Storming the Beaches of Normandy...

Given the choice between taking a set tour or simply winging it with a small modicum of information, I generally tend toward the latter option. So with what can only be described as a naive amount of knowledge, Chris and I caught the morning train out of Paris toward
Caen. There we planned to rent a car and give ourselves a self-guided tour of Normandy.

Getting transportation turned out to be exceedingly easy but the same could not be said of navigating around northern France. We got lost at least once and often made several loops around their circular intersections before moving forward. But despite al our difficulties,
it ended up being a truly great day and you can never have too many of those.

We crawled through the gutted remnants of battlements at La Pointe du Hoc where the German's Atlantic Wall once defended mainland Europe from Allied invasion. We walked along Ohama beach where thousands of young American boys gave their lives to take those very defenses. And we sat overlooking the American cemetary at Colleville where most of those boys sit lay.

I've always loved history and being able to experience a place so rich in significance will make today one of the highlights of this trip for me.

Unfortunately we we're enjoying ourselves so much we almost missed our train back to Paris. We ran onto the platform literally as the train pulled in and squealed to a stop. Five minutes later we we're barreling back toward the City of Lights. Next up: Amsterdam.

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