Diamond Anniversary

Well, I was poised to go back to Blog Objective A, but maybe “C” trumps (er, maybe overides it).   This day marks the 75^th anniversary of the invasion of France at Normandy, normally termed “D Day” Seems like it is fitting to honor those who gave their life to (ultimately) turn WWII in favor of the Allies. 

Five years ago, MFO and I were part of a tour group to France which included the Normandy region, led by none other than Chef Loic Jaffres.  Looking back, it was a memorable trip, both for food and also the historical significance.

As with all memorials to solemn pieces of our history, it was a sobering experience to see the place where so many Americans did the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

With all the media coverage today, you might have seen a picture similar to this today on TV:

Depicting the incident of an ally parachute soldier got entangled on the roof of a church in Ste. Mere Eglise, and they have recreated the scene.   As I recall, the soldier did not perish and had a story of his own, but he will be memorialized forever on this church and in this town.

There are several memorials honoring the Americans

views of the challenges facing the allied invasion forces at places like Omaha Beach

In the town itself, there are cemeteries for the fallen

With graves marking the final resting places of the soldiers

Some of the museums had dioramas depicting various actions

After experiencing the poignant memories of the invasion, it was time for……

LUNCH!

The town is also for famous for

And the bakery has a restaurant associated with it, with the typical French custom of presenting the menu in usually lovely handwriting on an exterior chalk board

Inside was welcoming

Being a large group, we all had the same courses, one of which was Dodine de Saumon.  know what that is?

“The recipe of the Dodine Sauce is one of the most ancient in the history of French cooking. We are first given it in Le Grand Cuisinier de toute cuisine, which dates from about the year 1350, and there are many recipes for it in other fourteenth- and fifteenth-century cookery books.”

You should know what the “Champignons des Sous Bois” is.  Anyway it was a lovely dish

Served of course with the always delicious French Baguettes

After lunch we “toured” the bakery shop

It’s nice to dredge up old memories

Although we were touring, we were suitably

DFL(unch).

 By golly those French do it right!!