Omaha Beach

This is it, looking ordinary despite its history--just a small part of the long stretch of  the Normandy coast where the Allies went ashore on June 6th,1944. It was the beginning of the invasion of the European mainland which led to the defeat of Germany in the next eleven months. We visited it today on a tour from the town of Bayeux. I'm becoming emotional thinking how little I might write here that would remotely measure with the significance of the day and the bravery of the men who went ashore. So that's all I'll say.

In the afternoon we went back nearly a further nine centuries in history to 1066, to see the Bayeux Tapestry, created a few years later to celebrate William the Conquerer's victory over the Saxons that year. The tapestry is 50 centimeters high, and 68 meters long--and it is absolutely wonderful--beautifully displayed, with a free audioguide that tells the story as you walk along..