Today we did a tour of D-Day beaches. The remains of the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches make the landings seem very real. The Debarquement museum was very interesting, showing lots of detail about how the harbour was constructed and other information about the landings. We saw a couple of films, showing footage from the landings, which were very powerful.
Further up the road at Longues-sur-Mer we visited some German artillary batteries. There are about 4 close together and are the only ones to have kept their guns. The guns are huge and it's easy to see what kind of devastation they caused. I wouldn't have liked to be the Germans stationed there, however. It was bloody cold and must have 10 times worse in the winter.
Afterwards we went to Omaha Beach and visited the American Military Cemetary. Seeing all of the graves lined up (nearly 10,000) makes you realise that war is a very, very stupid thing. Not a very original observation, I know, but it really hits home when you read some individual stories of people who died.
Today has been very blowy, overcast and noticabley colder than yesterday. I'm still waiting for my French summer moment.
Tomorrow we are off to Bayeaux. Really looking forward to it.
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