Gold, Juno and Sword.) Arromanches was where one of the two temporary harbors was built in the days after D-Day. Ok, I knew nothing about these temporary harbors, so I'...