I’ve forgotten a lot of my history about the Americans (and other countries) landing in Normandy. My sister’s husband is a real history buff and he wanted to take a tour of the beach areas. We hired a guide which turned out to be a very good idea as he could tell us all of the history and could take us right where everything happened. His name was Christophe Rault (christophe_rault@hotmail.com).

St Mere Eglise is the village where the paratroupers first dropped into France. One of the parachutes of an American got caught on a steeple of a church of this first town liberated in France and he hung there for hours pretending to be dead. This was all shown in an old American movie, The Longest Day. They have a dummy hanging on the church now to show how it happened. The whole town seems to be devoted to this happening. There is an interesting museum there showing tanks, airplanes, photos, German equipment and more to give you an idea of all that went on during this battle.

Our guide also took us to some German bunkers. We went undergound. It was amazing how huge they were with tunnels, air ventilation and communication lines everywhere. I think the main way to “take them out” was to get rid of the large gun which stuck out of the hole shown here. Ships from the nearby ocean were bombing them to accomplish most of this.

Another church in which Bob Wright, and Kenneth Moore -two medics from the 501st and 101st Airborne division-tended to over 80 American and German wounded men after the early hours of the American paratrooper drop into Normandy. Here for over 72 non-stop hours, Wright and Moore attended to the wounded from June 6th to 7th. The Germans took this town more than once during several days of fierce fightings and let them continue what they were doing.

A window dedicated to those two men. All of the churches suffered horrible damage during the war and most windows were new and many in Normandy have windows showing paratroupers or American symbols. No where will Americans feel more welcomed and appreciated than in Normandy. When the paratroupers knocked on the doors of the French after dropping into various villages, they were welcomed inside and allowed to set up headquarters.

Just as we were leaving the church, the sun came out and illuminated a stained glass window of a bishop in a red robe. You can almost see it exactly in the image on the floor.

Whew! Got back from England and rushed around washing clothes and unpacking as my sister, her husband and another couple arrived for a quick trip to Paris and Nurmandy.

Mont St Michel is always on the list if you are anywhere near. It is so exciting to see it in the distance and to be awed by the view as you get closer and closer.

One of the first places you pass as you make the climb uphill is la Mere Poulard, famous for omletes and baked goods.

A view of the kitchen with a photo of Mere Poulard. I love all of those copper pans but I sure wouldn’t want to polish them.

This is the guy who whips the eggs like crazy and then they are poured into a long handled pan which has been sitting over a fire to make omelets. I’ve had one and didn’t like it-too foamy and not dry enough for me.

A view from about half way up. Mont St Michel is an island which is surrounded by the sea. The tide was out while we were there. You can actually walk way out onto the sand but must always be aware of tide times.

My friend, Jane, gets to house sit in an incredible place in England. I’ve been there three times and it is fabulous. It gives me a taste of what it must be like to have a lot of money. (I’d rather have what I have now which includes much happiness than live unhappily in a mansion).

An interior courtyard, rather like a cloister.

Me in the fabulous dining room.

A bench just right for sitting and admiring the gardens.

Returning to our humble abode, we made a couple of stops outside of Salisbury.

Wiltshire White Horse. There are at least twenty-four of these hill figures in Britain, with thirteen being in Wiltshire, and another white horse, the oldest of them all, being just over the border in Oxfordshire. Most of the white horses are chalk hill carvings, and the chalk downs of central Wiltshire make it an ideal place for such figures. I’m not sure why they did this. One of them is really ancient, the rest more of what I would think of as a “folly”. Just someone trying to put something unusual out there. Interesting to be driving along and see one on a hill.

These are called the Avebury Stones, found nearby the more famous Stonehenge. These are much less touristy with people able to walk around and get up close, making sure not to step in Sheep doo, as sheep are busy here grazing.

A closer view.

Avebury Manor. We took a tour. It was pretty bare and didn’t look like a very warm and inviting place to live but it does have people who currently do. The gardens were the best part. At one time there were fruit trees and vegetable gardens and sheep and pigs and was fully self contained.

The cathedral has Brtain’s tallest spire at 404 feet as well as one of the four remaing Magna Carta.

After Stourhead we headed to Salisbury. We had called and booked a room in a B&B but when we arrived and knocked on the door, no one answered, although she wasn’t expecting us until after six. We looked for the promised view of the Salisbury Cathedral from the door and could only see a tip of the famous steeple. Also, the B&B was on a noisy street. Had someone been there and had we given a credit card number, we would have stayed there anyway but as we were walking into the close we started thinking of finding another place to stay and walked by Sarum College, an ancient school, which offered rooms. It was in a perfect place, on the Cathedral close and therefore quiet. The room wasn’t fabulous but it was clean and very quiet with breakfast included so we decided to take it.

We even went to Evensong where we got to sit in the choir loft so got a close up look at all that went on and a very intimate musical experience. Had we but known it, there was a Green Man carving probably right in front of us.

My friend, Jane, is very into fabrics and embroderies and she spotted the really fantastic pieces done in the church by Jane Lemon.

A closeup of the lamb. England seems to be full of needlework specialists, especially in the churches.

Isn’t this unforgettably glorius? I saw this in the movie, Pride and Prejudice and looked up the location. It turned out to be Stourhead, a world famous garden, often referred to as “Paradise” and it certainly turned out to be so. It’s a huge estate and we strolled around the park to have a look.

The Temple of Apollo. Another beautiful building.

I liked this urn. Wish I had one like it in my garden.

Nearby is the King Alfred’s Tower. It was very windy that day and even more so on the top. This is what is called a Folly, a building built for no particular reason if you have enough money for that sort of thing.