Sunday - Day 20 We had big plans for the day. After all, the entry to the museums would be free. Well, that all changed when we got to the first museum on our list. We arrived about 9:30am at the Louvre. It took about ten minutes to get to the end of the line. About half way to the end I saw a notice that said that it was a “two hour wait from this point.” Now, I know how important this museum is. I want to see the real Mona Lisa, too. But I think I could paint another one before I would see it on this day. So, we quickly changed our plans. Next stop, Notre Dame. After all, it is Sunday. Surely we would be able to enter and see this notable ... read more

Friday – Day 18 We got an early start today to try to complete our agenda. Our first stop was in the small village of Giverny. Jackie had the home and garden of Claude Monet on her ‘bucket list’ for a long time. It was his home for 43 of his most productive and creative years, from 1883-1926. I took many photos in the garden. I know that it is impossible to capture the beauty in this blog but I’ve tried by including more photos than usual. After the stunning tour of the gardens, we programmed the address of our hotel in Paris in our GPS and headed that way. The drive went well until we got to the famous Arc de Triomphe. If you have been there you know that there is a circle around ... read more

Wednesday-Day 16 We decided on a road trip today from our hotel in Villerville to the D-Day beaches, museums and cemeteries. Our first stop was the village of Arromanches-les-Bains, considered 'ground-zero' of the D-Day invasion. It was the site of one of two pre-fab artifical harbors that were built in the days following the invasion. The basic facilities, including 115 football-sized, concrete blocks, were build in England and hauled over during the early days of the invasion. As part of the harbor, over 20 ships were intentionally sunk to create a sea break. Over 54,000 vehicles and 326,000 troops landed here in the weeks following D-Day. We visited our first D-day museum here. We also visited the nearby Arromanches 360 degree Theater. It includes a well produced slide and video presentation of the Normandy area, then ... read more

Monday, Day 14 We started this day in Reims and drove north to the port city of Dieppe. It is in the eastern side of the Normandy coast. We wanted to visit here for a special reason. The Dorsey family has an interesting history. My cousin, Jimmy Dorsey, has a coat of arms that indicates the family came by way of Dieppe. His father and my uncle, Sanford Dorsey, gave it to him years ago. Jimmy visited the area 15 years ago and brought back a post card of the castle ruins. I have wanted to visit this area since I saw his postcard. In addition to this history, we also have information that the Dorsey family had roots in Galway, Ireland. Jackie and I visited Galway four years ago (2008) on our first European car ... read more

Saturday, Day 12 We started the day in Verdun. We wanted to see the battlefields and then drive down to Reims, France. This is the location of one of the deadliest battles in World War I. It lasted more than 300 days in 1916. The battle was basically a stand off but Germany lost more men. In total more than 500,000 men died here. We drove around the battlefields and saw many of the original bunkers and trenches. There were also forts around the town that were captured, first by the Germans, then later recaptured by the French. The most moving part was the huge cemetery and memorial building in honor to those that died. In the basement of the memorial was a terrible scene. It housed thousands of bones of bodies that were never identified. ... read more