RHH's photos

These are a couple more photos of the Normandy American Cemetery near Omaha Beach. Visiting there was an incredibly moving experience.

The Bayeux Tapestry is displayed in a museum in the city of Bayeux. It dates to the 11th Century so it is almost 1000 years old, an amazing survival. It is nearly 70 metres long (230 feet) and 50 cm tall (20 inches). It tells the story of the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 following the death of Edward the Confessor and the crowning of Harold Godwinson as King of England. Harold's right to the throne was challenged by William who invaded England and defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. This scene from the tapestry shows the death of Harold, who was probably killed by an arrow through the eye. The caption reads, "Harold the King is dead."

When in Bayeux, we visited the museum where the Bayeux Tapestry is displayed. In the museum there are also many other exhibits including dioramas of various scenes from the tapestry. This diorama shows the death of Edward the Confessor, King of England, in 1066. His death precipitated the events that lead to William of Normandy's invasion and conquest of England and victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

When we visited the D-day sites at Arromanches we walked the beach and saw there the remains of the artificial harbors used bring in supplies. These harbors were code-named "Mulberries" and were later destroyed by a storm. The remains of one of them are on the beach and out at sea at Arromanches. The photo shows one of the caissons, which were towed across the English Channel on D-day, and which is now on the beach, and another out in the water off the beach. The inset shows the aftermath of a lunch of mussels enjoyed at La Baraka in Arromanches.

When we visited the D-day sites at Arromanches we had lunch at La Baraka, mussels with a glass of cider. My mussels were served with Camembert sauce and were incredibly good.

Taken from the cliffs to the east this is the beach and town of Arromanches-les-Bains. We visited and explored the area and walked the beach on one of the last days we were in Normandy. We finished the day at a cafe, La Baraka, in Arromanches and had a glass of cider and a pot of mussels there. On D-Day, Arromanches was at the center of Gold Beach, one of the British landing beaches and is famous for the artificial harbor that was set up there. The harbor was made of enormous concrete caissons towed across the English Channel and sunk at Arromanches to form the harbor. Remains of the harbor, visible in the photo, destroyed by a storm after D-Day, can still be seen in the water off the cliffs and on the beach.

One of the last places we visited in Normandy was Arromanches, on D-Day the center of Gold Beach, one of the British landing beaches. We explored the area, walked the beach and finished the day with a glass of cider and a bucket of mussels at La Baraka.

The arch is La Manneporte and we were hiking the cliffs from Etretat to the Antifer Lighthouse when the photo was taken.

The Sorcerer's Cave (le Trou de la Sorciere) is high in the cliffs above Tilleul Beach. We were hiking the cliffs from Etretat to the Antifer Lighthouse when we visited the cave.