Today marks the 69th anniversary of D-Day or “Operation Overlord” which was the largest seaborne and airborne invasion ever staged. This massive undertaking by the Allies on the beaches of Normandy in France in 1944 was the beginning of the end for the German Third Reich and Hitler’s reign over Europe. If you would like…
Category: France
Mont Saint-Michel – the jewel of Normandy
Dating back to the 6th century, Mont Saint-Michel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Normandy, France. Built on a tidal island it has been used as a strategic fortification and since the 8th century the site of the monastery for which it is today named. The Benedictine abbey that stands there today is dedicated archangel St…
The Palace of Versailles
June 5th, 2012 The Palace of Versailles was once the seat of power of the Kings of France. It is a very elaborate place, with a large collection of art and set on vast palace grounds of gardens, the grand canal, ponds, fountains and more. The gardens cover some 800 hectares of the 1,070 hectare site…
The Louvre a Masterpiece Collection
June 4th, 2012 In the heart of Paris in the Louvre Palace is one of the largest and most famous art museums in the world (in fact it is massive!). The Louvre Palace site was originally a fortress built in the 12th century, successive changes to the site over the next 600 years formed into a…
Le Musée de l’armée à Paris
June 3rd, 2012 The Musée de l’Armée (Army Museum) is located in Les Invalides in Paris. The original purpose of this large complex that opened in 1678 was to be a hospital and home for injured soldiers (part of the building still serves this purpose today). Over the years as the need for such a large building to serve this…
The Tiger of Vimoutiers
June 1st, 2012 Just outside the French town of Vimoutiers in Western France (an hour South East of Caen) is a very rare sight. A massive World War Two era German Tiger I tank (Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E)! This was something I certainly had never seen before and being a military history buff I went off the major…
The Splendour of Paris
I had not been to Paris, France for 18 years but finally returned in early June 2012. I am pleased to say nothing much has changed and it remains one of the most beautiful cities in the world! History, majestic buildings, old palaces, museums, classic city icons such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomph, Notre…
The Catacombs of Paris
June 2nd, 2012 WELCOME TO THE EMPIRE OF THE DEAD! The Catacombs of Paris is a very interesting, somewhat creepy but ultimately fascinating experience. They are an underground cemetery beneath the streets of Paris which contains the human remains from former Paris cemeteries that were moved to old underground quarries in the 18th century (consecrated April 7th,…
When the chips are down the Aussies are always there to help out
During a recent visit to the Franco Australian Museum which details the role of Australian troops during World War One at Villers-Brettoneux (a place where the Australian and British army stopped the German advance in 1918) in the Somme region of France I took the following photo of a poster. I took immense national pride in seeing this poster and got…
D-Day June 6th, 1944: Normandy Beach Landings
On June 6th, 1944 the largest ever invasion fleet was massed off the coast of France. Code-named “Operation Overlord” the D-Day landings on the beaches of Normandy (code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches) marked the return of Allied troops to Western France, including U.S., British, Canadian and Free French forces and another major…
D-Day June 6th, 1944: The Airborne Assault
As part of the Allied D-Day landings of World War Two to invade France on June 6th, 1944 the seaborne landings on the beaches of Normandy (code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches) were preceded around 5 hours earlier by a two-pronged night airborne assault by Allied paratroopers. American paratroopers from the 82nd “All American“ and 101st “Screaming…
Australian Heroes at Rest
In World War One (1914 – 1918) many Australian soldiers fought on the Western Front in France and sadly lost their lives fighting the Imperial German army. It was the most costly war in terms of life and casualties in Australia’s history – back then the country had a population of less than 5 million people yet according…
Deano's Travels 