On Our Own in Normandy - Day 2

As we started our day, the one goal we had in mind was to make it to the Normandy American Cemetery. It would be impossible to exaggerate how many people are in Normandy for the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. We didn't get to see Obama in person yesterday because French security made about a 15 km security band around the American Cemetery where Obama was speaking. To get inside the security zone, you had to have a special pass (which we, of course, did not have). Apparently, everyone and his 15 friends didn't have the pass needed either, so we were all on a quest today to make it to the American Cemetery. [Note: we were at the Memorial de Caen when Obama was speaking and we saw him on a jumbotron inside the musuem, but it was dubbed in French, so we couldn't really appreciate the quality of his oratory.]

So, we headed for the Lisieux train station this morning and prayed that St. Theresa of the Little Flower would bless us on our quest. We ate breakfast at a cafe near the train station. (Pain au chocolat, miam!) Then, we caught a train for Bayeux where we hoped to get on a tour bus to the American Cemetery and other related sites. Along the way, we met several British D-Day veteran soldiers and we took pictures and talked with them a great deal. Once in Bayeux, a place on a tour was impossible to find. We met two people from Kentucky who apparently got the last two tour tickets @ 45 Euros each. Our only option was to get a taxi. Madame was seriously concerned that the cost would be prohibitive! But, with six people in the taxi @ 110 Euro total cost, it looks like St. Theresa was looking out for our wallets as well as our travel plans! We set a rendez-vous point with the taxi service and since we had just under two hours to wait around, we went and visited the Bayeux Tapestry. Then, we ate very typical tourist fare in a restaurant. Jessie and Madame had traditional Normandy omelettes.

The day had announced itself as sunny and pleasant, but a dark cloud arrived at Colleville-sur-mer just as we arrived at the cemetery there! We toured the cemetery under torrential rain, but we each loacted our soldier's grave and the girls all got to see Omaha beach. Jeanne, Melissa, and Cate all got to walk on Omaha Beach! Given all the rain and CRAZY traffic, we didn't get to go to Pointe du Hoc. The girls have all caught on to Madame's philosophy that it is good to leave something undone so you have a reason to return there again in the future --- so the girls will all have to return here someday to see Pointe du Hoc. Our taxi agreed to take us on a driving tour of the area and we got to see many beautiful views, including a cliff-high view over Arromanches where the British built an artificial port to support the Normandy invasion. It was wonderful to see all the WWII re-enactors and the period clothing, jeeps, and other parphernalia.

We caught a train back to Lisieux via Caen and ate dinner at a Chinese/Thai restaurant. The food was excellent but we were wet and tired. On our way back to the hotel, as the sun was beginning to set, we stopped for a photo-shoot at the Lisieux Basilica for St. Theresa.

On Our Own in Normandy - Day 1

We left Montdidier before 8am. There were a lot of tears and hugs all around. The girls have made many new friends and even Madame was sad to leave! Our train stopped in Rouen and we got off there for a 2-hour tour. We left our bags with a train agent and took the Rouen metro to the center of town. We first visited the famous cathedral of Rouen, painted by Monet in various lights and the site of part of Joan of Arc's trial. Then, we walked down the Rue de l'Horloge and we were treated to a parade honoring D-Day. We also saw the beautiful Renaissance clock and many homes that date back to the 15th & 16th centery and the 18th century home of Rouen's deputy to the Estates General in 1789. Finally, we arrived at the square where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. They've built a modern church at the site.

In a rush back to the train station, we stopped to grab some sandwiches and drinks. We ate and drank these standing in the train station and we made it easily back on the train to Caen. Upon our arrival in Caen about an hour and a half later, we were able to take the tram and a bus to the Memorial de Caen, a musuem that explains about D-Day, WWII, and the causes of the two Great Wars. We met several veterans from Great Britain and the girls were thrilled to ask all kinds of questions about their experiences of the Second World War. By the time we left, it was raining and we missed the 6:15 pm train to Lisieux, so we stopped and had homemade pizza at a restaurant near the train station. We caught the 8:15 train to Lisieux and we made it to the hotel by taxi around 9:15 pm. It is our first night in a hotel and we are all exhausted. We saw all the things Madame had on the list for today, so hopefully, tomorrow will be a bit less stressful.

Our final day in Picardie

Too quickly our time here has come to a close. Our final day has been as full of memorable experiences as every other day here, but there was an appropriate air of sadness. Indeed, we began our day with a trip to the Somme American Cemetery in Bony.

We were able to visit the grounds; first with a French guide and then later on our own. It was a very moving experience to walk among the graves of the soldiers. We identified all nine graves and took pictures of them for our Oklahoma Soldier's Project (soon to be posted here). We also visit the ecumenical chapel at the cemetery and found the name of one Oklahoma soldier on the Wall of the Missing, which we also photgraphed. Before leaving, we said a prayer together and had a moment of silence for the soldiers.

Then, we went on a driving tour of the battlefields, cemeteries (German, South African, Canadian, British, Australian, and New Zealander), and monuments of the region. We stopped for a picnic lunch near a German cemetery and then had a quick cup of coffee at a special cafe called "Cafe Tommy". This cafe is special because it honors soldiers of the British Commonwealth who fought in World War I. We met several British soldiers in their 70's who were carousing there and the girls had a great time hearing their stories. None of them fought in France, but they were salty characters who had many great stories to tell.

We proceeded on our way then to the Historial de Peronne, a museum dedicated to the comparative history of World War I through the eyes of the French, the Germans, and the British. We saw many interesting and moving artifacts there. The girls got to learn a lesson with a British guide that helped to target their appreciation of World War I.

