Europe-Day 3

Chris and I were looking forward to this day a lot.  We both have an interest in World War II history and were anticipating the day-long tour Chris had scheduled.  Visiting the beaches of Normandy and learning more about the D-Day invasion seemed a most fitting way to celebrate the 4th of July.  

We enjoyed the beautiful French breakfast from our hosts--croissants, chocolate-filled croissants, fruit, fresh apple cider from the orchard down the street, yogurt, homemade jam, and baguettes.  Lovely.  We had an early start time and had informed our hosts, Patrick and Patricia, before arriving that we would need to have an early breakfast as well.  They were most accommodating.

Chris navigated our way back to Bayeux, only a seven-minute car ride, and quickly located the train station where we were to meet for our Normandy tour.  Unfortunately, the parking lot was full.  Chris dropped us off with our tour guide, Adrien, and then drove a little way further to another parking lot.  Our tour consisted of three others:  James a visitor originally from Australia but living in London, and Francoise and Thibault, a grandmother and her grandson who only spoke French.  Our tour today would be bilingual.  It was nice though because as Adrien spoke to us in English, we then had a chance to look around as he then gave his spiel in French.  We set off in our nine-passenger van for an amazing day of history.

Our first stop was at the German cemetery.  This cemetery was temporarily used for American soldiers until a permanent place was given to them.  The German soldiers were buried two to a grave.  It was the smallest cemetery size wise but had the most soldiers laid to rest there.  There were two branches of their army from Germany, however, these soldiers were not separated by rank or politics.  In the center of the cemetery a huge mound rose up.  Apparently, the identification of about 300 soldiers was mixed up.  In order to still give them a proper burial, they were buried in a mass grave and given identification as it was determined.

Sainte Mere Eglise was our next stop.  It was an important city for the Allied soldiers during the invasion and became the first town in France to be liberated.  An effigy of John Steele, a paratrooper with his snagged parachute that caught on the church's spire, was maintained on the church today.

Inside the church there are two stained glass windows that were replaced after being destroyed in the fighting. One shows the Virgin Mary surrounded by paratroopers.  The original window had angels instead of paratroopers.  The other stained glass shows St. Michael (patron saint of the paratroopers).

Adrien gave us 45 minutes to visit the three small museums close to the church--C-47, Planeur Waco, and Operation Neptune.  It was full of military memorabilia from airplanes to parachutes, clothing, supplies, uniforms, matches, guns, and medals.  It was impressive.  We walked in to the C-47 and immediately felt as though we were riding in a C-47 with the loud noise, the shake of the plane, cold temperatures, and surrounded by "paratroopers" solemnly waited to jump.  

Throughout the day, we chatted with Adrien about his life and experience.  He learned to speak English at an early age when his dad said that any movie he watched, he had to watch in its native language.  He watched a lot of 80s movies and picked up quickly on the language as he continued to watch.

Utah Beach was the stop for our next visit.  One theory for the reason for calling the beaches Utah and Omaha was because Dwight D. Eisenhower had to come up with two code names and asked his aides where they were from--Utah and Omaha.  You might see as you visit the beaches, beautiful white sand stretching for miles, families enjoying the beautiful weather, children splashing in the water, and maybe even horses pulling chariots!

It was hard to fathom the killing, the blood, the sorrow, the anger, the fear, the courage, the fighting.  But it happened and so many young men willingly gave their lives.  As you stare across the expanse of the beaches and imagine, you can't help but realize that our freedoms were granted by young men pulling themselves arm over arm through the sand, by climbing hand over fist up the side of a cliff, or by jumping in the dark of night in to enemy territory.  Our freedoms came with a price.

We stopped for lunch at a little diner across the street from the beach.  We gave our order and then Adrien took us down in to a well-camoflauged bunker under the cafe that was taken by US Soldiers from the Germans

Halfway between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach was our next stop--Pointe du Hoc.

We spent a little bit of time at Omaha Beach.  It was a beautiful sea-side, summer destination.  So different now.  Tractors sat on the sand with boat trailers attached to make an easy way to launch and load up boats.  Paragliders floated gracefully in the sky. 

Our final stop for the day was at the American Cemetery.  We arrived after 4 pm.  There was a peaceful grace that fell over us.  Prior to coming to Europe, I had been watching the miniseries, Band of Brothers.  It helped fix in my mind, people and moments to recall.  The crosses of the cemetery stretched as far as you could see, perfectly aligned to the right, left, diagonally, and horizontally.  I am a Canadian by birth, but my heart has always been American.  As I looked over the somber scene, tears filled my eyes and my breath caught in my throat.  We viewed the wall of soldiers' names who had never been found.  From there, Misha and I wandered through the cemetery together, while Amy and Kristen wandered in another direction.  Chris took his time reading plaques.  When Taps played at 5:00 pm, and the flags were lowered, all of the people in the cemetery respectfully turned to watch in silence.

Our tour was finished and we returned to the bus for Adrien to drive us back to the station in Bayeux.  Best 4th of July ever.

We picked up our rental car after bidding au revoir to Adrien and our group.  Bayeux was a cool little town to explore...and to buy macarons.  Amy bought a chocolate macaron and all the girls were pretty much hooked.

