Traveled all the way to France to visit Utah

For our cruise, there were two optional excursion choices for today's docking in Vernon, France. The latter of which technically included the next day after the ship relocated to Rouen, France during the day. These were two of the most expensive tours and the ones that perhaps the most people who booked this itinerary were looking forward to attending. 

The most expensive and most time consuming option was called Overland to Normandy Beaches, retailing for around $700 per person, and included a hotel stay. Those on this tour joined the group solely doing the Utah Beach & Pointe Du Hoc 11 hour tour before being bussed to a hotel while the single day tour folks got dropped off first at the ship. The next day for them was spent on another 11 hour tour visiting Omaha Beach, the Normandy American Cemetery, and the Arromanches Debarkment D-Day Museum. This museum featured an exhibit on Mulberry Harbors - the temporary steel roadways that floated on steel or concrete pontoons that were used by the Allied troops to bring in needed supplies. They returned to the ship right around dinnertime on the second day. This overnight tour is listed as Moderate. On the first day, lunch and dinner are included while only breakfast and lunch are included on the second day.

For our first full day in Rouen, France, Viking relied so much on people booking the long D-Day beach related tours (or too tired to do anything) that the only other choice was an included walking tour of Rouen. The walking tour option was repeated for our second day in Rouen where the optional excursion was to Juno Beach. The Juno Beach & Pegasus Memorial Museum was also an 11 hour excursion and classified as demanding. Hence why our itinerary had us docked in Rouen for two full days. 

Those who didn't choose either D-Day beach excursion while still docked in Vernon for that morning, had one included option and one optional choice. The included excursion was an Easy level 3 hour and 30 minutes tour to Monet Foundation Giverny. Notes in the description of this itinerary mention that the Monet Foundation is not available to visit on itineraries before April 1st or after November 1st. Logically, this seems like it would be due to the draw of the venue being that you're visiting Claude Monet's former home and gardens that inspired his impressionistic artwork. There wouldn't be much to see visiting such lavish gardens in the winter. As an alternate, the tour would instead go to Auvers-sur-Oise, a village favored by other artists. The optional excursion was Monet's Garden by Bicycle which is listed as Moderate level and also 3 hours and 30 minutes long. This tour includes several stops along your riverside bike ride including the Monet Foundation Giverny. No disclaimer about dates in the notes for this tour. The tour ends with a stop at the Old Mill where you can enjoy a sampling of Norman delicacies such as macarons, bread, and French cheese accompanied by a glass of cider or apple juice.

The optional tour we chose to do, Utah Beach & Pointe Du Hoc, cost $269 per person. This full day tour required us to be on the bus by 7:15AM. On our way to dinner the night before, we ran into Mia and her tour guide friend, Fredericka that she had chosen to assign to lead our group. Due to being November in France, it is still dark at 7:15AM. The Viking crew did their best to stand at various points on the dock with flashlights directing people where to walk to find the buses. A short set of about 10 wide concrete steps was required and Mia was out there at the base of the steps doing her best to swing the flashlight back and forth to point them out to each person. Unfortunately, the flashlights were the only light aside from the ship's lights from common areas so it was a lot of look while the light was there and then try and remember as you climbed the steps. Mia stepped up to help when she saw Dad walking with the group and offered to carry the water bottle he'd grabbed upon leaving the ship. Needing to stay at her post to help everyone, I (who had been a bit further behind in the crowd) suddenly heard in my ear in the otherwise complete darkness "I'm putting Dad's water bottle in your jacket pocket" before Mia retreated back to the bottom of the stairs. They warn us repeatedly about pickpockets but I think this was the first experience of a "put-pocketer."

This tour required a long bus ride so we made a few visits to truck stops throughout the day for bathroom breaks and snacks. I had grabbed a double chocolate muffin on the way off the ship (which tasted stale by the time I tried to eat it two hours later) and made a breakfast out of the muffin, the Viking provided water bottle, and a mini can of sour cream and onion Pringles from the first truck stop. The cut out in the bus seat tray for water bottles worked much better to hold the muffin while we flew down the curvy roads. It also makes for a great way to secure your cane or else you'll be chasing it for the whole ride.

Our first stop was to Pointe Du Hoc where members of the US 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled a 100-foot cliff under fire to seize a German battery and help secure the Utah and Omaha beachheads. Fredericka had told us during the bus ride that she would be leading the group along the entire walking path but would be giving us a heads up when we'd reached a point to turn around or circle back and save us from the more demanding parts of the path. Once we arrived at the site, there ended up being a long walk from the parking lot along a paved road just to reach the true promontory that had the actual walking path composed of gravel, dirt, and occasional built in steps. By the time she had led our group to the start of the path to the promontory, Dad tapped out from attempting the path at all and instead went ahead along the paved road to the museum/visitor center. I, despite feeling the effects of this cough and cold that our fellow travelers shared on day 1, followed the group onto the path fully anticipating tapping out myself when our guide pointed out the promised turn around point. 

There were a few informational signs along the paved road leading from the parking lots to the visitor's center. 

Starting along the path following our guide.

Several areas were roped off with chicken wire style fencing to keep visitors solely on the paved path.

The built in steps leading us down to circle a stone structure - this was more like rope between posts to serve as a makeshift railing. Definitely not for anyone who needs to hold on to something while they maneuver steps.

Steps on the way to circling around the front of the monument pictured above:

The view of the monument from the bottom of the stairs:

It felt and looked like we had walked the entire path already before Fredericka finally yelled back at my straggling self to ask how Dad was doing. I told her that he'd long since opted to head straight for the visitor center. She joked about how glad she was that she didn't have to worry about him then and the rest of the group laughed. I did my best, at a much slower pace, to follow the group but it wasn't until the very end that I could catch up to her when she was telling everyone that they could now wander and look around or make their way up to the visitor center/museum for the remainder of our time on site. Guess her version of "place to stop so you don't have to go all the way" went off the cliff because I certainly would have appreciated the option to not walk as far. 

On the walk from the cliff to the visitor center:

By the time I caught up with her where she stood to point out the pathway back, making that long walk with everyone else was the only option. Looking back, it's nice to have the experience of walking the entire path to remember, but at the time I spent the entire walk back having to stop, cough, and catch my breath repeatedly before I could continue. I was so ready for a rest by the time I joined Dad at the visitor center. 

The museum itself was very small and was mostly devoted to watching an informational film. We did have to go through a bag inspection on the way in. I spent the rest of the time on site reading the informational signs on the walk back to the parking lot.

Still to come in the next post...lunch at a local family owned venue and a visit to Utah Beach.