Pardon my ignoance, but who out there knows what 'Mulberry' means as it relates to D-Day? My knowledge of WWII history is limited to what I have forgotten from every history class & course I've ever taken and what I haven't forgotten is tainted by the Hollywood version of events. The movies always cut away from the beaches after June 6th and follow the soldiers to victory so I was certainly enlightened at Arromanches.
That was the second day of my visit to Bayeux after I eventually got into the hostel the previous. I gotta say though, what that particular hostel may have lacked in personality it made up for it with the included breakfast spread (and the beds were some of the comfiest hostel beds I've experienced thus far). It was the continental breakfast with all the elements but with pluses: Not just a bread but a choice of breads, the salami was there but the cheese was not the cold cut style and there were at least six choices, real OJ instead of the orange drink favored by most hostels plus other fresh fruits, four types of spreads; hardboiled eggs and cereal. This place had more of a B&B feel to it anyway so that might be the reason. Most all of the hostels have an after dark security policy and provide either codes of keys to guests for access after hours. This one was the same. I usually don't need the afterhours stuff cuz I'm home before the street lights come but lately I've getting a bit of moonlight. The day of my own Omaha beach landing we got back after dark. Not to worry, I had my door code in hand. What I didn't have in had was a flashlight. The doorway was in an alley sheltered from the streelights. The key pad for the doorcode was not the standard ten keypad layout because it was an alpha numeric keypad-two vertical rows of 8 buttons numbers and a few letters. Fortunately I had come across a similar keypad way back in the UK and actually recalled the layout and was able to key in the code but touch.
My last day in Bayeux was one of my better planning mistakes. I have been having fairly good luck with taking morning trains, arriving at mid-day or so, scouting in the afternoon and then touristing the next day. Didn't work out like that this time because of the bank holiday. They commemorate Veteran's Day on Veteran's Day not the most convenient Monday. That meant that the first available train out for me wasn't until mid-afternoon. Well, that gavve me a chance to visit the D-Day Memorial Mueseum right there in Bayeux. The various museums we visited on the previous day's tour werekind of rushed affairs in order to get to all the sights. Now I had the time to go through the exhibits at a more respectful pace and still had time for a sit down lunch. This was my first encounter with a cary foreign meal. A guy I was in school with was just shy of being totally vegan. One of his tenants regarding his diet was "Never eat anything with a face." I kinda subconsciously follow that only n my mind it's skewed a bit to "Never eat anything's face." That's why I was a little bit taken aback when my salade de la mer (Garden greens with shrimps, shredded salmon and fried white fish arrived) arrived and was staring back at me. The shrimps were whole and the salmon looked way fresher than I'm used to. Overall the entire thing had more of the appearance of sushi or sushumi than the 'traditional cuisine' advertised on the restaurant window (La Petit Normand).
My later than normal train meant that I didn't get to spend any time in St. Malo. I only had an overnight stay scheduled there. I arrived too late to see the town and then had to catch an early afternoon train out because track repairs made my trip to Tours a much longer trip. I was only able to make a quick early morning walk along the beach and a brief visit to the old town area. I wouldn't mind another visit to St. Malo and from there a visit to Mont St. Michel. That is big highlight of the area I didn't know about at all. *ah well* All the more reason to return someday.
So now I'm in Tours and will have only tomorrow to explore so I'm going to go find the touristy literature.
That was the second day of my visit to Bayeux after I eventually got into the hostel the previous. I gotta say though, what that particular hostel may have lacked in personality it made up for it with the included breakfast spread (and the beds were some of the comfiest hostel beds I've experienced thus far). It was the continental breakfast with all the elements but with pluses: Not just a bread but a choice of breads, the salami was there but the cheese was not the cold cut style and there were at least six choices, real OJ instead of the orange drink favored by most hostels plus other fresh fruits, four types of spreads; hardboiled eggs and cereal. This place had more of a B&B feel to it anyway so that might be the reason. Most all of the hostels have an after dark security policy and provide either codes of keys to guests for access after hours. This one was the same. I usually don't need the afterhours stuff cuz I'm home before the street lights come but lately I've getting a bit of moonlight. The day of my own Omaha beach landing we got back after dark. Not to worry, I had my door code in hand. What I didn't have in had was a flashlight. The doorway was in an alley sheltered from the streelights. The key pad for the doorcode was not the standard ten keypad layout because it was an alpha numeric keypad-two vertical rows of 8 buttons numbers and a few letters. Fortunately I had come across a similar keypad way back in the UK and actually recalled the layout and was able to key in the code but touch.
My last day in Bayeux was one of my better planning mistakes. I have been having fairly good luck with taking morning trains, arriving at mid-day or so, scouting in the afternoon and then touristing the next day. Didn't work out like that this time because of the bank holiday. They commemorate Veteran's Day on Veteran's Day not the most convenient Monday. That meant that the first available train out for me wasn't until mid-afternoon. Well, that gavve me a chance to visit the D-Day Memorial Mueseum right there in Bayeux. The various museums we visited on the previous day's tour werekind of rushed affairs in order to get to all the sights. Now I had the time to go through the exhibits at a more respectful pace and still had time for a sit down lunch. This was my first encounter with a cary foreign meal. A guy I was in school with was just shy of being totally vegan. One of his tenants regarding his diet was "Never eat anything with a face." I kinda subconsciously follow that only n my mind it's skewed a bit to "Never eat anything's face." That's why I was a little bit taken aback when my salade de la mer (Garden greens with shrimps, shredded salmon and fried white fish arrived) arrived and was staring back at me. The shrimps were whole and the salmon looked way fresher than I'm used to. Overall the entire thing had more of the appearance of sushi or sushumi than the 'traditional cuisine' advertised on the restaurant window (La Petit Normand).
My later than normal train meant that I didn't get to spend any time in St. Malo. I only had an overnight stay scheduled there. I arrived too late to see the town and then had to catch an early afternoon train out because track repairs made my trip to Tours a much longer trip. I was only able to make a quick early morning walk along the beach and a brief visit to the old town area. I wouldn't mind another visit to St. Malo and from there a visit to Mont St. Michel. That is big highlight of the area I didn't know about at all. *ah well* All the more reason to return someday.
So now I'm in Tours and will have only tomorrow to explore so I'm going to go find the touristy literature.
(Photo above was taken from the old town wall in St. Malo)
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