Once we returned to Montdidier and everyoine had a chance to dress up, we met back at the high school for a pot luck "Farewell" dance. The girls did some line dancing (very popular here in France) and then we watched a slideshow of pictures from our stay here. There was lots of laughter and tears as well. We are sad to leave this community of friends and we look forward to receiving the French in our own community in the Fall.

The entire day on Thursday was spent in Amiens. The French partners and our girls, along with Madama and two teachers began with a boat tour of Les hortillonnages in Amiens. These are waterways created by the Romans on what was originally marshland. In fact, it is now an area of small islands of land surrounded by shallow waterways that you can tour in shallow boats. We divided into three boats and we saw some beautiful natural scenery.

After the boat tour, the students had some free time for shopping in Amiens. We ate a picnic lunch at a gazebo in a park and then we met at the cathedral of Amiens. It is a very impressive gothic structure that experienced some damage in the two World Wars, but it has been well restored. We also got to see the relic that some believe is the head of John the Baptist! There are 7 churches that claim to have the relic of his head and they can't all be right, but it was an interesting thing to see.

We ended our day with a tour of Jules Verne's house (he was from Amiens).

Wednesday in Amiens

On Wednesday, we all started the day at the lycee. Madame sat in on a technology training for teachers and got some GREAT ideas that she plans to use with students in the future. Jessie got to sit in on a Calculus class and the teacher tells Madame that Jessie was a bit of a star --- he was quite impressed with her skills in both Calculus and French. We look forward to the commentaries of the girls to find out how they spent their morning. (Rumor has it they got to learn some Spanish...)

After a picnic lunch in front of the school, we headed to the Archives of the Picardie Region for an afternoon of historical research. The Archives are located in a former nunnery and we had a French researcher to guide us through our exploration of first-hand source materials. The French students were with us, so the all the students broke into three groups to study three different themes: The destruction of the war and reconstruction, the daily life of a solodier at the front, and the obligation to remember. Students got to look at photographs from WWI, letters from first-hand witnesses, the census of 1910 & 1900, the newspaper published for French soldiers at the front, postcards from the period, etc. Once the groups had fully explored their topic, they shared what they had learned as a group. It was very informative and we all walked away with a better idea of the experience of WWI in the Picardie region.


Afterwards, we went on a brief walking tour of Amiens and we got to sit in a French cafe, have some refreshments, and feel kind of "French".

On the way home, with Madame Coadou driving a 9 person bus and Madame Robillard driving Ms. Coadou's car, the latter automobile got a flat tire and a very nice Frenchman fixed it so we could continue on our way back to Montdidier. Upon our return, everyone went back to their respective families and homes.

Tuesday in Cantigny

Tuesday, classes were back in session. Madame participated with 4 of the American girls in an English class (Jessie was in Math) and all of us participated in a History class. In the History class, we studied a propaganda poster from WWI and we analyzed the poster in French with our French counterparts.

After class, it was time for lunch and we enjoyed a typical "picard" meal prepared by the high school's very talented chef. We ate a 'ficelle picarde' which is a crepe filled with cheese, ham, onions, and mushrooms and baked in the oven with more cheese on top. We also had duck with vegetables, cheeses from the region, and a very delicious dessert of berry and apricot 'bavarois' pastry. It was all very delicious and quite filling!

After lunch, our group of Americans traveled with two of the French teachers to the nearby village of Cantigny. Our French partners had to stay in class, of course. Cantigny was the site of the first American battle of WWI and the combined American/French forces were victorious against the Germans, but at a very high cost for the village, which was completely destroyed.

We stopped at a rodside monument with an eagle on top that was erected by the US government. All the names of the Americans who died in the battle were listed there and each girl found the name of her adopted soldier on the monument. Since some poppies were growing nearby, we picked them and laid them at the base of the monument in remembrance.

We visited the barn of the current mayor of Cantigny where we we saw a German cannon and and French cannon. He told us that he regularly comes across shells from the battle and we saw exploded and unexploded French and German shells.

We also visited the American monument in Cantigny where they had a memorial ceremony just before we came to France on May 28th.

If it's Monday, we're tourists!

Today is Pentecost Monday --- a school holiday in France --- so, all the Americans and their partners met up with Madame Robillard, Madame Coadou (the history teacher who is Madame Robillard's direct partner on the Oklahoma Soldiers' project) and Madame Hamard (one of the English teachers at Lycee Jean Racine). We went on a road trip! Our first stop, after the public restrooms, was St. Valery-sur-Somme where we walked along the Baie de la Somme and ate a picnic on the boardwalk. Madame's legs were really sore from all the recent walking, so she waited by the sea while the students and teachers walked up to the old city and visited what is essentially a medieval town. (We look forward to reading the girls' descriptions of this experience here at this blog.)

Then, we left St. Valery-sur-Somme and on our way out of town we came across an amazingly beautiful field of poppies, so we stopped for a photo shoot --- the pictures should fit well with our project since poppies are associated with remembering those killed in World War I. We drove a bit to get to the coast and we visited the beaches at Cayeux.

The beaches are made of smooth stones rather than sand. Several of us gathered stones to keep as a souvenir. Madame's most morable souvenir has to be the sunburn she got! All the girls except Jessie decided to dip their feet in the English Channel (freezing!).


After the beach, we drove for about half an hour to the castle at Rambure. This is a beautiful castle that began in the Middle Ages during the 100 Years' War and was added to and improved successively over the years. We got to have a guided tour and we took many wonderful pictures. We also went on a tour of the grounds and found an American Sequoyah there! The girls were impressed with the "moat" and drawbridge and perhaps we all felt as though we had traveled through time a bit.

It took another hour to get back to Montdidier from the castle and each girl went home with her host family.