Arrival

OK - it's day three already and I'm only just doing the first entry. Our internet connection definitely isn't any better and I'm blogging this from MacDonalds in Bayeux whilst having a coffee.

Everyone arrived safely and have settled in well. We spent the first evening at the Museum at Tilly sur Seulles - a beautiful medieval chapel, restored in the last few years to provide a beautiful setting for a village museum which records the very personal stories of the destruction and rebuilding of a Normandy village.

Yesterday we started the day at the Cinema Circulaire at Arromanches les Bains. Rather than trying to tell the story of D Day, the cinema shows a film 'in the round' that attempts to record, without words, the sights and sounds of Normandy then and now. Impressive, no matter how often you see it.

We moved on to the German gun battery at Longues sur mer, and ended the day with visits to both the American Military Cemetery at Colleville and then Pointe du Hoc, where the US Rangers fought so hard.

Today we visited Ste Mere Eglise and Utah Beach.

Normandy is really buzzing at the moment. Thousands of ex-military vehicles, with their owners (often in WW2 uniforms) are on every street and in every car park. President Obama is expected in the area on the 6th June, and preparations are well under way. We won't be affected by that particularly - we will spend D Day at Pegasus Bridge and the area of Benouville.