We had a dinner reservation but the girls vetoed it and chose a pizza place across the cobbled street, trying their best to order in French.  I had les pâtés which was a wonderful homemade pasta with a meat sauce.

We headed back to the Air BNB where Misha enjoyed a nice hot shower and Kristen and Amy watched "The Longest Day."  We were all beginning to adjust to the new time schedule and were a little happier.  It stayed light until after 10:30 pm, so Chris and I went for a walk down to the cemetery along a pathway next to a little winding river.  Bonne nuit.

Europe-Day 2

As we deplaned in Paris at the Charles de Gaulle airport, a United employee was waiting at the end of the jet bridge holding a Global Services sign.  We picked up fast passes for getting through Customs and Immigration.  It was pretty slick.  And another stamp in our passports.

Our baggage arrived shortly after we got to the baggage claim area.  From there we picked up our rental car from Hertz with Chris making sure that we could drop off the car in Saint Germaine en Laye on our return to the city on Wednesday evening.  Chris DID NOT want to drive in Paris beyond maneuvering out of the city toward the Normandy coast.

It was a bit of a squeeze for the five of us to fit in the car along with all of our luggage, but it worked.

It was morning rush hour in Paris and subsequently took a couple of hours for us to make our way on the Boulevard Peripherique out of the city.  Once we hit the freeway, the speed upped to 130 km/hr or about 80 mph.  Our first stop was in Caen for lunch.  We stopped at "Le Subway" for lunch.  It was lunch.  Chris and Misha actually purchased a gyro from the shop next door.  Since it was still before lunchtime, both shops were equally unbusy.

We continued on to Mont Saint Michel, an island commune, a little more than half a mile off the coast.  The day was overcast and a little cool.  The tourist attraction was very busy.  We parked the rental car and found a bus to board to drive the 3 km to the Abbey.  The place was packed.  To. The. Gills.  It was very frustrating to want to take a picture and not be able to because so many people were blocking the view.  I tried to get a few pictures and then had to be happy with what I was seeing.

Our next destination was Ville de Bayeux.  We had rented an AirBNB there.  The directions via Google maps took us through the French country side.  It was simply beautiful with these tiny little villages and brilliant pink hydrangeas, white hydrangeas, roses, and red geraniums.  It was amazingly picturesque.  That is, when we weren't dozing off every other minute.  Ahhh, so tired.  Chris had to keep waking us up.  We found parking in Bayeux and walked around until the restaurants opened at 7 pm.  Our host at the AirBNB had recommended Le Moulin de le Galette Restaurant ~ Creperie for our evening meal.  He had us at Creperie.

While we waited for 7 pm when most restaurants opened for the evening meal, we explored the old town of Bayeux. The girls wanted a French Baguette.  Chris gave them some cash, a quick lesson on what to say, and sent them in to the patisserie (a shop specializing in pastries, cakes, and breads).  At this time of the day, most of the bread and pastries were old or sold out already.  They were happy to try a half of a baguette.  For me, eating the baguette was a workout for my jaw.  

We were outside the creperie a little before 7 pm when the host seated us.  We weren't too sure what galettes were, but deduced from the menu (having English subtitles) that they were similar to crepes but made with buckwheat flour.  Each of us ordered a galette, all filled with different fillings.  Mine was filled with a bolognese sauce and cheese.  Quite tasty.  Amy's was full of cream and cheese.  Because she didn't have her lactaid pills with her, she just tried to eat around the dairy that she couldn't have.  We did order one chocolate crepe for dessert; it was quickly consumed.

Google maps continued to assist us in finding addresses today, mispronouncing words all along the way.  We finally reached our place to stay for the night in Vaux-sur-Aure, meeting the hosts Patrick and Patricia.  Patrick only spoke a little English, Patricia fared better.  Chris could speak a little French and usually working together, they could each get their points across.

Our two rooms were located at the back of the home, up narrow wooden stairs, the kind you might want to walk sideways up in order to keep from falling.

The first room was for Chris and I.  The second room, separated from us by a bathroom, had a queen size bed and a twin.  Perfect for three girls.  We quickly settled in.  Chris and Kristen went for a walk around the church and cemetery.

The wifi signal in the rooms was not good, nonexistent in fact.  It was mediocre in the back courtyard, and so so inside the house.

Europe-Day 1

We have been planning our summer vacation for months.  With Chris' travel schedule and accruing of hotel, airline, and rental car points, it made a trip to Europe possible.  Not knowing what the future would bring with his work and with Amy leaving home for college this Fall, it seemed as though everything lined up for us to go.  I don't want to call it our last hurrah, but it seemed possible that once our girls started leaving for college a certain family dynamic would change.   

Chris and I spent many hours planning and preparing.  In the past Chris has done much of the research and planning on his own, but he simply didn't have the time for that this trip. I spent hours scouring sites such as AirBNB and VRBO looking for places to stay as well as researching on Travelocity, Pinterest, and Ricksteves.com looking for places to visit and stay to create our itinerary.

