cohee

Pics from Omaha beach, today, the church at St. Mere Iglace and the American Cemetery at Omaha beach.

cohee

Pics from the Musee d'Airborne, St. Mere Iglace. Well maintained and more accurate depictions that the Politically correct smithsonian in DC.

1astrsk

Great PICS, thank you for sharing.

cohee

Here's one that really puts a lump in your throat and a tear in your eye. Earlier in the day there was a priest and several hundred French school children sprinking holy water and praying over American graves.

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one eye joe

Welcome home, cohee. Beautiful photographs. Thanks for sharing, brother.....

one eye joe

Cohee, several veteran friends of mine have travelled to France and visited Normandy. They have said the villages around Normandy is the ONLY area of France where Americans are treated with any kindness or respect. Around Normandy, they still remember.....

Raymond759

Joe,

In '89-90 I was an ex-pat living in The Netherlands. Particularly Paris seemed anti-American. I can attest, however, that American tourists can be incredibly ignorant and give us all a bad name.

That being said, the French should be willing to do anything to please Americans after we saved their bacon....

Ray

one eye joe

Ray, after we bailed the French out in Dien Bien Phu, I was on a Michelin Rubber plantation in 1968 surrounded by the remnants of French colonialism. I was getting incoming rocket and mortar fire nightly. Charles de Gaulle--the MAJOR BACKSTABBER that the Allies supported after WW II in Europe, was criticizing the US in the media on a regular basis. I don't trust the French AT ALL, and won't spend one dime to support their economy. It's not a REAL WAR until the French surrender (usually takes a few weeks).....

cohee

My personal experience with the French goes back over 40 years. If you make the LEAST attempt to open the conversation in French, they will switch quickly to English and help you out. After 40 years, my vocabulary is up to seven words(all nouns, no verbs yet!). But I get along fine. Also, each year, more Frenchmen learn to speak English. It is the language of commerce and the internet.

The only problems I have ever had with attitude has been with foreign born(algerian, romanian, russian, whatever) doing service jobs in large cities. They labored to learn french and curse you openly or silently for not doing so. With rare exception, Frenchmen are no problem.

For any country, do not be a slob tourist and do not open a converstation in loudly spoken English.

On this trip, I got into a line for passport control that had to the the slowest line outside of the army. The cop that was stamping passports was rude and officious to the folks in front of me. After about 30 minutes, it was my turn. in my best Parisian French accent, I smiled and said "bon jour". He looked at my blue passport(USA) and quizically said "bon jour.... a francais?". I said, hell no, bon jour a Tennessee. He started to laugh, he stamped my passport and said in a horrible accent, "Howdy, come on in pardner". (American TV is very popular in Europe).

The algerian cab driver was another story however.

I urge you to not pass up a great trip abroad because of what you might have heard about the frogs/krauts/guineas/whatever. Go and see for yourself. Smile and keep an open mind, you will have a great time albeit with some wallet shock.

one eye joe

Cohee, I've never been to Europe, and @ this stage of the game I never will get there. My daughter has been several times, particularly to the beautiful little island of Ischia (where my family originated) off the coast of Naples, Italy--but also to Paris and Germany W/O a problem. I've never had a yearning to go, because there is just SO DAMN MUCH of this beautiful country of ours that I have yet to see.......

cohee

The best part of foreign travel is putting your own life in perspective. Having been a chef and restaruant owner for decades, my orientation is food. The French and Italians have some good food, but at very high price. We eat better than europeans on a day to day, month to month basis.

If you have seen the Grand Canyon, The Tetons and had someone drive you down the Pacific Coast highway, you can enjoy the Alps and Adriatic coast, knowing we have more spectacular scenery.

The purpose of this trip was to spend some time with my Daugher and her family in Belgium. We had a great time and will likely make one more trip to see them in a year or two. However, having spent so much time in Europe, I had rather blow it out one last time and see Australia and NZ again.

gk2410

We were in Normandy two years ago, and photos, movies and the like just can't do it justice. We were lucky enough to have hooked up with a private guide whose father and uncle were in the Resistance during the war - his father being arrested by the Gestapo and going to Dachau. He grew up in the area, played on the beaches as a child, and provided a personal touch to all we saw. Inspiring to say the least, all those grave markers facing west - and home.

The people in Normandy were beautiful, but a train ride away in Paris was a different matter. Even the French Military Museum carried guide brochures in a half dozen languages - but not English. There's still animosity, jealousy, something. Not by all, but enough that we'll never go back.

one eye joe

"BUT NOT IN ENGLSH"---If it weren't for us, they'd be speaking German ! ! ! Info like this just reinforces my extremely low opinion of the French......

George M.

Many years ago President Kennedy and French premier Charles de Gaulle were at a state dinner in France and de Gaulle commented that he wished that President Kennedy would remove all of the American soldiers from France and send them back to the US. President Kennedy commented "Even those who are dead?".. de Gaulle said nothing more for the entire meal... George M.

Alabaster

Very nice pics. Thanks, cohee.