Normandy

Arrived in Caen to tour the Normandy area.  For anyone who doesn't know, this is where the Allies invaded France on June 6, 1944 during WWII.  Took a tour of the British Gold and American Omaha beaches and the remains of the German defenses.  Amazing to stand on the beach and see exactly what the soldiers had to overcome that day.  Also toured the Canadian Juno beach sector.  Many of the same houses are still there from that time, but many new buildings also.  We managed to find a great guide to tour us around and show us exactly where the different Canadian regiments landed.  Also got over to Beny sur Mer Canadian War Cemetary.  It is a beautiful place, but was shocking to see so many maple leafs on the headstones.  In other cemetaries we visited, it was a mix of Allied countries soldiers.  But at Beny sur Mer it is predominantly Canadians.  It is a sobering site to see the sacrifice that generation made to allow us to live free.  We also visited the Abbey Ardene.  This is the site where Canadian prisoners of war were executed by the SS because they would not talk.  Last WWII site we visited was Dieppe, where Canadians landed in 1942.  All these sites are definitely worth visiting if you are Canadian in France.

Dwayne and Andrea