We chose flights in to Paris and out of Munich mostly because that was what was available and worked well with Chris' points.  Having those cities decided for us helped to define the rest of our adventure.  Chris and I both wanted to visit Normandy (though he has been before) as well as Montmartre, Versailles, the newly opened Paris Temple, and Paris while in France.  In my reading of travel sites such as RickSteves.com, I came across some hidden gems such as Colmar and Riquewihr in the East of France that were along the route we had chosen to Germany.  In Germany, we would spend time in Freiburg im Breisgau, the Black Forest (which skirted the edge of Freiburg im Breisgau), Munich, and Dachau before taking a little jaunt to Innsbruck, Austria to see the Alps.

Departure day dawned fairly early for me--4:45 am to be exact.  I tried to go back to sleep after opening up windows on the main floor, but mostly I laid in bed making sure I had taken care of all that needed tending.  The flowers were set to be watered in the 90* plus days, the mail was on hold, my indoor plants were taken care of, extra food was removed from the fridge, laundry was done, bags were packed, backpacks were waiting by the door, and passports were out.

I walked on my treadmill, nothing too strenuous, just enough to loosen up my body for the travel ahead and to get my water intake started for the day.  Chris was up around 6:30 am, and then things really got going.  We didn't have to do much encouraging to rouse girls (cough Amy) from their beds.  Our flight was at 10:45 am, and we had made arrangements for a friend to pick us up and take us to the airport at 8:30 am. 

Breakfast for my girls was donuts.  Yeah, not really the breakfast of champions, but as the lone protester, sometimes I am outvoted.  Doesn't have to mean I have to eat them though.  Ok, maybe I had a taste of what I thought was a maple-covered long john.  Turned out it was cream-filled and my bite of donut quickly found its way into the garbage can.

I cleaned out the food from the fridge that we wouldn't be eating and had Amy take our garbage bags down to a communal neighborhood can so that it wouldn't sit in our garage for the next two weeks stinking things up.  She dropped off a few of the food items at the Allen's house.

Chris had been trying to text our friend to make sure that he was still planning to pick us up and drive us to the airport.  Dave was usually on top of things and would normally have been checking in with us.  Since he wasn't communicating by text or answering his phone, we made a last minute decision to load up the Pilot, drive ourselves, and leave our car at the airport.  Not optimal and a little spendy, but we did not want to miss our flight.

We arrived at the Pikes Peak parking lot and were happy that there was space enough in the lot that we didn't have to drive out to Mt. Elbert to park.  As we started unloading our bags from the Pilot, Chris spied the shuttle bus approaching the bus stop.  He had Misha and Kristen run to the bus stop to let the driver know that he had passengers waiting to board.  

Traveling with Chris ain't too shabby when you head directly to the United Global Services agent to check in.  We may or may not have committed a small sin in lying to our girls about where our seats were located. We told them that we were at the back of the plane.  They didn't seem to mind.  Heck, they were flying to Paris!  It was at this point that Chris surprised them with their first class tickets to DC and then on the longer flight to Paris.  They were a tad bit excited.  Amy was a whole lot excited as bounced down the hall to the escalators toward Security, "You don't even know what it is like to fly first class overseas.  You can lay down and sleep!"  Yes, the prospect of a comfy ride was rather delightful.

I am pretty sure that if I didn't have Global Entry, I would have been the only member of the family who wouldn't have gotten TSA Pre Check.  We were fortunate enough to all have it and made it through security without difficulty.  The TSA guys were even friendly and happy--maybe it was still early in the day for them.

We headed toward the escalators and down to the train.  Misha got stuck behind some people on the escalator and almost got left behind.  Not to fear, I stood in the doorway of the train only to hear, "You are delaying the departure of this train," as Misha raced to hop on board.  Couldn't leave my Misha behind!

We made a quick stop at the United lounge and then found gate B45 for boarding.  We watched as a dad said goodbye to his 10-year old daughter as she bravely tried to hold in the tears.  And then it was our turn.  We got settled, made sure our United app was installed for watching movies during the flight, and waited for the plane to fill.

Our lunch was so so--Cobb salad--but enough to fill the empty space.  The dessert, a chocolate ganache-covered chocolate cheesecake, was delightful and melted in my mouth.  We settled in for our short jaunt to Dulles.

As we deplaned and then waited to board the plane to Paris, we stood in an area where all of the pre-board passengers waited, including children who were traveling on their own.  One young lady, standing with her mother, was talking about how much she disliked flying.  Her mother commented that she was talking like a glass half full kind of girl.  The young lady didn't really care and continued to spout her negativity.  The mom finally said, loud enough for us to hear, "What if these girls have never flown and are nervous and afraid, and you are just making things worse for them?!"  I chuckled to myself.  My girls have been flying since they were infants.  In contrast, I flew for the first time when I was 27 or so.  But to the other mother's point, be happy!

We settled in to our seats on our second flight of the day.  It wasn't long enough for a really good sleep, especially with dinner service and then breakfast.  I think I slept for a short time, but not very deeply.  Chris put on his eye mask and seemed to sleep for quite some time.  Misha, too, as she and Chris both slept through the breakfast service.

The Death Star pepper-shaker: