2023, May 26th.  Another start to a summer in France.

The start of the year was certainly interesting - we both applied for our 6 month french visa's- lots of paper work and interview booked for 30th March.

At the same time Max applied for and was REFUSED a right to remain visa for the UK.-- not what we expecetd but before more people get upset - he decided to try his local MP= needless to say she took on his case- sent the home office a copy of his refusal letter and a much edited grippy personal letter of complaint from Max.

After the required 28 days - Max actually recieved a reply from the Home Office- asking if he still wanted the Visa, and if so if I could sign a declaration ( 😏)--- 3 days later he recieved a lovely letter from the Home office saying it had been granted--- so never underestimate the power of your local MP.

Also knowing we had finally made the decision to return to NZ to live in sept 2024,  we had made alot of contingency plans of how Max could survive in UK and EU without a visa during the next 18months .( toooo complicted to mention here.)

After seeing Charlie get to wear his kingly crown, we set off with a new bike-rack, another new bike for Max and a full car. 

NORMANDIE.       First stop was Le Mont Saint-Michel.  As you can see - weather for us was cold and wet!!😒

The former Benedictine Abbey was stuning, along with the tiny medival type streets, old houses and fortified walls. With its postion in the bay, and being surrounded by tidel water, it has been vertually been unconquered. At high tide the Mont is totally surrounded by sea, low tide by sand, mud and quick-sand. Ideal as a fortress.

The tiny walkways inside the old village.

Inside the Abbey.

The Cloisters and the huge crypt/hall.

The view up and then down. 

Even has a drawbridge.

A good couple of days with Chris and Judy Ingram.

The next part of our tour was the Normandy Beaches.  Luckily Max knew quite a bit about this time in hisory but I hadn't realised the true extent of the Canadian and American forces input and the strength and numbers involved.

The beaches along that coastline have an incredible amount of relics, museums and memorials to all those brave souls involved.

UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO AND SWORD BEACHES.

The amazing sulptures in the sand at OMAHA Beach called "LES BRAVES"

Some American Miltary might- its amazing how they got so many of them all over to France😕😕

Then along the coast abit to Arromanches-les-Bains, on the cliff top,  where we found these incredible sculptures of soldiers .

And looking out to sea you can see the remenants of the harbour built by the allies to harbour all the ships etc after D Day.

The German gun batteries of Longues-sue-mer.

 Here they have preserved the 4 big German gun bunkers at the coastal defence battery which was one of the major elements in the Atlantic war.         

Up on the cliffs these 4 big guns confronted allied soldiers when they landed on the beaches on 6th June, 1944.

This was the German lookout post where they finally spotted the invading armarda of ships.

It was actually used in the Film- The longest Day.

Again here you can see in the distance more remenents of the false harbour that the allied forces built to protect the ships, troops and machinary after D Day,. (looking towards Juno Beach.)

This whole area is full of military museums, memorials and many a war graveyard.

American flags still fly in the area and Bayeux was full of american visitors and as Max says- not a german in sight!!!.

Finally onto Bayeux and the famous tapastery.

We walked around this 70m long, 50cm high 900 year old tapastry, its condition looks pristine- you can easily see the thin linen material and the careful colourful stitches of the wool figurines embroidered onto the linen..

This picture story was the only way people could read the story through out the ages,esp as most people were illiterate.

In the first scenes you can see Harold leaving for France from Bosham church which is only 10 mins drive from us in Chichester. (Sorry haven't got that bit)

Bayeux Catherdral.

The weather was NOT warm or dry!!!! 

We visited the Bayeux War Cemetery, ( one of many military cemetries in the area) but this is the largest commonwealth WW11 Military Cemetry in France--4,144 members of the commonwealth forces rest here and 1800 are honoured who went missing in the summer of 1944. Pictures don't do it justice as you can't capture the neatness and presicion of the headstones, flowers, tress etc. There are a band of garderners working continiously all year to keep it pristine.

Just a few of other cemetries around the area 

-Memorial Britannique de ver-sur-mer--for the 22,442 who lost their lives on 6th June....

.Normandy American Cemetry--at Omaha- for 9387 soldiers.

Cimetiere Militaire Canadian at Beny-sur-mer--2047 soldiers.

Cimetiere Militaire Allemand at La Cambe is one of 6 German cemetries, 7.5 hectares for over 21,000 who last their lives in Normandy.

The sad thing is as you go past the grave stones -you notice how young these boys/men were.

We visited other military museums- a hell of a lot of American stuff about and \max took too many photos to reprint.!!!

 and so onwards-----. 

We thought it would get warm as we drove down to Bordeaux and caught up with a school friend Jo and husband Jim (normally they live in Paris) but the cooler weather stayed with us through to Beziers.

 I do love the fact that old school friends just are always the same as they were 50 years past.

HOME

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Luckily the boat was looking good under her winter cover - now was the time of the cleaning and trying NOT to be slugs for the next few weeks.