Of course, we started this day with the car that we had reluctantly picked up back in Calais, leaving us with a duty to return it before continuing on. Despite our utter unfamiliarity with the area, we managed to find the Europcar rental office; the address was 36 Place de la Gare, which we reasonably deduced must be next to the local train station. A not inconsiderable wait in line and excessive amounts of money later, we finally had the freedom to set out on bike again! We rode into Caen, where a large Sunday market had taken over a good portion of the downtown. Sunday markets are a big deal throughout Europe, and the D-Day tourism boost had not gone unnoticed by Caen's local merchants. With everyone and their entire extended family crowding the narrow spaces between bakery stalls, paella vendors, stands covered with baskets of dried fruit, makers of cider and calvados, cheese shops, and so on, our progress through Caen was slow at best - but who cares, when everything around you smells delicious?
After finally making it through the market stretch, we biked out of the city in the direction of the Normandy landing beaches against a moderate headwind. (That's one thing about bike tripping - you notice and vividly remember everything about the land, from the winds you fought against to the hills to the poorly maintained paths!) We reached Juno Beach a couple of hours later, making sure to visit the Canadian D-Day memorial. The Normandy beaches today are incredibly peaceful; the only reminders of the horrific warfare that once raged across them are rows of flags and monuments sprinkled about the coastline. Even still, it is impossible for anyone today to understand how difficult it must have been to take that strip of sand - Juno Beach is flat and without usable cover, whereas the hills of Omaha Beach would have provided a very strong defensive position to the Germans. Every town here has its share of memorials commemorating those fallen in this battle, both soldier and civilian, and we passed several remembrance ceremonies as we made our way along the beach.
We decided to stop in Arromanches, about halfway between Juno and Omaha Beach; this was a fortunate decision, as the town was host to fireworks later that night at 2300 as part of the D-Day festivities. It is important to remember that, amidst the sorrow of lives lost, D-Day is also a day for great celebration. For the inhabitants of these small coastal towns, it marked the end of German occupation and the beginning of a protracted yet ultimately successfuly campaign to reclaim mainland Europe.
In a bizarre sort of homage, it is popular for the French in Normandy to rent out military Jeeps on D-Day and set up camp in the area; many go so far as to rent canvas tents and full military uniform. Having set up our own decidedly less military-styled camp, we unloaded our gear and set out to make it to the American military cemetery 20 km further down the beach. As with everything else in France, however, it closes at 1800 even on D-Day; we were left to join the stragglers who had driven to the gates only to find them barred shut. With no petrol for our stove - petrol stations are near-impossible to find here, and most close on Sunday! - and a load of food to cook, we had to ask around for a stove to use. We were finally successful in this venture when a group of roughly 10 travellers (some of whom hailed from Québec!) invited us to join them; they even offered us some tomatoes, terrine de campagne (a sort of paté), and whisky. Delicious! So maybe not everything is going awry in France; amidst our continuing setbacks, we manage to find slivers of good fortune that keep us from losing it altogether. That's the important thing on a trip like this: you deal with what you have, and take pleasure in what you can get.