Le voyage et d'autres choses

Nothing like the start of a journey to France to find out that your French ferry company is not only on strike, but barricading the port you need to go to. Luckily after some frantic searching found seats on another ferry with a different company - seats, not a cabin. Cue one hour of sleep.

Arrived in France pretty exhausted, but everything was made better on meeting Caroline and her amazing family for a massive French breakfast. This was followed by the entire family (and my own parents) helping carry all of my stuff to my new apartment. After all this exertion another massive meal was in order. In a rather lovely restaurant in the old quarter of Caen, both my parents and I ordered beef, cueing lots of rosbeef jokes. Some things never change...

Being on the Normandy coast, it was decided that we would go down and see the Normandy beaches, and this is where this photograph was taken. These, I later found out, are what remains of the port cobbled together during the Second World War. The Arromanches Museum is now situated on where would have been the road from port to battlefield. Was rather impressed with their working model of what was pretty much an experimental Meccano port. It was no wonder people thought it would fail though! Made in pieces in England, then towed across and slotted together which then allowed supplies through to the English troops. The museum has dedicated sections for all the different nationalities that fought in the Second World War, in particular in that part of France. Awed and humbled. Museum is well worth a visit if those kinds of things intrigue you.

Also realised, after 9pm I cannot speak French. Brainmelt.