wrong in America…they need this recipe), an egg, and a chocolate croissant (yes, we had a choice and I chose right with chocolate for breakfast!).
We drove about an hour to the American Cemetery in Normandy. There was a beautiful visitor’s center that had been built since my parent’s last visit, so we looked at the pictures of soldiers who were killed and survived the lengthy battle.
After walking through the center, we made our way to the cemetery and I can only compare it to what it felt like for me to be in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. There were crosses for as far as the eye could see, and mixed in among the crosses were Stars of David for those Jewish soldiers that were killed in the war.
Once we had spent enough time wandering through the graves, we slowly and carefully made the hike down to Omaha Beach. It was incredible to imagine the soldiers climbing their way to the top of the hill through the thick brush and strong tide. Amazing. 
For our next stop, we went to Sainte-Mère-Église. This church is famous because during WW II soldiers parachuted into the city, accidentally, and one had his parachute caught on the church’s steeple. The church still has a dummy and parachute hanging from the steeple – the people of the town are very thankful for the Americans and many shops lining the streets around the church sell American flags, 82nd Airborne souvenirs, and other US paraphernalia. We stopped in at a local bar where we all bad beers and I had a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch (with frites of course!). There was even a picture of a Special Forces soldier that used to work for dad on the mantle of the fireplace – small world.
Dad went to the war museum when we finished lunch while Mom and I wandered in and out of shops (I didn’t buy anything).Pointe de Hoc, where the US Rangers scaled the cliffs with ropes to attack the Germans, is such an odd but fascinating stop. The US ships and aircrafts dropped bombs along the coastline to attack the Germans. So when you are standing on the coast where the battle took place, the land looks more like the surface of the moon with craters than any place on earth I have ever seen.
Our final stop for the day’s excursion was Utah Beach. Unlike at Omaha Beach where the tide was high and we could just barely walk along the shore, at Utah Beach the tide was low and we walked out about ½ mile. We found a group of oyster farmers tending to the oyster beds and while we wandered I picked up a couple of neat shells I hope to bring back with me to Raleigh. As of right now, since they were still alive with I found them, the shells stink (yes, I did take the little creatures out with sticks)…so I will have to wait and see how that one goes.
We made it back to Balleroy in time to have a late dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the B&B for the night.Whew! Hopefully I will sleep better tonight now that my body is a little more used to the time change.
