We arrived in Bayeux at a gorgeous hotel - it was like our own Chateau! We went to the Bayeux tapestry which was incredible to see - you don't realize how big 70 meters is until you see it in real life. I finished at the tapestry early to run back to a store called Mademoiselle which was exactly what I pictured a French boutique to look like. I got two cashmere sweaters that I will cherish forever. We had dinner at a WWII themed restaurant. The servers had shirts on that replicated the army shirts, and the food was excellent. When we got back to the hotel I took the most memorable shower in my life - the bathroom (or water closet as the French call it) had sensor lights which makes sense, but the light in the shower kept flickering and the main bathroom light would go out after 5 minutes so I would have to fling the shower door open for the light to go back on. I felt like I was in a disco club with the lights pulsating. 

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The day we spent touring the D-Day beaches was very eye-opening. I was never much of a history fanatic, so I only knew the basics of WWII. We started our day in a small church that was used for a hospital during the war. 83 soldiers (80 US soldiers and 3 German soldiers) were crammed on benches and the floors of this church - some had minor injuries like a broken ankle while others had severe head injuries with minutes left to live. In the middle of the night, they were woken by an angry German soldier with a machine gun banging on the door. When he walked in the church and saw 3 of his soldiers, he immediately put his gun down and shook the US soldiers medic's hand and thanked him. Hearing this story while sitting on one of the benches soldiers once rested on was very moving and made me appreciate every solider that fought for us in the war. 

 

Utah beach was the most successful battle the Americans won, yet it is hardly visited by tourists. When we walked out on Utah beach, the sky was a greyish color with thick clouds, which really set the tone for the stories we were told. Omaha beach is the most popular spot to visit, and it is also the beach most WWII movies feature. It was incredible to stand on the beach and see the ocean that was once red with blood and rage. I could almost see all of the ships starting to come towards shore, the tanks that sank because they weren't designed to be in that much water, the men jumping off the boats into freezing water with 200 pounds of equipment, the ropes left behind because they were too wet to launch to the top of the cliff, and I could hear an echo of the millions of gun shots and men crying out for help. Our guide couldn't express enough how the WWII movies are completely inaccurate with location and timing, and he made it very clear he was not a fan of Saving Private Ryan. 

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We ended the day at the American Cemetery which was surprisingly calm, peaceful, and enlightening. It was heartbreaking to see all of the headstones knowing this was only 1/3 of all the soldiers who died on the beach. I have never felt such a loud yet calming silence, the peaceful breeze in the air gave me chills as if I was standing there with the soldiers on June 6, 1944.