Day 19 – Bayeux and Omaha Beach

Before we did anything today, we had to pick up our rental car. When we got to the Avis rental shop, the clerk told us he had no vehicles left except an Autobus, which we could have for the same price as the much smaller car we’d reserved. Seeing how I spent years as a rowing coach driving around trailers loaded with boats and 15-passenger vans, I figured, why not drive a European minivan?

It. Was. Not. A. Minivan.

It was a 9-passenger behemoth. But I was anxious to get going and beat the crowds, so we forged ahead and headed for our first destination. Bayeux was the first town liberated by the Allies after D-Day and the only one to remain almost entirely unscathed during the war. The drive to Bayeux was easy – finding parking once we got there was more of a challenge, but nothing worse than parking in Boston.

Today’s activities were inspired by a book I read to the twins over the winter – Allies by Alan Gratz. It tells the story of D-Day through the perspectives of several characters, one of whom wants to get to Bayeux to see its famous tapestry. When I was reading to the twins, Evan turned to me and said, “I want to see the Bayeux Tapestry someday…”

The book was incredibly compelling – like every Alan Gratz book I’ve read to them, I couldn’t get through it without crying. When planning this trip, I knew we needed to include Normandy on the itinerary so the twins could see the places we read about. So today, we started with Bayeux and its famous tapestry.

Over 230 feet long and 20 inches high, the tapestry was made in the 11th century to commemorate William the Conqueror’s triumph over King Harold II in the Battle of Hastings. It features 58 scenes leading up to and including the battle. We walked along the dimly lit hallway and listened to the audioguide describe each scene. The detail and colors of the fabric were impressive.

After the tapestry, we wandered through the cobblestone streets of Bayeux, stopping for crepes on the way to the Cathedral, which was consecrated in 1077. Like many of the cathedrals we’ve seen, it was beautiful and filled with stained glass and history.

Our next stop was lunch at a cute little place alongside the Aure River. Kendra and I tried the local cider, which was delicious. The food was also excellent – Kate had a cheese and salmon omelet, Evan had a gruyere omelet, Addison had a giant salad, Kendra tried a Croque-Monsieur, and I had a fancy grilled cheese. In typical Bauer style, we all traded food with each other and tried a bit of everything.

After lunch, we trekked to the Musee Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie to learn more about the battles in Normandy between the D-Day landing and the end of August 1944. It was powerful to see so many artifacts and to read the stories of the brave folks who landed on the beaches. The visit culminated in a 30-minute documentary about the heroic efforts of the soldiers and members of the French resistance who gained control of Normandy.

We walked to the Reporters’ Memorial, commemorating the lives of over 2,000 reporters who have lost their jobs since 1944. Every semester I teach my Media Ethics & Law students about the importance and danger of being a news media professional, so this stop was particularly important for me.

As we wandered back to the town center, we stopped for gelato before returning to the Autobus and heading for our next destination – Omaha Beach – one of the two beaches U.S. soldiers landed at on D-Day. When we arrived, we wandered down to the beach, stopping at the bunkers used by the Germans to defend their position.

So many families were swimming and sunning – watching life as usual on such solemn ground felt surreal. We hadn’t realized you could swim at the beach, so we hadn’t brought suits for the kids. That didn’t stop them from jumping in with their clothes on and swimming for an hour.

Once they were cooled off, we headed back up the hill to visit the American cemetery and memorial. Seeing the rows and rows of the 9,387 grave markers left us in silence. We walked slowly through the memorial before returning to our Airbnb.

The kids are exhausted – and so are the moms. We have another big day tomorrow, so it’s time to get to bed!