After traveling for almost 24 hours we finally arrived in Paris. I choose this picture to start with for two reasons. One because we stayed just a mile away or so from Champ Elysees Avenue at an awesome hotel in Etoile. And two, because try as I might, I was never able to properly say "Champ Elysees."
The first day we decided to "walk off" our jet lag and made it all the way up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
The next two days we did the museum circuit. Name a museum - I bet we went to it. I think my favorite was either the Centre Pompidou because of the fantastically bizarre modern art and the Mongolians I met outside, who I spoke broken Spanish/Mongolian to - a blog entry about this meeting will be coming - or the Army Museum/Napoleon's Tomb because this is where Pierre (my husband's European name) declared, while falling to the grass for a nap, "I don't care if I see the inside of another museum for the rest of my life."
The fourth day in France we rented a car and drove to Normandy. I have to first give major props to my husband, who not only got out of some ridiculous roundabouts, but also managed only a few stalls. Normandy was amazing. I can't fully describe how breathtaking it was to see Omaha Beach and think about the sacrifice made by so many young Americans. After we checked out the beach we walked up to the American cemetery. If you haven't done this, I encourage you to see this memorial. It will truly make you proud to be an American. Our last stop to Pointe du Hoc (picture of me standing in a hole made by a bomb) was equally incredible. I couldn't believe the amount of bombing that took place at this site and how the Germans were able to attack the Americans so precisely from this point.
After our tour of Normandy, we stopped in Bayeux and had our first two star dinner. Pierre went with a set menu of duck and I went with some type of white fish with a caramel sauce. To finish the meal, we experienced a French version of our apple pie. Simply put, it was awesome. I would like to say the day was perfect, however, on the way home we experienced some bizarre French highway construction. I say "bizarre" because for no reason they kept closing the highway and directing us through random towns. I never saw one Frenchie working on the freakin' highway!!
Okay, I'm off to work. More to come tomorrow.
1 comment:
We also were amazed when we were in Normandy....the vastness of that beach and the cliffs from which the Germans were shooting.....I found it incredible that any Americans lived through that. Such bravery.
I also loved the signs that were still up after all these years saying "Thanks to our liberators."
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