Actually, I've found other "introvert" girls here with me in Uni-Caen (University of Caen) in my same program. Home-girls get out too. As in, out of the country. And out every once in a while for hours on end.
But...it's still so dang hot. Not surprising: it's the longest day of the year. How I detest this day. I'm a regular Queen Elsa from Frozen. And I can't let it go that it's so stupidly hot.
Allyson, where did you go today? Okay, I'll tell you. Or maybe I'll show you...
Pegasus Bridge:
It was one of two bridges that the British needed to take over before moving on. Their names were Canal Bridge and Orne Bridge. Canal Bridge would be renamed "Pegasus Bridge" after the take-over. They wanted to take it, and not destroy it. It was essential to take over bridges and roads to cut off supply lines for the Germans. The bridge above is the Actual bridge. It was removed and replaced by a more modern bridge built to be used by cars today.
And, of course, there are flowers on the bridge for remembering the fallen:
Front view of the bridge. After replacing it, the French government wanted to scrap it and make money off of it, but the French people protested. So, it sat in a field for 70 years before it was moved to its current location: a short walk from it's original place above the river.
The original sign. It was renamed a few days after the British took it over. Pegasus was the mascot of the British Paratroopers, Division 6.
More info:
So, how did these British men get to the bridge? It is quite a ways from the coast. Well, I'll tell you (before I forget too). They had gliders, like this one:
I could not believe how big they were! The front actually opens underneath the "cockpit" and can hold a small jeep. It could hold 30 men, including the pilot and co-pilot. 9 gliders went to take over two bridges, three for each bridge, Canal and Orne.
The back of the inside of the glider (sooo hot in there. I could only lean in to take the picture, because it was gated off. But I didn't want to go inside all the way anyway) :
My view of the "cockpit" :
But the pictures above are not of a glider from that era. The gliders were not built to last for more than one flight. They were connected to an airplane, which would fly them over the English Channel from England. Then, when they were near the destination, the cable connecting the glider to the plane was cut. The gliders were used because they had no engines (they glided), so they were really quiet.
But, when they landed, they basically crashed on their three wheels and were not usable again. Actually, they were made out of wood, so that the soldiers could use the structure for firewood.
Here's part of an original glider:
More information:
An original photo taken after the British successfully took over Pegasus bridge. In the background to the right, you can see the gliders. The take-over was incredibly successful. The British landed in the nighttime. The Germans had 20 men protecting the bridge during the day, but at night, there were only two. The British caught those two Germans totally by surprise. They were so afraid that they ran away, but were caught later by the British and became POWs.
And, after this, I was so hot that I couldn't concentrate very well. Actually, I don't feel well right now either. I didn't really sleep last night because of the heat and the stupid birds didn't sing for only three hours. Three hours. Because the sun does not like to go down here. I'm telling you: this is a French Fairbanks (Alaska).
So, I took lots of pictures of signs to read (yes, I have read them before posting them here). And I figured my mom and uncles would be miffed if I didn't at least do that.
So, my picture of the sign explaining re-supplying was so pixellated. So, I shall type it out quickly:
"Over several days, starting on the night of 6th June, the Division was re-supplied by air. The missions were flown by [too blurry to read] 38 and 45 Groups of the Royal Air Force, which had earlier brought the parachutists and glider-borne troops to their destinations. Dakota, Stirling, and...[blurry]...aircraft were used to drop many tones of supplies, including arms and radio equipment, as well as anti-tank guns and jeeps. Five aircraft and several of their crews and teams of dispatchers were lost to anti-aircraft fire.
Containers and panniers (displayed here) were dispatched from the planes by four-man teams of...[blurry]...63 and 398 Airborne Composite Companies, Royal Army Service Corps.
On the ground, the supplies were recovered by the Service Corps and Ordinance Corps companies who had arrived in the operational area by parachute, glider, and by sea.
The Division was also re-supplied by transport from the 3rd Infantry Division using the Canal (the original name of the Pegasus Bridge) and Orne (the other bridge the British took over) bridges."
And, here's a picture of the flags outside the museum (which, by the way, did NOT have AC, unlike Juno Beach's museum. That's why I took most of my pictures outside, where there was, at least, a breeze)
So, I think I got a bit of vitamin D poisoning...headache, stomach hurts, and a small sunburn on my face. And let's not forget I'm exhausted from no sleep...because of the stupid birds and the heat.
Sorry. All I keep talking about is how dang hot it is. It's so hard to not think about it, though.
And, because I'm not feeling well, I am not attending Mass nor the "Fete de la Musique", which is the festival where a lot of French people perform music in the streets of all of France. But, I'm not the only American skipping it (for the same reasons). And, right now, I don't care.
Type at y'all tomorrow.
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