Dear Classmates...
Sharon and I took a
"two tours in one" river cruise trip in
France
with Viking River Cruises in October. Week
1 was spent sailing the
Seine
River
from
Paris
to
Normandy
and back, making different stops on the return trip to
Paris
. The center pieces of that week
were the Allied Memorials and US National Cemetery at Normandy, the site of the
D-Day Invasion in June, 1944 that resulted in the end of WWII in Europe nearly a
year later in May, 1945. This
experience was particularly moving for us since we spent my military service
enjoying being stationed in
Germany
in the late 1960's. To think if
we were born a generation earlier, I could easily have been one of the many
young men killed trying to storm the beach at
Normandy
, many of them seeing battle for the first time.
You couldn't help but feel "there for the Grace of God go I"!
After spending our last day of week 1 seeing different parts of
Paris
, we took a high speed train to
Lyon
,
France
's third largest city after
Paris
and
Marseilles
, to board another Viking ship on the
Rhone
River
. The Rhone is one of three European
rivers that empties into the Mediterranean Sea and flows through
France
's famous wine country, a large part of which was occupied by the Romans in
ancient times. Our trip ended in
Avignon
, known for serving as the Papal Seat for over 200 years, after the election of
the first French Pope. If any HixNews readers are interested in more details of the trip, they can
feel free to contact me at my email address; jcar4a@aol.com
Best regards...Joe
Carfora 1962
Joe
reboarding the Viking Rolf in Les Andelys, location of Richard the Lionheart's
Castle
Lounge upstairs; dining downstairs, both in ship's forward; all state rooms
are aft (holds 190 passengers)
View
from our ship, docked at LePecq, a western
Paris
suburb
The
base of the
Eifel
Tower
Taken
from our bus driving through
Paris
Alongside Notre Dame Cathedral, which is on an island in the
Seine
River
, in
Paris
Cathedral
in
Rouen
, where we docked to visit the Normandy Beaches
US
National WWII Memorial Cemetery
,
Normandy
,
France
About
9,500 (40%) of 23,000 + US Soldiers who died on D-Day and the days following are
buried here. Next of kin made the decision to keep the remains here, or have
them shipped home for local burial.
Typical
gravestone, but I chose this one to lay my rose on with a prayer
Outside
the
British Commonwealth
Museum
in
Normandy
Huge
logistical problem! The Allies had
no port to use for landing major equipment, so they assembled a huge portable
port, built in
England
, off the coast to unload tanks, trucks, etc.
Map
along the sidewall of the US National Cemetery Memorial Plaza showing the
various landings along
Normandy
's Beaches by Allied Forces. Our Allies hit Sword & other beaches to the
east. The
US
hit Omaha & Utah Beaches.
Shoreline
View outside the
British Commonwealth
Museum
View
of the English Channel from the
US
National
Cemetery
A
Memorial near the Beach
Part
of same Memorial
View
along the Normandy Beaches Today
Example
of artillery that was part of the Allied Invasion
One of many Nazi bunkers along the Normandy Beaches
View
of the
Seine
from Chateau Gaillard, castle fortress built by Richard the Lionheart to
protect English territory held in Northern France & Normandy in Medieval
times
Top
deck view of the Viking Buri going through a lock, during week 2 in Southern
France, along the
Rhone
River
A
Roman coliseum in the city of
Arles
- Capital of Roman Gaul
View
of a coliseum entry way
The
Arles Coliseum as it looks today
Pont
du Gard Aqueduct near
Avignon
, site of the French Papal Seat for 200+ years in Medieval times
Joe
& Sharon aboard the Viking Rolf
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