Written by Zach Ewing, ’23
The day began promptly at 7:00 am to the near incessant ring of the wake up call, the beginnings of a sunny day in Bayeux shining through the window. Groggy students hobbled down into the lobby to enjoy the same breakfast as the day before. Following breakfast we performed a rehearsal in the lobby of the hotel in preparation for the laying of the wreath ceremony later in the day. As we strode out into the light of a new morning, the weather was slightly colder than the sun alluded but still very pleasant.
We boarded the bus ready for our longest trip since the morning that we arrived, accompanied by a new traveler on our journey, a tour guide to show us around Normandy named Corinne. With all delighted by Jaden’s merriment ( Doctor Rozenberg less so than the rest), we traversed to our first stop of the day: Pointe du Hoc, Normandy. At Pointe du Hoc students were able to see the consequences of the Second World War on the landscape, fields littered with craters, grassy plains covered in bunkers and cliffs shielded with barbed wire. As we reached the monument at the tip of Pointe Du Hoc, we had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem in front of the monument honoring the service and sacrifice of the Army Rangers who scaled the sheer cliffs. As we began to look around at the geography and topography that the Rangers scaled, we were shocked by their perseverance in scaling the sheer walls of the Pointe in the mud, storm, and sea of June 6th, 1944.
After traveling to Pointe Du Hoc, we traveled to the western most point on Omaha Beach to see the section of the beach on which some of the youngest soldiers in the entire war lost their lives, the youngest soldier being only 17, and the oldest only being 22. As we traversed eastward along Omaha Beach, we only stopped briefly with the intention of taking some pictures.
Our next stop was Arromanches les-Bains to eat some lunch. Many of our students split off to go to one of the many Boulangerie-Patisseries to purchase their lunch, with the majority of the remaining students enjoying some burgers and fries at Sargent Willy’s.
For our one and only concert of the day, we proceeded to the Normandy American Cemetery, a beautifully maintained park created to honor the soldiers who died during the liberation of Normandy. We had the opportunity to participate in the laying of the wreath ceremony in front of the main monument, where three of our students with veteran relatives were able to lay the wreath themselves. It was a truly meaningful experience, and, for many of us, it was one of the most significant ceremonies that we have had the honor of participating in.
After paying our respects to the fallen soldiers, we returned to Caen for the opportunity to explore William the Conqueror’s castle, and go shopping.
We finished off the day with dinner at La Fringale. As was the standard for our dinners on the trip, the food was excellent. The appetizer was a vegetable soup, following the appetizer we had a northern french adaptation of a chicken stew that leaned heavily on the butter, and cream. We ended the night with a crème brûlée the perfect send off to a good day. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as fruitful, bon nuit!
BC High Concert Choir 