Today we headed to the Normandy region. We had originally planned to go to Dunkirk but felt pressed for time so we drove straight to Arromanches. This town was part of the Gold beach landing during D-Day. Immediately after, an artificial port, called Port Winston, was constructed. It was code named Mulberry B--the Mulberry A at Omaha was destroyed in a gale soon after construction. This was an amazing engineering feat. Ships were sunk to form the outer barrier. Then huge concrete blocks, called Phoenix caissons, were hauled across the English Channel and also sunk forming a four mile breakwater. Engineers then set up floating piers up to a half mile long that were used to unload vehicles, equipment, and supplies. This really was extraordinary. The Germans had control over all the deep water ports and the Allies had a terrible defeat trying to take Dieppe so they built a port! Keep in mind that these concrete blocks were hauled 90 miles by 500 tugboats. Pretty amazing.
Fortunately for us, we arrived at low tide and were able to see the caissons and remnants of one of the piers very clearly. This area has wide tidal ranges so we could walk out a distance. We walked by one of the concrete blocks which had been brought in close to shore by storms over the years. The D-Day Landing Museum and the 360 Theater gave us a great overview.
Our hotel was right on the water and the kids had an ocean view from their room. Window screens do not seem to be common but closing the windows leads to some uncomfortably warm rooms. Arromanches has a small area of restaurants and shops. The shops closed around 6 although the restaurants remained open serving dinner from 7-9 pm. The surrounding houses were beautiful homes primarily of bricks and stone. The town is definitely a day tripping stop for both tourists and beachgoers and quiets at night.
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