Hatfield-Hankins European Adventure 2015: Back roads of France 04-22-2015

This morning we decided to eat breakfast out and have a nice French breakfast. We walked through the village of Grandcamp-Maisy looking for a cafe. Alas, we could not find one. We went into a bakery to see if they could help us out. Mary Ann asked the lady behind the counter if she spoke English. The lady replied "non" (French for no). So Mary Ann said "Well then, can you tell us where we can get breakfast?

Today we decided to take a break from WWII and travel south to Britainy and see some French towns not scarred by the war. The first town we stopped at was Vire, France. We saw the original castle gate from long ago. We parked and went to take pictures and find out the history of the structure. It was built in 1250, but unfortunately it was destroyed in 1944 during an allied bombing raid. After leaving Vire we continued on to Fougeres, a medieval city. It had a castle that was built in the 13th century. The guide book said it was one of the best preserved castles in Europe. It was surrounded by the "medieval quarter", with narrow winding streets and half-timbered houses. Unfortunately, many of these houses were destroyed in an allied bombing raid in 1944.

Both towns were very pretty and had been restored to their former beauty.

Yesterday, while at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, I was approached by an elderly Frenchman. He asked if I spoke French? I said "non", but Mr. Booth does. He asked Dale if we were Americans. It turns out the gentleman's father had been taken prisoner by the Germans and placed in a concentration camp until he was freed by the U.S. forces. All he wanted to do was to let us know how grateful he was to the Americans
and wanted to thank us personally. We appreciate the compassion Dale showed to this gentleman and also we were humbled by his comments about the USA.