Sacred grounds in Normandy and Brittany

Bayeux

Today on Monday we went to Normandy and saw the Bayeux Tapestry. My family is related to William the Conqueror, so this was important to me. We learned about the fabrics and processes used to make the tapestry and about William’s invasion of England before we saw the tapestry. The tapestry had few words and primarily told through images so that illiterate peasants could understand it. The tapestry described how Duke William was chosen by the English king to inherit the throne. According to the tapestry, Harold pledged an oath of allegiance to William, but broke it by taking power as the new king when his father died.This resulted in William invading England and gaining the name William the conqueror after he defeated Harold in the Battle of Hastings. --Matthew

Although we were extremely sad to leave our Parisian families, our adventures in Normandy started off with a bang.  We visited an 800 year old and 70 meter long tapestry and learned about it’s history.  After, we spent time looking at some models of the town when the tapestry was made. Then, we boarded the bus once again and went to visit the World War II - D Day Museum, where we watched two films about the war itself and the shockwave it sent throughout France.  The most stunning part of our time in Normandy so far was getting the chance to visit the memorial and cemetery for the thousands of Americans whse lives were taken in fighting for the liberty of French minorities.  Although this isn’t the first thing that pops into your head when you think of ‘fun things to do in France’, it really opened up our eyes to the real and intense history of this part of France.  So, even though we miss the incredible friends (but really family) we made in Paris, our mini vacation in Normandy is looking great so far. --Maggie&Noelle

 Today we went through some of the D-Day landmarks such as beached docks from one of the British invasion sites, anti-tank bunkers, and the Omaha beach memorial grounds. I always believed that the old war structures from World War II are rich with history, and I felt seemingly allured to the mystery of the old buildings. While the others were eating lunch, I was exploring the ruins of bridges on the beach and marveling at the surprising views from their peaks (yes, I did climb the ruins).

Arromanches-les-Bains with the artificial port

Abandoned Blockhaus

Whilst caught up in my glee for having been the first one to see the view from one of the bunkers, I saw a small, discrete doorway in the side of a small crevice. I, of course, climbed into the small doorway to find an old ammunitions storage facility. Elated, I climbed back out and yelled to my friends “Hey guys, I found a thing!” they responded “what kind of thing?” to which I answered back “I found a door thing!” So we all went to explore it, but didn’t get far because there was some intensely sticky mud in front of one of the doors that lead onward.

 The Omaha Beach memorial grounds were also quite interesting. It was 172.5 acres, and had 9,387 headstones. I had no idea how many people had been killed during Operation OVERLORD. In the center of the tombstones was a small chapel dedicated to those brave people that fought and died for their country during WWII. Along with the graveyard is The Garden of The Missing, which was dedicated to the men that were killed in action but whose remains were never recovered.

 All in all, today was a good day. I had fun generally climbing on and finding secrets from the remains of the war. If the Normandy section of the trip will be like this every day, then I am quite ready.  -Samuel JL

 

I would never expect to be so sad to leave Paris.  I made so many friends who I knew before, but I didn’t realize how amazing they were.  I also met some other Americans from a different school that I will definitely talk to in LA. Although I am tired and ready to seek new adventure in Normandy, I am sad to leave Paris.  I will miss the food, the people, and the sights.  Everyone was so welcoming and kind.  I connected with many people during the Paris stay and I hope to see them soon again. I not only made new friends, but I also became closer with many Poly people. I hope to return soon to further discover the wonders of Paris!

--Noelle