I gave her a small tour of Antibes on Thursday night before rising early on Friday to peruse the Ventimiglia market and then take the train to Tours, France.
While in Tours, we had the opportunity to visit Chateau Chenonceau. The castle went though a series of owners including queens, kings, and kings' mistresses. It was rainy the day that we went but the grounds and castle were beautiful nonetheless.
From Tours we went to Caen, which is fairly close to the D-Day beaches of Normandy. We took a guided tour of Gold, Omaha, and Utah beaches with a stop at the American cemetery.
We found seashells buried in the sand of Omaha beach. It's hard to believe that the peaceful landscape was ever disturbed.
Quite possibly the most sobering part of the trip was walking around the American cemetery located just up the hill from Omaha Beach. There were rows upon rows of white crosses (and the occasional white Star of David) representing 40% of the deaths that happened on or around D-Day. The other 60% had their bodies returned to the United States.
None of the crosses show the soldier's age. Our tour guide said that this was intended to not reserve greater sympathy for the younger soldiers. Everyone's sacrifice was the same.
The picture represents only a small portion of the graves overlooking the beach. Walking among the crosses was heart-wrenching. For every white grave mark also represented the void left in the lives of the people that loved that soldier.
The cemetery was beautiful, but the apparent sorrow and sacrifice was haunting.
This is a statue fashioned to embody the spirit of American youth. I thought it was very appropriate.
We spent our last night together in Nice. I enjoyed my weekend of sleeping in hotels (I usually stay in dorm-style hostels when I travel), eating in restaurants (I've been eating discount pasta for months), and above all, seeing a familiar face.
Thanks again for a great trip, Mom :)
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