Chris took Misha and Kristen down for breakfast and Amy and I finished our makeup. Patricia had left already for work and Patrick was hoping to leave soon after we finished. We all apologized for being so late.
We finished getting ready and packing up our stuff and began our drive back to Paris via Caen and Rouen and then Saint Germain en Laye where we would drop off the rental car. Chris DID NOT want to drive in Paris.
We began our day in Arromanches 360* museum, situated high on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the remains of the mulberries that formed Port Winston in 1944.
After experiencing the 360* museum, we walked down a steep winding pathway to the little town where we then visited a second museum and watched a couple of movies about the Allied invasion.
It was time to lighten the mood for the girls as we exited the second museum.
We stopped at a lunch spot across the street--Speed Lunch--and then wandered through the quaint little town.
Blue and white striped shirts, polos, dresses along with rain jackets, war memorabilia, post cards, and the usual touristy stuff drew us in to the stores.
We came across this street sign and Chris asked the girls what they thought it meant. Misha, ever the quick-witted child, commented, "Father daughter relationships are over-rated?" Uhh, no Misha.
The girls bought some post cards to send to friends and to keep. Intending to post them right away, we inquired about the location of the post office and then walked up to it only to find that it was closed for the day. Oh well, we didn't mind winding our way back to the museum past L'eglise Saint-Pierre.
The girls were hoping to ride the little train that was transporting tourists up and down the hill. Sadly, Chris vetoed waiting and taking a ride, "We can be up the hill before it even leaves." And so three sad-faced girls trudged back up the hill.
We passed through Caen on our way to Rouen. Rouen was famous for its cathedral and for being the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. The traffic getting there was busy and following google maps took us away from a huge delay on the freeway and through smaller towns. We arrived tired and hot and enjoyed our ice cream and sherbet from a street shop.
We stopped at a toilet on the street. The kind where you wait for the light by the door to turn green, make use of the facilities, come out, let the door close, wait for the cleaning mode to shower the facility with water, and then enter again. We decided to team up and as Chris and I came out, I motioned to Amy and Kristen to go in. Fortunately, I remembered quickly enough to yell, "Come out. Come out," before they were a part of the cleaning shower. They weren't very pleased with me. You have to plan ahead if you are going to use the facilities in France...and be patient.
We began our final drive to Saint Germain en Laye and found the rental car return fairly easily. We drove by the place once in order to fill up the car with gas and then returned. Unfortunately there was not a key drop box for us to just leave the car. Chris tried calling all of the local numbers and then finally called a 1-800 number for Hertz. The guy who answered couldn't access our files as we tried to explain that we had arranged for a drop off different from where we had picked up the car. He suggested that we take pictures of the Hertz location and our odometer to show that we had arrived on time and didn't want to have to pay for the extra miles we would travel to the airport.
Did I mention that Chris didn't want to drive in Paris. Yeah. That happened. Google Maps wasn't always on top of giving direction and turning changes fast enough and we would hear the little ding as it signified we were going the wrong way. All the while, getting closer to the dreaded traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe. As we finally got on the free way to the airport, we discovered that our exit was closed and the free way shut down on that section for maintenance. Keep in mind, it was now close to midnight and we were all so over this day.