La Havre, France

cont. Carnival Splendor 2008--Genoa to Dover

7/9/2008

We started our day early at the port of La Havre, France. We have booked a rental car on line so we could drive to Normandy on our own. The car rental office is right at the pier and we were the first to check-out our rental. The drive was like on the highway in the US, not hard to navigate. With the help of the GPS, we found Gold Beach area first and it was nice and quiet. Locals were getting their freshly baked morning baguettes from the bakery. The smell was wonderful!

A very pretty little French town.

We had the baguette too!

Then we had some problems finding Omaha Beach because we didn't know how to key in the correct location for the GPS. We were driving down all these little country roads and couldn't find the right place. It was a nice drive even though we were lost. We finally found the American Cemetery.

It was a moving experience.

From there we walked down to the beach.

All the while I kept thinking about all the young lives that vanished on these beaches. It looks beautiful now but it must have been horrifying at that time. Let's not forget their sacrifice as we enjoy peace in this part of the world. I have to say that it really put things into prospective to be actually there.

Father and son walking along Omaha Beach.

Walking back up to the cemetery was a little strenuous.

Inside the chapel at the cemetery.

We got back to the port at around 4:30. After returning the rental car, we purchased some internet time at the terminal before getting back on the ship. It was much cheaper than what the ship offered.

This was our rental car, quite spacious and new.

Our last night before disembarking at Dover. We made sure to request for the same table and wait staff for our next cruise to the Baltics three days later.