Day 17

Sorry there are no pictures but the internet is not strong enough here to load the pictures.

I will have them on as soon as I am able.We got up early to take an Uber to the train stations for an early mooring to Bayeux to meet our guide who would take us to Omaha Beach.

As we were early, we shopped around the quaint shops of the main area and they met our guide and 4 others who were going with us.

Our guide was a recent French Air Force veteran and was very knowledgeable about World War II.

To see and hear about the landing zone operation and hearing about the waves of all the solders to took this beach on June 6 was very emotional.  the morning of the invasion, which was low tide, the each stretched 400 yards out from the cliffs and the sand was very, very hard so that the vehicles would be able to drive on the beach.

The problem was they were sitting ducks while trying to come ashore in the first and second wave of thousands of soldiers.

Huge number of troops were killed until the third wave and they had enough troops on the beach to start the taking of the country.

We then drove back to Bayeaux and ate a lovely dinner.  then we took the train back to Paris arriving at 11:00pm.

We took an Uber back to the hotel and went to sleep at about midnight.

Tomorrow is our last day and we have a food tour.

When Barb chose Paris, we wanted to do three things.  One, see the Cathedral, Two was go to Normandy and three was to taste the food of Paris.

The last item on our list, the The food tour, we will do tomorrow.

Day 16

The whole purpose in coming to Paris was to see the refurbished Cathedral.

We took an Uber to the meeting spot for our tour.  The tour was for a small group of only 5 of us and it began at 9:30am.

The first ½ hour, the guide talked outside of the Cathedral about all that had happened and interesting things about the outside.

Then we went inside and it was amazing.  As we mostly remembered it but all cleaned up and the marble was so white.

The guide walked us around the inside for the next hour.  The only problem was there were throngs of people and it was very crowed.

After the guide left we took time on our own and first visited the Treasury with so many items of the Catholic Church going all the way back to the year 64!

By then it was 11:30am and we entered a section set aside for prayers.  As we were leaving that area we found out that here was a mass scheduled at Noon.

So, we went back in and very few people were sitting down so we went right to the front row and almost immediately every seat behind us filled up.

Precisely at Noon, 8 priest came in and mass began.  It was a wonderful experience, especially from where we were seated.

We then took an Uber back to the hotel to get ready to go out.

We had a Paris by twilight tour set for 7:00pm and as we were heading to the meeting spot to first have lunch, the guide cancelled on us.  So, we went to eat at a very famous restaurant called Bouillion Republlique and had a very good meal.

We took a video which we will post once we are able to post videos.

Then it was back to the hotel as we have an all-day trip to Normandy and Omaha Beach.  It should be a very emotional experience.

Night from Paris

                         The line outside the restaurant after we finished a wondeerful dinner

                                   Inside - the view from our table

                                      Dinner

                                                 

                                   Going out for the day

T                           he next pictures are inside Notre-Dame

                                             

                                     The fast food block!