In the heart of Normandy

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The dining room is furnished with Louis XIV style table and chairs. There are two tv rooms with cable, a fully equiped kitchen, a game room (with a pin-ball machine) and a video room (that offers a small choice of films, including Saving Private Ryan in original version, an appropriate choice considering we are in the heart of Normandy). I spent my best evening of the trip in the interior courtyard, drinking a bottle of wine with two backpackers met on the spot and the stars shining over my head.

To get to my room, I had to climb a small stone staircase that looks like it dates from the Middle Ages. The room is furnished with two beds, a sink, a "bidet", a coffee table, a closet and a bureau. The decorator was probably color blind: fluo pink walls, brown and green carpet, dark pink velvet curtains, black and white modern pictures on the wall. Since I sleep with my eyes shut, it doesn't really matter.

The breakfast served here is the best you will ever get in a French youth hostel. Baguette, croissants, pains au chocolat, jams, nutella, cheese (camembert or brie!), cold meat, hard-boiled eggs... Enough to fill your stomach for the day!

Save a bit of money by helping in the kitchen: you get the night free. The curfew is supposed to be 11 pm, but the lady locks the door when she decides to go to sleep. On the key chain, there's the code for the side door.

A 30 minute movie made of archives shows the battle of Normandy from the landing to the capture of Caen. Just before the exit, you can see the remains of spitfire that crashed in a field and be amazed by the luck of the Canadian pilot who survived such a crash.

What struck me the most is how young the soldiers were. The youngest I saw was 17 years old and the oldest 42. The majority were aged between 20 and 25. I just started to cry, wondering why they had to die so young, while I will probably live to see my 80th birthday. The inscription on each stone chosen by relatives to their lost ones is heartbreaking. Stones are glued together when the bodies of two soldiers were impossible to seperate.

On the other side of the street, a monument honours the name of every Commonwealth soldiers whose body was never recovered.

Bring tissues.

An audioguide is a smart investment here, for two reasons. First, it gives you the explanation of the scenes and brings your attention to details you would never have noticed (like English soldiers have mustaches while Normand invaders have shaved heads). Second, you get to step in front of everybody who doesn't have an audioguide, which is essential if you want to see anything in the crowd of tourists. If you don't intend to use an audioguide, pay attention to the explanations given in a room showing a copy of the tapestry. It's a lot of information to swallow and it's unlikly you'll remember half of it when you'll be in front of the real tapestry.