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Published: April 8th 2011
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Karen: Sorry we have not been blogging. We did not have Internet access in Normandy.
Malcolm: On Wednesday, we took the Eurostar from London to Paris. Its quick. 2 hours door to door. By the way, for those of you commenting on my sentence structure....you should know, they are my words (edited by a pretty good editor).
Karen: As the train was pulling out of St. Pancras Station, London, Jeff asked what we liked most about London. It was hard to choose, but for me it was Westminster Abby. First the building is amazing, but it was also very cool to see all the set up for the royal wedding. It will be much more interesting watching it on TV.
Malcolm: For me my favorite part of London was the Underground (a/k/a the "Tube"). The lay out and the ability to travel long distances is unbelievable. And when you realize that at some points you are 600 feet underground (without getting wet) and that several other Tube lines are racing around above you....like I said, unbelievable.
Karen: I just wanted to add my two cents worth on the Underground.......unbelievable how easy it is to move around a
city that large.
Malcolm: So on to France. We arrived in Paris on Wednesday, about 2 hours after we left London. We rented a car with a very faulty GPS system. The computer ignored the 4-lane highways, and instead took us on the scenic route, which made the trip longer than we expected. Generally, we were on one lane roads, and I think we drove by every farm house in western France. But we FINALLY arrived safely in Bayeaux, Normandy.
Karen: Bayeaux is the only French town that survived the Allied invasion IN 1944. They had some damage, but came out of the war pretty much unscathed. We stayed in a lovely bed and breakfast located in a 12th century chateau. We had to climb circular stone steps up a tower to get to our rooms, but when we got there, the rooms were very comfortable. Francois and Isabelle, the owners, took very good care of us.
Malcolm: After our longer than expected journey, we sat down at a sidewalk cafe and had drinks and dinner, and then strolled around town.
Karen: We were up early on Thursday. Isabelle made us a wonderful breakfast. Then it
was off on our private tour of the Normandy beaches. Francois is a licensed tour guide and he spent the entire day walking us through the invasion. By the way, I should note that the weather in France has been remarkable. Jeff and Mal have been wearing shorts. It has been sunny and in the 70s. It may have reached 80, but I am not sure.......still not understanding "centigrade"
Malcolm: Our first stop, was the Airborne Ranger museum. Scott, we wish you could have seen it, and we hope someday you can. Then we made our way to the beaches. Utah Beach was the first stop. Utah Beach was the site of a very successful landing. After Utah, we went to Point du Hoc, the sight where 229 Army Rangers scaled a 68 foot cliff and destroyed a key Nazi artillery emplacement. They then had to hold the site until reinforcements arrived. By the time the reinforcements did arrive, 139 of the 229 Rangers were killed. We then went on to Omaha Beach, where things did not go as smoothly as they did at Utah Beach. Thousands were sacrificed.
Karen: We finished the day at the American Cemetery,
a very beautiful and moving site. You arrive at the Visitor's Center and there is a short video presentation. Then you move onto the grounds of the cemetery. The first thing that strikes you is the beauty of the site. Its on a cliff over the channel, and the landscape architects have designed beautiful gardens and row after row of perfectly symetrical trees. And then you see the grave markers (simple Crosses or Stars of David) made of pure white marble and arranged in such a way that from whatever angle you look at them they are in a straight line. THE SITE IS BEAUTIFUL, TRULY!
Malcolm: We returned to the Chateau after a long day of touring the beaches. We walked the streets of Bayeaux and then ordered dinner from a snooty French waiter (the other waiter actually laughed at him, because he had to serve the Americans whose French consisted of "Bon Jour," "Merci" and a lot of pointing). I honestly had no idea what I had ordered. But when it arrived it was excellent. It was some kind of fish and rice, and I enjoyed it very much.
Karen: This morning, after another fine breakfast, we walked around Bayeaux and visited the Notre Dame Cathederal of Bayeaux. This structure was built in 1077, a full 11 years after Westminster Abby, so as you might imagine, it was not very impressive at all.
Malcolm: Then we hopped in the car for our return to Paris. This time, by ignoring everything the GPS said, we made it back in record time (FYI....Jeff refused to pay for the GPS and made Hertz reimburse him.......those of you who know Jeff, know that this is true. He refused to leave Hertz without a credit).
Karen: On the way back into Paris, we stopped at the Palace of Versailles, the home of the Kings of France until the French Revolution. On the advice of Scott and Anne, we spent most of our time walking in the gardens. "Amazing," does not truly describe the size and the beauty of these gardens.
Malcolm: Needless to say, driving into Paris at rush hour with a faulty GPS was a challenge. It took us three tries to cross the river. The fact that none of us have killed each other over shouted directions, and missed turns is amazing (but if I end up dead in the next couple of days.....Jeff should be a suspect).
Karen: Checked into a beautiful suite in Paris. Coinsidentially, it is the exact same suite (not a similar suite) the EXACT SAME SUITE Jeff and Blake stayed in in 2008! How Ironic.
Malcolm: Three more days.....here we go.
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Blake
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Sounds like you guys are having a great time! It's funny how you guys got the same suit that I did. You should get some ice cream and cheese and crackers, its amazing (and you don't have to order it at 2 in the morning if you don't want). Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!