France - St. Malo, Brittany

Hi, After leaving the ship in Honfleur we traveled by bus to St. Malo where we would spend 3 nights.  After arrival in St. Malo we had a few hours before sundown so I took a walk around the city walls.  The next morning we had a walking tour of St. Malo.  The photographs from both are included in this post.

The old part of the city is almost completely surrounded by a wall.  There is a gate in each side of the wall.

From the top of the wall it is possible to get an idea of how narrow the streets are.

At one time this was the queen of Brittany's residence.  Today it is City Hall.

Just an old hinge and some wood that caught my attention.

Fortifications were built outside the walls on land that could be reached on foot during low tide (above) and on islands offshore.

The gulls were unafraid.

The water in the area is a playground for recreational boaters.

Beaches outside the walls are also used for recreation (above and 2 below).

Exterior lamps, such as this one, are very common.

This square was surrounded by well patronized restaurants (above and below).  The buildings on the far right in both photos are hotels.

One of the local shops had a display of puppets outside.

Thanks for looking.

France - Exploring Honfleur

Hi, On our second day in Honfleur, and our last on the ship, we had a walking tour of the town in the morning with our tour director. Honfleur was the most picturesque of the towns and cities we visited and we were grateful that they just got better as the trip progressed.

The town is very old and the streets narrow (above and below).  It once was a major port but it was long ago eclipsed by Le Havre which sits across the Seine.

We found it amazing where they could build a house.

The buildings around a large traffic circle are fairly typical.

In the center of the circle this statue was erected depicting clamming.

The inner harbor has become a marina (above and below).

This building is a gate house for the wall that once surrounded the city and harbor.

The town with its old harbor has become a magnet for artists.

Honfleur has a large park with some very pretty plantings.

The cruise part of our trip ended the next day.  We disembarked from the ship and boarded a bus for our post trip to Brittany.

Thanks for looking.

France - D-Day Beaches

Hi, The D-Day Beaches of Normandy. This is why I went to France. While the entire trip was great, this was the cap stone, so to speak.

This view of a typical northern Normandy village was taken from the bus.  Unfortunately, it was a gloomy day, but perhaps in a way that was fitting.

Our first stop was a former German gun emplacement that had been rebuilt.  Fields of Rape plants used to produce Canola oil surrounded the area.

The Germans placed 75 mm guns in hardened pill boxes (above and below).

The town of Arromanches- les-Bains, at the center of Gold Beach for the Normandy Landings, was the one of two towns where an artificial port was constructed so that supplies could be brought in more easily.  Old ships were sunk to form a breakwater and then huge concrete caissons floated over from England were assembled into walls and piers to form the harbor.  Above are the remains of two caissons.

After viewing the beach and listening to the guide explain about the harbor we had time to explore the town (above and two below).

Our next stop was the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial overlooking Omaha Beach at Colleville-sur-mer.  Above is the head of a large statue - The Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves. 

Visiting these graves was, and continues to be, a moving experience.  In the Jewish tradition we placed stones on a few of the Jewish markers to indicate that someone visited.  If not for the men buried here, and so many others like them, I almost certainly would not be here today.

We next moved on to St. Laurent-sur-mer to visit Omaha Beach.  This is Les Braves Memorial commemorating the fallen American soldiers who lost their lives on D-Day.

This is a view looking west across the beach to a peninsula with steep cliffs.  This area would be our last stop for the day.

Also at St. Laurent was this marker and tribute to the First Division which landed here (above and below).

Pointe-du-Hoc, where I am standing, is the highest point between Utah Beach, to the left and Omaha Beach, to the right. 

Omaha Beach is on the other side of the peninsula shown above.  The German army fortified the area with concrete gun pits and casements.  Following extensive bombardment and shelling the United States Army Ranger Assault Group scaled these cliffs and captured Point-du-Hoc.

These photos, above and below, show some of the destruction that resulted from Allied bombing and shelling.  This area was left as it was after the war.

We must never forget.

France - Cruising to Les Andelys and Chateau Gaillaird

Hi, I got things out of order, for which I apologize. This post covers the stop prior to Caudebec, the subject of the prior post.

We spent part of the morning cruising, passing some very picturesque villages (above and below).  In fact, the further north we went the more photogenic the villages became.

Chateau Gaillard (Chateau was a castle) was built on a hill overlooking the village of Les Anedelys.  I joined a group climbing to the top of the hill overlooking the ruins of the Chateau and the town.

These views (above and 2 below) are of the town of Les Andelys.  The domed building, above, is a hospital.

Here is a view of the side of the Chateau overlooking the Seine.

Looking south through one of the Chateau's windows.

Plants will grow anywhere they can find a niche.  These were growing along the Chateau's walls.

After lunch I took a walk around town.  Many of the buildings exhibited typical Normandy construction.  The framework of beams is erected and then the space in between is filled with, as I recall, a mixture of mud, lime, and gravel.

The local cafe provides a social center in small towns.

All of the buildings are well cared for.  Window boxes were prevalent.

Here is view of the castle from the town.

Thanks for looking.