It's a leisurely start this morning. We wander the beachfront but it is very cold and Malcolm is feeling unwell with a chest infection caught on the cruise. We pull out of the campsite at noon and drive along the beachfront of Villiers sur mer. We stop for a picnic lunch on the outskirts of Caen then pull into the camping spot at Arromanches. It's a free aire. This time a municipal car park with the capacity to empty chemical loo and grey waste. Basic but all we need for the night.
We don't get to really absorb the place until the next morning when we visit the museum which shows some of the remarkable story of the D-day invasion to Normandy of 6 June 1944. We are a couple of weeks late for the special commemoration to mark 70 years but the streets are filled with bunting and posters to celebrate this significant event. We are all amazed to see a little of the story of how the allied forces built a large artificial harbour within days at Arromanches and troups and supplies were able to be loaded from here. We watched a short movie and Francine was impressed when she saw white sacks of food being unloaded from the boats 'At least they had comfortable pillows' she whispered. A little lost on her but the gravity of events are clearly evident even with a little confusion in parts.
We drive further along these significant beaches to Omaha. Terribly windy and cold still but a good spot for an indoor picnic. We pack up and take a drive to Courtils, a small village just outside the famous Mt Saint Michel.
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