March 22-23 2015

It was my first trip with the new group of IES students this semester, kind of late in the game, but still great to have the time to get to know people away from our busy academic lives. Our first stop was Caen, which is a bit like Angers with a huge fortress and majestic cathedral. I had been wanting to see this town because of how historic it is, so can check it off my list. 

 The cathedral of Caen from inside the castle fortress

 I loved the look of this bookstore

 Mon ami, Edward

 Inside the cathedral of Caen

 Statue of favorite saint, Thérèse

That same day we visited the Caen World War II Memorial, which was huge and impressive. One can spend many hours there walking inside the exhibits, which charts the beginning and end of WWII. Objects in the exhibit that stood out to me were a real Nazi flag, Hitler's suitcase, a French phrasebook used by American soldiers, and books with bullet holes. There's a lot of important information to take in, so I began reading the panels in French, but switched to English because it was faster with the two hours that we had. 

 The Big Three

 Bullet holed books

The second day, I saw sights I had previously seen during my first high school trip in 2011, but this time I made sure to make the experience different. I saw the same famous, long tapestry of Bayeux once more, but this time with an audio guide in French, I had to really focus on the images of the tapestry to help myself fully understand the information being relayed; it made the experience all the more interesting. It's amazing that despite the cathedral of Bayeux having burnt down twice, the tapestry that had been stored there originally survived. 

 Impressive, long tapestry of Bayeux detailing 

the story of William the Conqueror 

 Cathedral of Bayeux

Returning to Omaha Beach and the American cemetery was wonderful. It was moving as before; a quiet, beautiful, peaceful, overwhelming space, sacred ground for the numbers of soldiers that gave their lives, a purifying place of emotion. It was an honor to have the chance to go back. I also visited the Visitor's Center that I had never seen, signed my name & country in the guest book, writing a comment in French about the site, émouvant, moving. I can only imagine how it continues to act as a place for families to bring flowers for their passed on relative and to know that another country is taking care of their family member's resting place. The people of Normandy never forget. 

 The moving American cemetery by Omaha Beach

Inside the chapel of the cemetery, the mosaic ceiling

Other photos from around Nantes: 

 With mon amie, Bo in the park, Le Jardin des Plantes

 I loved the look of this supermarket

Musée Dobré, which now houses art expositions