Day 10 – Tuesday, July 29: Normandy, Our Final Day

We awoke to another wonderful breakfast at the Manoir. We packed up and got ready to leave.

Prior to our departure, we were treated to a rare opportunity – we were able to view, touch, and climb on actual German, Russian, and French Artillery that had been collected from the local fields in the months after the Allied Invasion, and was stored in the field house at the Manoir.

We spent our final full day in France visiting several important historical sites. We started at Pointe du Hoc, a clifftop location west of Omaha Beach. The Rangers scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on D-Day to control the threat of German fire from the point onto the Allied Forces landing on Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east.

At Pointe du Hoc, we were able to explore the German bunkers, view the sites off the cliffs, and marvel at how the Pointe was taken on D-Day.

Next, we headed to Omaha Beach, where we walked on the sand, admired the monument, and remembered the events of D-Day.

Finally, we stopped at Pegasus Bridge, where Allied Forces landed 3 gliders in the early morning of D-Day to secure the passage for tanks and artillery to move eastward into France.

We continued our drive east to Paris, to our accommodations at a hotel near Charles de Gaulle Airport in preparation for our flight the next morning.

We had a wonderful time in France! We have lots of pictures and memories to share!