No riding today but easily one of the most important and emotional days of the trip with visits to Omaha Beach and Cemetery, Bayeux Cathedral and the amazing Bayeux Tapestry.

Omaha Beach

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in France is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery, established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944, as the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery site, at the north end of its half-mile access road, covers 172.5 acres and contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified https://www.abmc.gov/normandy

We went back into Bayeux and shared an amazing lunch with Ruth, Sarah and Bob. I didn’t visit the cathedral but here are some photos taken by others

The Bayeux Tapestry

1km down the road from our Chateau hotel is the Bayeux Tapestry, the story of the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy in 1066, told in a 70-metre-long embroidery! We were able to listen to the story of each frame via a radio headset, but couldn’t take any photos. Regardless, this was undoubtedly a highlight of the whole trip for me.

The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering, washing and resting. Dinner was a personal affair, so I made do with a very long ham and cheese baguette (very yummy) and had an early night.