Low points - the heavy rain at Ypres as we went out for a meal and then on to the Menin Gate for the last post, and, getting bitten to pieces in the night at B&B Hotels on the outskirts of Amiens.
High points - the accommodation at the Hortensia in Ypres and several sections of riding, mainly associated with dry roads and glimpses of the sun.
Main disappointment was the standard of food which was basically "chips with everything" and everything was some sort of meat or fish.
I set out wanting to see for myself the D-Day site and how it is being presented to "today's generations". Well, there is information overload. Facts and figures are included in every display, in every automated presentation, in every guided tour. It is impossible to appreciate the extent of "fortress Europe" that the Nazis built until you see the bunkers and gun emplacements in person. Then you see how the bombardment by allied ships ripped into some of those bunkers and hear how some of the Hitler youth manning those positions simply gave up and surrendered - I can't say that I would not have done the same.
So would I do it again - no. I don't need to. I've been there, done that, ticked that box. Now I have to come up with the next "must do" ride. Tour the Alps? Ride to the Nord Kapp? Who knows?
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