D-Day Beaches

We had perfect weather today for the D-Day beaches. First up were the British and Canadian beaches, starting with the Pegasus Bridge. This is a small draw bridge that was captured by men from three gliders that landed right on target just past midnight before the morning of the invasion. It was a key scene in The Longest Day and neat to see in person. They have a great museum. 

Mussels for lunch in Ouistreham, a sunny resort town with a ferry from Portsmouth, so lots of English tourists over for the day. The three British beaches were all very different than I'd expected. They were much longer, running for miles, which says a lot about the scale of the operation that they needed that much room. Also they're populated with a lot of summer houses, and the stretch has a feel of a vacation area with white sandy beaches, clear water and people enjoying the sun, which was great to see but not expected.

In this shot you can see the three-wheeled sail racers on the beach:

This shows some of the port the allies built:

We visited a gun battery along the cliffs:

And finally the American Cemetery and Omaha Beach. Obviously an overwhelming site, I don't think I need to add anything to the pictures:

Back to Bayeux and crepes for dinner. I'll spare you the details.