Day 9: Normandy's D-Day Beaches
Rose: Paying tribute to the courageous veterans of World War II and attending the flag lowering cemetary at the Normandy American Cemetary.
Thorn: Susan sprained her ankle which resulted in a French hospital visit.
It was up bright and early for a full day of adventure and surprise. . . literally. At 8:00 A.M., we boarded the bus to begin our 10.5 hour adventure with Rudy, an energetic and informative guide. He was well prepared to inform us about every single aspect of D-Day, including soldiers' personal stories. This day was a humbling memory of the soldiers' brave service to our country and a nice reminder of how we should respect those who have served and who are currently serving.
We started out by visiting a brand-new Paratrooper Museum and the Dead Man's Corner Museum. I loved all of the artifacts. We also visited a church in the town of St. Mère-Église along with Utah Beach and Utah Museum. It rained hard in the morning and was extremely cold and windy the rest of the day.
At the Utah Museum, we watched a short film titled "Victory in the Sand." This was a great summary of D-Day at Utah Beach. We were also served a bag lunch at the Utah Museum, where I tried a Normandy specialty - saucisson sec (very similar to salami). After the Utah Museum, we visited La Pointe du Hoc and a "hidden" park that showed us a great view of La Pointe du Hoc. Good planning by Rudy! Next up was the excitement of the trip. . .
The tour group headed to Omaha Beach to continue our D-Day tour, where Susan took a HUGE spill and ended up spraining her ankle! Her sunglasses were shattered and her camera batteries flew everywhere. Immediate swelling resulted in a hospital visit in Bayeux after the tour visited the Normandy American Cemetery to witness the flag lowering ceremony.
As soon as we returned to Bayeux, Graeme, Susan, and I rode with Rudy to the emergency room at the hospital. Susan got checked in and her vitals taken care of, and I immediately connected to the wifi to alert our family in America of the situation. We then proceeded to sit in the waiting room for HOURS staring at a white wall. Long story short, Susan was required to spend the rest of our trip on crutches and pain medication. Talk about a back door experience of a lifetime! Although I never wanted to see the inside of a French hospital, I got to experience French healthcare at its finest. Thankfully Susan only owed 50 euros for pain medication, crutches, and an ER hospital visit - WOW!
Through all this, Graeme was the savior of the day. He arranged transportation for us to the hospital and pharmacy, translated for us at the hospital, and was great moral support! Graeme even took me to get pizza when Susan and I returned to the hotel late at night - one of us starving and one of us in great pain.
Thorn: Susan sprained her ankle which resulted in a French hospital visit.
It was up bright and early for a full day of adventure and surprise. . . literally. At 8:00 A.M., we boarded the bus to begin our 10.5 hour adventure with Rudy, an energetic and informative guide. He was well prepared to inform us about every single aspect of D-Day, including soldiers' personal stories. This day was a humbling memory of the soldiers' brave service to our country and a nice reminder of how we should respect those who have served and who are currently serving.
We started out by visiting a brand-new Paratrooper Museum and the Dead Man's Corner Museum. I loved all of the artifacts. We also visited a church in the town of St. Mère-Église along with Utah Beach and Utah Museum. It rained hard in the morning and was extremely cold and windy the rest of the day.
At the Utah Museum, we watched a short film titled "Victory in the Sand." This was a great summary of D-Day at Utah Beach. We were also served a bag lunch at the Utah Museum, where I tried a Normandy specialty - saucisson sec (very similar to salami). After the Utah Museum, we visited La Pointe du Hoc and a "hidden" park that showed us a great view of La Pointe du Hoc. Good planning by Rudy! Next up was the excitement of the trip. . .
The tour group headed to Omaha Beach to continue our D-Day tour, where Susan took a HUGE spill and ended up spraining her ankle! Her sunglasses were shattered and her camera batteries flew everywhere. Immediate swelling resulted in a hospital visit in Bayeux after the tour visited the Normandy American Cemetery to witness the flag lowering ceremony.
As soon as we returned to Bayeux, Graeme, Susan, and I rode with Rudy to the emergency room at the hospital. Susan got checked in and her vitals taken care of, and I immediately connected to the wifi to alert our family in America of the situation. We then proceeded to sit in the waiting room for HOURS staring at a white wall. Long story short, Susan was required to spend the rest of our trip on crutches and pain medication. Talk about a back door experience of a lifetime! Although I never wanted to see the inside of a French hospital, I got to experience French healthcare at its finest. Thankfully Susan only owed 50 euros for pain medication, crutches, and an ER hospital visit - WOW!
Through all this, Graeme was the savior of the day. He arranged transportation for us to the hospital and pharmacy, translated for us at the hospital, and was great moral support! Graeme even took me to get pizza when Susan and I returned to the hotel late at night - one of us starving and one of us in great pain.