Today we visited the most amazing places. We started at St. Mere Eglise where a paratrooper named John Steele got tangled in the steeple of the church and had to fight from that position until a wounded friend came to his rescue, being killed himself in the process. There is still a replica of Mr. Steele hanging from the steeple. Around the corner there was an open market filled with enticing smells, down from that and in the surrounding area were tons of shops including a few places with souveniers for all you folks back home and a legit military shop that had everything from rusted out rifles from WWI to German Death masks from WWII (selling for 1500 Euros no less). We left there and headed to the American grave site in Brittany, France. The crosses and stars on those graves were beautiful even in the downpour we faught against and I'm proud to say every single Tennessee veteran got his flag. We even found our first Jewish Tennessee veteran, I left two stones signifying Eternal Life and Eternal Peace as is custom for our fallen Jewish warriors. Afterwards we drove a few hours and stopped to get pictures of cows, donkeys, and windmills before moving toward the overwhelming silhouette of Mont St. Michel. This Abbey atop an island is a wonder straight out of a fantasy world. It looks like a castle inside and out. After we got there we stopped to eat some fresh seafood before trying to ascend to the summit. After several minutes of climbing, photo ops, and of course the occasional "stair break" we made it to the zenith: the Abbey itself. We were in awe of the glorious ramparts and parapets, looking down into the flood plains and ocean below, so far away from the true coast that the villages looked too small to recognize. We read the sign: Entrance this way! and charged ahead only to be halted by some frenchie with a badge claiming the abbey closed at 6pm, we argued that it was only 5:58, but his english suddenly failed him and we were forced to march dejectedly back down to the shops, which of course were closing.... this is France after all, when something is open 24 hours a day, it often opens at 9:30, closing at 2-5pm for lunch of course, then reopening from 5:30-6. Anyway, today was beautiful beyond belief, even with the letdown. Only one more day here, it's bittersweet to say the least. We have to make our last few hours count, so I'm off until tomorrow. Deuces Mooses.
-Brett Peery
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