{"id":5438,"date":"2022-08-05T13:59:58","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T19:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/?p=5438"},"modified":"2022-08-05T14:24:08","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T20:24:08","slug":"european-vacation-day-1-we-made-it-to-port-en-bessin-huppain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2022\/08\/european-vacation-day-1-we-made-it-to-port-en-bessin-huppain\/","title":{"rendered":"European Vacation Day 1: We Made It to Port-en-Bessin-Huppain!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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There’s a canal that bisects the town, where the fishing boats can be stored safe from the incredible tidal variations. We are at the vehicle bridge that crosses the canal.

BTW I’ve been getting lots of genuine smiles out of my boys when I ask them to pose for a selfie. I appreciate that so much \"??\"\"??\"<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

17 July 22: We made it to Port-en-Bessin-Huppain<\/a>, a town on the French northern coast<\/a>, in the early afternoon. This town is the junction between Omaha and Gold Beaches (for you history buffs). But it’s also a thriving seaside town with lots of touristy activities for visitors from throughout Europe. We have an AirBnB right on the shoreline overlooking the port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

We forced ourselves to stay awake today by walking around exploring the town. We had delicious cappuccinos and espresso at a nearby caf\u00e9, then did a little grocery shopping, then had a nice dinner at a seafood restaurant where we got to enjoy a bottle of wine with dinner, all 4 of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We ended with an evening walk to the (UK) 47 Marine Commando Memorial up on a bluff on the western edge of the town, where we explored the remains of a German pillbox strongpoint and started discussing the physical geography challenges of the D Day invasion (I topic I enjoy discussing quite a bit). I’m excited that we will be learning more about not only the American involvement but also the Commonwealth’s contributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its 9:30pm and the sun is STILL completely above the horizon…but it’s bedtime here. Explorations of Utah and Omaha Beaches begins tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our AirBnB is the top floor of the building that says “Boutique”. A really neat apartment, centrally located.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Our view from the apartment’s living room area.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Where we had dinner the first night<\/a>. Right next door to our apartment. Seafood and wine!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Shrimp and snails. Dinner of champions. (That was my dinner). \"?\"\"?\"\"?\"\"?\"\"?\"\"??\"\"??\"<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At a crepe stand nearby.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Learning about the high ground the Germans had leading up to D Day…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The 47 Marine Commando Memorial. This was at about 9:15pm…

The boys were conversing with a German family (two of them are standing under the British flag)…the Germans were discussing how they are trying hard to face their uncomfortable history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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17 July 22: We made it to Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, a town on the French northern coast, in the early afternoon. This town is the junction between Omaha and Gold Beaches (for you history buffs). But it’s also a thriving seaside town with lots of touristy activities for visitors from throughout Europe. We have an AirBnB right … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t