Day 52 - I'm proud to be an American

March 11, 2010

Wow, today was awesome! We headed out on a huge pink and purple Mercedes Benz bus this morning at 8 am.

Hanna was ready to go!

Haley is excited also, though not so excited about me taking a picture, I don't think :)

Our first stop was the American Cemetary in Normandy by Omaha beach. Since I've gotten here to France, I've been surrounded by the opinion that the United States in an inferior country. I've never joined in that opinion, but while here, I have forgotten the pride I have in my country. Today I found it again. I love my country. I am so thankful to be an American and I'm dang proud of it. No one can convince me that we are inferior. We died for them. Thousands of young boys with young families came to Normandy to die for complete strangers. I don't think I can fully explain how I feel about the sacrifices made by our servicemen since the Revolutionary War. Food for thought. And some pictures.

When they were arriving on D-Day, they threw hundreds (je pense...) of these dummies out of the planes in order to distract the enemy. Not a bad idea!

Drinking fountains! I feel like I stepped out of France and into America. I have not seen a drinking fountain since I left Utah until now (unless you count the one that is attached to the bathroom sink in the Louvre, which I don't).

The memorial in the cemetery.

Around this statue, it says "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." Then around the memorial walls, it says, "This embattled shore, portal of freedom, is forever hallowed by the valor and the sacrifices of our fellow countrymen."

I never realized that I would miss my flag.

These unknown soldier crosses were placed in with the others. I love them.

There were thousands of them.

Small chapel in the cemetary.

Omaha Beach

Here's the bus, in case you were wondering what it looked like. We headed to Pointe du Hoc next, which is between Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. It was here that 225 men scaled the cliffs to destroy a German artiliery that was on top.

Zoom up on this in order to read the full story. I'd write it all out, but this should suffice.

Me, in a hole.

Shaina in a hole.

Oh Hanna... :D

After that, we headed to Bayeaux. You remember how I wanted to see Chartres ever since I learned about it in AP Art History? Same situation. When I learned about the Bayeaux Tapestry, I wanted to see it. And now I have! Incredible. We weren't able to take pictures because it is a couple thousand years old, but I got some souvenirs and took pictures of them. Not great, but it is what I have to show you!

This is where the tapestry (that is really an embroidery) is housed. It goes all the way down one hallway, turns around, and goes up the other side. It is huge! Almost 70 m long, which is about 230 feet.

Mrs. Hammond, my AP Art History teacher, had one of these and now I do too! It is a complete reproduction of the Bayeaux Tapestry with a 1:7 ratio, which means it is about 33 feet long! You want to see it? :)