June 5, 2024 We had visited Saint-Sauveur-Le-Vicomte in the past with hopes of identifying the location of a picture of Dennis’ father, but we had been unsuccessful. This time, we hit the jackpot! We first stopped at the medieval chateau to speak with the historian. The small museum had testimonials of people who lived in… Continue reading Saint-Sauveur-Le-Vicomte, France
Category: Normandy
Ravenoville, France
June 4, 2024 Ravenoville is a community of 250 inhabitants, about 1.5 hours’ walk from Sainte Mere Eglise, where the paratroopers first landed during the Liberation. Dennis made a sign, and we hitched to the Eternal Heroes Memorial ceremony to which Dennis had been invited. Dennis had been here previously, and the olive tree sampling… Continue reading Ravenoville, France
Bayeux, France
June 3, 2024 Bayeux is a town in Normandy, 10 kilometers from the English Channel coast. The medieval center contains cobbled streets, half-timbered houses, and the towering Norman-Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame. In the cathedral courtyard, a tree was planted in 1797, and they project a 360-degree film onto the trunk. There is also the Tapisserie Museum… Continue reading Bayeux, France
Valognes, France
June 1, 2024 We arrived in Valognes on June 1. This town, which the Romans called Alauna in the first century, still has ruins of Roman baths and an imposing theater with more than 3000 seats. In the 15th century, Valognes became the economic and administrative capital of the Cotentin peninsula. In the 17th century,… Continue reading Valognes, France
Monday, June 9, 2014 Cherbourg, FR
There was no breakfast at the hotel this morning, on Monday’s they do not open until 9 am and we had to catch the 8:43 bus. We were not informed about this when we paid in advance, but we were able to get reimbursed. After leaving 12 frantic messages at the bike shop yesterday, we… Continue reading Monday, June 9, 2014 Cherbourg, FR
Sunday, June 8, 2014 Utah Beach
The little Peugeot. struggled up the hills as we made our way to Utah Beach. At one point the sparrows were flying faster than we were moving. Our top speed going down hill was 35 mph. But the little engine took us about 55 miles round trip, in about 2 hours. It looked so tiny… Continue reading Sunday, June 8, 2014 Utah Beach
June 7, 2014 Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte
Searching for dad We put-puttered north for about 6 miles (10 km) to Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte to see if we could determine the location of the above photos. Dennis’s dad is the upper right man in the top photo and the one standing third from the left and near the blur of the flash in the lower… Continue reading June 7, 2014 Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte
Friday, June 6, Sainte-Mère-Église, FR
D-Day +70 years We replaced the bicycles with a motor scooter. We buzzed (like a hive of bees) to Sainte-Mère-Église, travelling only about twice as fast as we did peddling. The highest speed was around 30 mph (50 km). Dennis commented that the motorbike was giving it its all to climb the hills, but so… Continue reading Friday, June 6, Sainte-Mère-Église, FR
Thursday, June 5, 2014 Ravenoville, FR
We rented mountain bikes today to bicycle to Ravenoville, FR about 24 miles (40 km) from La Haye-du-Puits. By the time we got there, I almost in tears because the bike was not fitted for me and caused me pain. We did not know the area and made a few wrong turns, but managed to… Continue reading Thursday, June 5, 2014 Ravenoville, FR
Wednesday, June 4, 2014 La Haye-du-Puits
We arrived in La Haye-du-Puits around 5:30 P.M and said goodbye to our friends who had a two-hour ride back to Brittany. Hopefully they will visit us in Sarasota some day so we can treat them as royally as they have done us. The store fronts are decorated for the commemorations and there is a… Continue reading Wednesday, June 4, 2014 La Haye-du-Puits