J'adore Normandie!

Tuesday 14: Juno Beach

I lazed around the hotel in the morning. I didn't have specific plans except to get out to the Juno Beach Centre and, if time allowed, get to the Caen Memorial Museum. I didn't end up leaving the hotel until around 11am, and then I decided I would follow the signs to the Tourism office to make sure I got on the right bus, etc. This ended up being quite an endeavour that took me almost half an hour. When I did find the tourist office I realized how far my hotel was away from the main attractions of Caen. Sure, it was close to the train station, but in the opposite direction of everything else. No bother.

I got directions to where I could buy bus tickets, then went to buy those bus tickets. Turned out I'd just missed a bus and it would be about half an hour before the next one. I decided to skip that one and sit down for some lunch as I could find nowhere to to grab a quick sandwich. This turned out to be a great idea.

I've often lamented that I skipped having crepes the last time I was in France, so for lunch that day, I had two. First I had a savory one with cheese, followed by one filled with raspberry jam. Both were good.

Afterwards I boarded the 1:30pm bus to the town where Juno Beach is, it would take about an hour. I would like to mention here that when driving around the French countryside the other day on my organized tour I was so in awe of it. It looks like the movies with state houses, followed by little towns with steeples and old brick buildings and narrow lanes. Very enjoyable.

So I get dropped off in this little town then walk to the Juno Beach Centre. At this time I was feeling a little tired and the town seemed a little deserted, I will be honest and I say I was skeptical. I think that I've just recently decided that I don't really mind traveling around alone, of course it is more fun to travel with someone, but it is the times when I am finding a new place, on a bus to somewhere new, etc that I really miss having someone with me. (I'm getting off on a lot of tangents here)

So I show up at the Juno Beach Centre with just enough time to join a 3pm tour. I was absolutely in love with the centre. Upon walking in I was greeted by Canadian accents. All the staff that work there over the summer are Canadian students, which also means that when I say I'm from Calgary people know what I'm talking about.

The tour of the Juno Beach Park and the actual beach was about an hour long. I love tours for that sort of thing, you get so much out of it. We got to go inside the observation bunker, were told about a series of tunnels that exists, shown the hotel that the Nazi's used as a headquarters, etc. It was really enjoyable, and this time everyone else on my tour was Canadian, everyone else was also part of a couple and over the age of 35. Clearly most young backpackers aren't flocking to the hip and hopping Normandy. ha. Whatever, it was awesome.

On the beach

Made me realize how much I love Canada

Nazi headquarters for the area during WWII - Hotel de Paris

There was also an inukshuk put in place by First Nations and a great sculptor representing the five companies that fought that day. I also learned that the centre is private and entirely funded by sponsorship.

After the tour I went through the Centre. There is a few sections but mostly I just relished in the Candianess of it all. After watching a short film about our role in D-Day and the war in general you are taken through a very well set up museum showing Canadian history, how it fit in with the war effort, and what Canada is like today. Of course I loved it, it was a little piece of my home right there. At the end there was a gift shop with all the sorts of Canadiana you get in Banff and otherwise, a moose in a mountie suit, maple leaves on key chains, maple candies shaped like maple leaves, etc. I just wandered around, happy as could be. What a fun thing to do.

I needed to kill some time before the last bus back to Caen came to pick me up around 6pm so I walked around the town a little. I was pretty tired so I ended up sitting on the edge of the beach reading for some time before catching the bus back to town.

When I got back I basically went for dinner at the hotel and went to bed. I've been crazy tired lately.

Wednesday 15: Rouen

I was up and out of the hotel in time to catch the 10:20 train to Rouen. This was the first time in a long time that I had to actually go and buy a ticket to the train; oh eurail pass, how I miss you.

I mostly slept and read on the train ride. I think I've turned into one of those people who can't be in a moving vehicle (at least the train) without falling asleep. It's impossible!

I arrived in Rouen at 12:30 and easily found my hotel. It is crazy to me how 2 hours on a train seems like nothing, but if I had to drive 2 hours at home I would wish I didn't have to. I think it is because in a train you can move around and sleep, while in a car (especially when driving) your options are relatively limited.

I dropped off my stuff, made sure the internet was working, and headed into the main area of town here. Generally Rouen doesn't have too much to offer, except that it is adorable! Well I shouldn't speak too quickly, I haven't really looked into what it has to offer - museum wise, etc. - because generally while traveling I end up being too cheap to pay to go into things unless they seem really awesome. The guy at the hotel told me where to wander. It is really just a cute place with a memorable clock and a giant cathedral and other old churches scattered about.

The Clock

The cuteness, beside a church

I spent a few hours walking around before buying a sandwich for lunch, followed by a chocolate macaroon (they are everywhere here, and they are delicious!), and eventually I decided to sit in a cafe for a coffee. I love just ordering a coffee, it often means you can sit in a nice cafe for as long as you want and it doesn't cost you much.

By this time I was practically asleep. I don't know what is up but my body was crying out for a nap. I needed to be in my room at 5:30 to register for classes at the UofC so I headed back just after 3, took a 2 hour nap and got up just in time to hit the 'register' button on the classes I've selected. That's right family and friends, ladies and gentlemen, the time has come and I am officially three classes away from being finished, it's only been, what? 6 years so far, what is another 4 months :)

So here I am, sitting comfortably tucked into my bed at 7pm. Don't worry, I'm headed out again as soon as I finish this, but probably just long enough to meander a bit more and find something else to eat.

I'm headed to Paris tomorrow to catch my flight to Scotland in the evening. (This'll be the first place I've been in 4.5 months where English is the native language, although I kind of doubt it'll be any easier to understand, ha! At least I'll be able to read the menus!) I'm thinking I might go early and spend a few hours in Paris before I head to the airport. We'll see what happens.