Normandy Day 1

This will be a two part post. The weekend was so busy I figured it would be better broken up.

For a brief synopsis of day 1: travel to Caen, wander, Juno Beach, William the Conquerors castle, Dinner, drinks, hotel.

I woke up at some ungodly hour in the pouring rain. This was not a good start to the day; I was forced to carry an umbrella and jacket. Both of those items were in my bag never to be touched for the rest of the trip once on the train. I left my house at 630, got the train to Caen from Paris at 7:45ish and got into Caen around 10. The train was very pleasant, comfy seats and I didn't have a person next to me for most of the trip.

Once arriving in Caen, I really had no plan. I saw a sign for the tourist office. That seemed like a good place to start. The signs started right from the train station so I figured it couldn't be far...I couldn't have been more wrong. 25 minutes later I arrive at a small room they all a tourist office. The two ladies at the desk were less than approachable and ended up providing me with very poor directions.

I figured out I would go to Juno beach ^, the Canadian D-Day landing beach. They told me which bus to take. The "3". They told me to go behind the church to catch it and even gave me a time table. I was very grateful, realised I had 10 minutes to catch the next bus so I made my way over to the bus stop behind the church where the 3 line was. Well, 15 minutes passes, no 3. I finally ask a random bus driver and show him the table I have. He tells me that is a special bus and can be caught further down the street. 30 minutes of wandering and I come to the stop. There is an office there, I inquire into the bus and if I am at the right place. I am, but the ticket I bought for the city bus is not valid so I had to buy another one. I wasn't too disappointed because I figured I had two full days to use it.

The next bus wasn't for an hour and a half so I went for lunch and wandered around the city a little, arriving plenty early at the bus ensuring I catch it. The bus ride to Juno was uneventful except for the beautiful countryside and ocean views!

I get to the Juno beach museum, take the guided tour of the beach and surrounding area and then spend an hour in the museum itself. I have never been more proud to be a Canadian than when I was in that town. There were so many Canadian flags, symbols and street names (Quebec Street, Nova Scotia Street). The museum wasn't much but again totally worth it. The beaches are as expected long, sandy and beautiful. The only thing I didn't expect were the amount of people. I suppose after 66 years you have to live your life but I didn't expect people playing on the beach.

I am walking down the streets of the little city and see this guy, I swore he was Shane Koyczan. I stopped in my tracks to see if it was really him, I couldn't tell so I had to ask. It turns out it wasn't him, the guy appreciated the story. He ended up being a really cool guy from Texas, him and his wife were in France on a vacation.

More wandering and back to the bus stop, I didn't want to miss the bus back to Caen or I would be stuck. Guess who should be there but my new acquaintances Andrew and Wendy from Texas (Shane Koyczan and wife). We chatted the entire bus ride home and had a great time. We ended up going to dinner together to an awesome little restaurant in Caen and then out for a drink after. This was really the first time I had met people on my trip and it was such a nice change to not eat alone! Their company was much appreciated and enjoyed (I gave them the link to the blog and told them they would get a good mention). We went to a really "trendy" bar in Caen and had a "special" drink. As far as I remember it was beer, wine, cider, some sort of blackberry liqueur and some other ingredient. It was kind of pungent but good! This is my Shane look alike in the picture with wife Wendy (aka A&W)

I then went to the hotel. I had checked in earlier before drinks so I didn't have to go through a hassle. The room was nothing special, a bed, a small tv, a small bathroom and a window. Couldn't really expect or want more from a 1 star hotel but it worked for one night for one person.

By this point it is 1 am and I had been up for 19 hours. It was time to sleep!