Normandy and the beaches of D-Day

Going to the WWII museum was only half the tour. Today was the day to visit the beaches and other activities. We started in St. Mere Eglise. They have a large 82, 101 Airbore Museum. Thi is where my Uncle Leo came in on D Day. We toured this and then left for Utah Beach. We had lunch at the Café Roosevelt. If possible we had even better Mussels and frites. Some were so fresh from the sea they had baby crabs in them. It kind of freaked me out. The beach was very calm with memorials. We drove from Utah beach to the Ranger Memorial and saw where President Reagan spoke and my friend Barbara’s father sat on the platform with him. He was one of the surviving rangers. Then onto Omaha beach. It is just a beach now, very calm and peaceful. There are now lovely cottages across the street overlooking the sea. We then visited the reinterred US Cemetery. The original cemetery was make shift and with wooden crosses which is probably why so many of the current graves are marked unknown. President Roosevelt’s brother is buried here. Sitting there I could only imagine and feel for the many parents and wives who were never able to see where their sons were buried. They played taps and lowered the flag as we left.
Having not learned yet, we drove to a Chateau that Patria Wells had recommended for dinner. It probably was someone’s country house at one time, and is now a hotel and restaurant. It was a gloomy day and with the evening approaching, it looked like a place you would enter and never be seen again. We returned to Caen. I was having a real time with walking so we returned to Le Grillon. This time I started with a Norman Salad. It really had nothing to do with salad. One leaf of lettuce, r tomato wedges, 2 huge pieces of cheese and four types of lunchmeat. I followed this with their tandori chicken. I had seen this amazing contraption delivered to other tables and figured rightly this was the dish. The skewer was held high on a hook over the plate. The frites were in a cone shaped ceramic dish also suspended along with a dish of sauce. There was finally real salad on the plate. The skewer had chicken, peppers, onions and mushrooms. The frites were dreadful and the chicken was over cooked, but I was more than full from the Normandy Salad and with this dish I finally got a real salad. Jim had the same scallop and mushroom pate, duck with orange sauce and the same apple tart. I had the largest floating island dessert you have ever seen in your life. The crème Anglese was the best I have ever tasted. I talked him into vin rouge. He liked the price, but had to get used to the wine.
Tonight’s photo was taken in the Omaha beach area in tribute all the brave men and women who stormed those beaches and continue to this day to protect our freedom.
Dinner is going to be simple tonight, busy, busy, busy. We are having salmon burgers from Costco with great tomatoes from the farmers market. We will have a salad of arugula with the light dressing from the chicken dish we had the other night that Jim pronounced boring.