Saturday, July 14, 2007

   One more beach and then location change . . .
It's the weekend, so I'm gonna add a little more to this post. I'll get to that later, though. First:

• Re: Canadian Footprint: During the Battle of Normandy in 1944, the easten end of Normandy was liberated by the British and the Canadians while the Americans swept the west (to make the story short). The battle for Caen was long and involved a joint British and Canadian force which eventually captured and liberated the city. Thus, there are many memorials, flags, and even street names that are in honour of the Canadians in Caen (as well as many other places, like Dieppe).
  
• Re: Pegasus Bridge Memorial: It's just a really, really well done museum there. It's right next to the actual bridge, is very well designed and displayed for its size . . . and in the outdoor area connected to it you can see and stand on the actual, original bridge they captured in 1944 (the current bridge is a larger replica so bigger ships can go under it). There is also a scale model of a military troop glider, among other things . . . so yeah, it's cool.
  
• Re: My horrible French: My French sucks. It was basically a step up from pointing and grunting. And yes, while pointing and grunting is still a means of communication, it ain't pretty.
  
• Re: "Green man says go!": It's possible my brother said it first, but for a lot of my time in Europe - especially once I was on my own in Normandy - it was something I was always muttering to myself when I waited at street corners. Y'know . . . walk / don't walk signs . . . so yeah, when the green man pops up, it means you can go . . . . . umm . . . that's about it, really.
  
• Re: Nasal voice: Yes. I was sick since Paris. Any time I mention coughing, it's because I was sick.
  
• Re: Asians: True, Vietnam was once a French colony . . . much as how many places were once British colonies. And yes, there is a large Indian population in London . . . but that's London. Similarly, you could probably find more asian people in Paris . . . . . not in small towns in Normandy, though. Very unlikely.
  

Alright, so today we shall go over my first day at Juno Beach (yes, first day), and then my first day moving my base of operations from Caen to Bayeux (further west, better for visiting the American landing beaches and stuff, among other things). After that, I'm gonna give another long report I wrote up while at Juno Beach . . . heh, I wrote another one a few days later, but until we get there . . .

Caen/Courseulles-Sur-Mer (June 3):

• Germans @ the castle, Japanese @ the bus station . . .
  
• . . . Canadians on the bus! I should say hello . . .
  
• But I'm finally going to Juno Beach!
  
• . . . and then 5000 motorcycles rode in front of us . . . . . the hell?
  
• Nevertheless, we arrived @ Canadian WW2 Geek Mecca . . . Centre Juno Beach.
  
• . . . Very, VERY compact w/ tons of stuff to read inside!
  
• . . . people DEFINITELY must come here!
  
• Juno Beach running tour along the beach . . .
  
• 101st Airborne Cosplayers . . . . . they were French!
  
• Ultimately . . . the beaches of Normandy today . . . are just beaches.
  
• Secret unlocket bunker home to frogs . . . bwahaha . . .
  
• Oh, and apparently Bush is gonna complicate my time in American zones . . .
  
• Back on the same exact bus! Haha!
  

Caen -> Bayeux (June 4):

• Running into a lot of English-speakers . . .
  
• Hotel room above a bar. Love it. Cheap as dirt.
  
• Bayeux Tapestry is cool.
  
• Battle of Normandy Museum? Also cool.
  
• I'm buying a lot of crap now . . . damn . . .
  
• Kebab is freakin' tasty . . .
  
• All in all, I kinda wish I was in Bayeux longer . . . great place.
  
• And guided Normandy tour tomorrow! Yeah!
  
• . . . and I'll probably miss the Omaha Museum. Crap!
  
• Spending money a lot more freely . . . huh . . .
  

Courseulles-Sur-Mer, Seawall (June 3):

It's an absolutely beautiful Sunday afternoon here! It does kinda suck that the bus schedule is really tight so my ability to get home to Caen is less open than any other day . . . but I think it'll work out.
Funny sidebit . . . there are a lot of poodles here. I mean there's a lot of dogs period, but a good share have been poodles! Only funny because this is France, really . . .
. . . I need to buy two more crickets . . .
. . . Time to write inspirationally? Okay!

I'm learning something about battlefield tourism. Ultimately, 60 years later, the Beaches of Normandy are now just beaches. Kids play ball on 'em, young people make out on 'em . . . and big fat guys in red speedos sunbathe on 'em (my first guided image of Juno Beach). Make no mistake, there are flags and memorials (and tanks) dotted all along these coasts. But all these kids walking across the cracked seashells (what was he thinking?!), they have no idea and will probably not have any real idea for a long time to come. Kinda like the Soviet submarine at the New West. Quay; I didn't care back then, and now it's gone.

Granted, it'll take a lot to make these beaches disappear (global warming notwithstanding). But it really must crack the locals up to see pockets of Canadians come and just walk on the beach, take pictures of the beach . . . well, we'll see how this beach holds up in the time to come . . . . .
Nevertheless, I remain very proud to be here. And should by some freak chance someone asks me where I'm from, I can proudly tell them, "Je suis Canadien."

This is honestly a really nice beach to hang out at, in any case . . . . .
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