The Day in Summary
Rode in from our accommodation on the outskirts of St Lô to have a mooch around the medieval centre. Only problem was that during WWII the Germans had made this their HQ (it was a vital communications centre as a result of its strategic position) and as a result, it was bombed to smithereens by the Americans in July 1944.
The bombardment was so heavy that all that remained of the prison was the front gate (now a monument to the Resistance) and following the war, Samuel Beckett wrote a piece called The Capital of Ruins, in which he referred to the city as having been “bombed out of existence in one night”. So, you get the picture. Pretty much obliterated.
We followed the banks of the Vire downstream – beautiful, tranquil riding – until Pont-Hérbert, another major US WWII battle site during Operation Overlord – not so tranquil then. In fact, this whole peninsula was very US-dominated, since it was the Americans who landed at Utah Beach, the most westerly site and the only one on the Cherbourg peninsula.
After a coffee at Tribehou (strange place – huge parking lot, small coffee shop, barge-making capital, WWII war zone)? we stopped at Carentan for lunch at Le Bistrot d’à Côté, a great little place opposite the marina, where we were allowed to sit outside, but apparently nobody else was…or did they just not want us inside?
US Museum stop #1 on the outskirts of Carentan (stopped but didn’t partake), followed by US Museum stop #2 at Sainte-Mère-Église (ditto) – I didn’t realise that the Americans had won WWII single-handedly…? Still, we had a very pleasant ice cream in the square before pushing on.
By chance, I noticed a sign just outside Orglandes for a German war cemetry. Having seen these on a previous trip and having being shocked at how apparently badly maintained they were compared to the Allied graves, I was a little wary [note: turns out the gloomy, unkempt look was intentional, as they were designed by Robert Tischler, a WW1 veteran]. However, these particular graves were well-looked after and set in beautiful grounds – a reassuring dose of humanity.
Valognes was our destination for the night- like many French towns, it seemed devoid of life…this was Friday night after all, but the nearest bar (interestingly named Blackbeards) was closed, so no Calvados Negronis again!
Highlights
- The Marsh Weasel of Tribehou – turned out to be completely fictional, but Paul had us on the lookout out for this ‘elusive’ creature as we crossed the Marais.
- German war cemetry – not often you hear that noted as a ‘Highlight’, but it was such a peaceful oasis amidst a rather commercialised backdrop.
Lowlights
- Decent coffee stops: St. Lô would have been too soon for a stop, but there nothing thereafter…and Tribehou barely counted as a stop.
Quotes
“Oh, this is lovely…it’s like buttery tarmac.”
Oy Dave, no double dunking!” [Dave plate hopping at lunch]
“I’m not making any of this shit up you know?!” [Rosie, trying to explain the composition of her salad at lunch]
The Day in Pictures
