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 doing the tour would not have been enough, we were in and out of places quickly. And it was nice to have someone else doing the driving so I could look around the countryside.

A couple facts I learned: 800 veterans have registered to attend events this weekend, and about half a million visitors are expected. This is insane. For my St. Marys readers, most of these towns would be equivalent to New Knoxville. There is no place to park half a million people. Or a tenth of that. I asked the tour guide if it was crazy to try to go to events on June 6, and he said he'd be staying home and only attending events in his local area. After what I saw today, I think I'll be doing the same.

Three villages seem to be the hub of activity (again, thank you Band of Brothers), Carentan, Sainte Mere Eglaise (where the paratrooper was caught on the church steeple) and Ste. Marie du Mont. These are all in the American sector and fairly close together. They are all reached by taking one highway out of Bayeux for about 20-30 kilometers, and that highway will be closed on June 6. The only people who can travel on it are veterans and other people who must make it to events on time. That's problem #1; I could venture to these towns doing the back roads, but this is exponentially more difficult without a navigator. And that is what everyone else will be doing, make the back roads crazy. Already today there was a minor event in Carentan, and its exit off the highway was backed up for a mile each way. Ste. Marie du Mont, which I've driven through each of the last 3 days, has progressively gotten more congested each time. There is a mock camp set up that is attracting scads of people. Today was my first time in Sainte Mere Eglaise, and it was the nuttiest of all. There is a big "gun show" in town…people buying and selling war memorabilia….weapons, uniforms, you name it. This is also where the premier parade is held on the 6th, and something I really wanted to attend. No way.

As crazy as it is right now, I'm still glad I came during this time. It is fascinating to see how much the French are into this anniversary, and how pro-American they are. I've never seen as many American flags flying the US as I have here, and that include the big holidays (July 4th, Memorial Day, etc). I'm realizing not everyone running around in an old uniform is a re-enactor; many are purchasing them as these shows. And it isn't just uniforms, there are French women with their hair and clothes done up a la 1944. And while some it is clearly an excuse to dress up (and most of them are choosing to wear American uniforms, especially airborne), get drunk and run around with old weaponry, for others it is more than that. As I've already mentioned, the museums and cemetery were full of French school groups and families. (American cemetery, that is. The German cemetery was mostly Germans.)

Today was the first day I noticed the real American troops here. The army has bussed in Rangers (at least everyone I noticed was a Ranger), I'm assuming to participate in the upcoming services. They were at all the places we stopped on the tour today, participating as spectators. When we get to Sainte Mere Eglaise, we had extra free time so we could pick up lunch and go to a museum. This town had several pubs around the town square, and they were bursting from the seams, inside and out, with primarily people playing dress up, the real US servicemen and women, and women dressed up in the 40's style. I took several pictures, because aside from the minor detail of the buildings not being bombed, I thought it probably looked like a scene from the 40's.

My new plan for Thursday and Friday is to stay close to Bayeux and see what is happening here. I've barely explored the town, and I know there is a service for D-Day at the cathedral, I think on Thursday. At 11pm on Thursday they are doing fireworks on all the beaches, and I think I can handle that….when an event is spread over 60 miles, it is less intimidating to think about parking. Also, there is a parachute drop scheduled for 12:20am that I may try to attend. Stay tuned.