Moving Day

March 25, 2026

We have had a great time in Paris, but now we will leave for Bayeux. Everything we saw in Paris was historical in nature. When you think about France, you think of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame Cathedral, and D Day. We were in Paris a few days, but we were able to introduce our grandsons to iconic emblems of Paris and now they will be introduced to WWII, the war their great grandfathers fought in. When you think about the war in Europe, D Day comes to mind.

Our plans for today were to checkout of our apartment, go to the train station, purchase our tickets, travel to Caen, pick up our rental car, and drive to Bayeux. My time table was leave the apartment at 10:30, walk to Gare de Nord station, buy the tickets, and board the train at 12:00. However, my plans were derailed when we got to the train station. I did not plan this part of the trip correctly.

We got to the train station, everyone wanted lunch, so I told them to get something to eat then I would get the tickets and be right back. At the ticket office there was a line of people buying tickets, so I waited my turn. I have had the opportunity to travel to France over the years, and the language barrier never posed a problem even though I did not speak French. That in itself was not a problem. The problem I encountered was the ticket agent did not speak English. I told her I wanted to go to Caen. She thought I wanted to go to Cannes on the French Riviera. I said," No, no, Caen in Normandie" She looked at me with a puzzled look and said," Cannes". This went back and forth, We finally got that worked out and I told her I needed 5 tickets. She said for me to show the passports. I told her I would be right back. She told me to get a number when I got back. I went to where Linda was and she asked if I had the tickets." No," I said, "I need everyone's passports". I went back to the ticket office , got in line again, and she was not there. I went to another agent, took out my language converter, typed in what I wanted, and got our tickets. By then it was after 12:00. I asked him which track. He told me not at this station, I have to go to another station. I said, "What did you say?" He told me again. I said, "What did you say?" He asked very slowly, "Do you not understand English?" Then told me very slowly that we need to go to St Lazarre station. I said thank you and left.

We took a taxi to St Lazarre and made the 4:00 train. We had an uneventful ride through the French countryside to Caen and picked up our rental. The Enterprise agent spoke minimal English. I must say his English was better than my minimal French, (I had none)

We had a 30 minute drive to Bayeux, I missed our rental house on my first pass and made it the second time.

Bayeux was founded as a Gallo-Roman settlement in the 1st Century BC. The next 500 years saw Bayeux burned and pillaged repeatedly. The village entered a period of prosperity after 1450. Bayeux is known for being the home of the Bayeux Tapestry. The tapestry is a 70 meter long embroidered cloth depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England. During WWII Bayeux was liberated on June 7, 1944 by the British infantry. The village itself was spared major damage, because the Germans were defending Caen against the allies.. The Bayeux cemetery, located here, holds 4648 graves... 3935 British and 466 Germans. Most of these were killed in the invasion of Normandy. It is also the home of a memorial to all journalists who lost their lives. Every June 6,the Royal British Legion holds a remembrance service at the Bayeux Catheral. The public is welcomed.

I like Bayeux. It is a different world from Paris... like comparing Wetumpka with New York City.

Tomorrow, the D Day Beaches.