While we’re certainly enjoying the leisure and adventure of long-term travel, one of the reasons we’re here is to learn new things and gain an even greater appreciation for history, architecture, people, cultures, and life in general. We’ve enjoyed seeing numerous buildings dating back to the 11th century – some of which have been altered and maintained and are still in use today. Even in Tours, there’s a cathedral that’s more than a thousand years old and is still open for worship services!

< 1000+ year old cathedral still in use in Tours, France

Mont Saint Michel

Last week we took a side trip to Normandy where we visited Mont Saint Michele – a monastery on an island off the coast of Normandy that dates back to the 8th century. It’s current composition exemplifies the feudal society that constructed it: on top, God, the abbey and monastery; below, the great halls; then stores and housing; and at the bottom, outside the walls, houses for fishermen and farmers. This unique island commune sits about 600 meters off-shore and, until recently, could only be reached via the causeway at low tide which made it accessible for pilgrims visiting the abbey, but defensible as the incoming tide stranded, drove off, or drowned would-be assailants. While a monastery for a variety of different religions for the majority of its life, Mont Saint Michel functioned as a prison for a period of time. We enjoyed touring this beautiful historical place and witnessing the rise and recision of the tides that even filled the doorway to the village!

D-Day Beaches; World History re-learned

After visiting the monastery, we went to the town of Bayeux and the D-day beaches at Normandy – a truly somber experience. Before visiting Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, we toured the D-day Museum where we watched a film of the Allied Invasion from the horrific day on June 6th 1944. I recall learning about D-Day in a middle school world history class but, for some reason, the lesson became more real while visiting the site in person last week. After visiting the museum, we had dinner and went for a walk along Omaha Beach to observe the sunsetting around 10pm. While the sunset was among the most beautiful we’ve seen, it was a sad knowing how many people had sacrificed their lives in its shadow. The next morning we went further up the beach to a point below the cliffs where many US soldiers and much of the equipment had been offloaded from the naval ships descending on the coast of Normandy. Just above the beach, we came upon a bunker that the Nazi’s had built and used for defense during the invasion. I entered the bunker and became immediately pensive as I envisioned myself as either a member of the Nazi regime trying to fight for what I’d been brainwashed to believe in or as a US soldier trying to do what was right for humanity and the world – both sides fearing for their lives in the midst of brutal battle.

After a brief visit to the beach at high tide, we went to the American Cemetery just above Omaha Beach where 9387 American soldiers are buried who were killed during the war. While the Normandy invasion lasted until August, many lives were lost on the same day. It is estimated that 2499 Americans and 1914 British and Canadian soldiers were killed on D-Day. While touring the cemetery, there were countless crosses listing the names of sons, husbands, dads, and brothers from nearly every state of our country declaring June 6, 1944 as the day of death and, sadly, there were many markers stating “Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God.”