Bayex and a D-Day Beach

Woke up to a beautiful sunny morning and quickly got ready to head into Bayeux to check out their market. It’s big. An excellent variety of merchandise from fashion to flowers and lots of amazing food stalls as well.

Rita lusting after sauseges at the Bayeux Market

After the market we wandered around this medieval and quaint village. The massive Cathedral was started in the 11th Century and many additions have been made through the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Some of the original 13th Century stained glass is still in place. Bayeux is only 9km from the Normandy D-Day Beaches and it was the only town in the area not to be bombed during the invasion. This was due to a local Chaplin contacting London and letting them know Bayeux was not a German headquarters and so they called off the scheduled bombing raid.

Bayeux Cathedral

Stained Glass

In the afternoon we took a drive to the small village of Arromanches (permanent population 500) which was ground zero for the D-Day Invasion. Over 220,000 troops and 40,000 vehicles came ashore on its beaches. This is where the Allies created an artificial harbor in just six days. the harbor was 4 miles long and made with 115 football field size cement blocks that were floated across from England and sunk. They are still visible today. It’s a beautiful walking beach that stretches for 110 km. We only walked a couple of them!!!

Arromanches Village and D-Day Beach

Rita on the beach