Geo: 43.6044, 1.44295Bonjour! We have arrived in France.We left London early this morning, leaving behind another beautiful sunny day. We hopped on the Tube to Victoria Station. As much as we have ridden the Tube this week, Dot almost got us on the wrong train. After that she was double checking everything. We took the Tube to the Victoria train station where Dot had pre-purchased tickets for the 7:30 express train to Gatwick Airport. Well, the 7:30 train was cancelled, but there was a 7:45. No worries, we had plenty of time because of course, we left super early. Everything Dot had read on Trip Advisor talked about the long lines at EasyJet and at security, especially on a Friday.Our train gets going, but gets delayed along the way because the slower trains are clogging the ... read more

Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236Today was all about the theatre, but we had some time in the morning so we hopped on the Tube to see if we could get into Westminster Abbey. Last time we were here the line was too long...and it was too cold and windy to wait in the line.The line wasn't bad, and it moved really fast. It was another sunny day-incredible for London. About 60 degrees. It was pretty crowded inside, so we just followed the herd, and used our Rick Steve's guide to see the highlights. We hadn't been there is years and I had forgotten how beautiful is was. Marilyn - I wish you could see it, you would love it. The ceilings are impossibly high and stained glass windows are endless. Saw lots of memorials and graves: Sir Isaac ... read more

Geo: 38.6276, -90.199Dot and I leave Monday morning - 5 am flight (ugh) to Chicago and from there to London. We arrive in London at 10:45 pm Monday night. Just in time to go to bed and recover from jet lag. We are staying at the Astor House in South Kensington, a small bed & breakfast. We have stayed there before and like the neighborhood. Friday we will head for France. Of course we will blog along the way and share our adventures.I invited Tom and Shannon to come visit us at O'Hare during our layover Monday morning, but they didn't seem to interested. I guess they have to work.... read more

Geo: 48.8566, 2.35097It's our last day! We slept in and started with a leisurely free breakfast at our hotel. They put out a very nice breakfast, with something for everyone. I think our hotel caters to Americans, because they have lots of little touches we haven't seen elsewhere: ice machine, real blow dryers, thick toilet paper, washcloths, mini-fridge,tea maker, lots of power outlets, very nice receptionists that speak good English, 2 computers in the lobby you can use and print from, excellent WIFI-finally, and CNN on the TV in English.Dot lost her Rick Steve's Map yesterday. It must have blown away at the Eiffel Tower. Greatly increased her anxiety level trying to navigate without it. Then, we found a Rick Steve's Paris book in the lobby bookshelves, so we borrowed it for the day, since we ... read more

Geo: 49.2764, -0.705529We started the day an a lesser visited site, a cute tiny church at Angoville-au-Pain, where 2 American medics treated German and American wounded while battles raged all around them. The paratroopers were landing and fighting all around. the medics worked for 72 hours straight and managed to turn away German patrols. There are two stained glass windows inside the church to commemorate their bravery. See the pics below.Then, on to Utah Beach. We wanted to come here because there is a good museum. This meant another driving adventure but it went pretty smoothly.There were many different memorials at Utah beach commemorating different divisions. The museum was excellent. I included a few pictures below, but know you are getting tired of this stuff.After Utah Beach we went to Saint Mare-Englese, where the paratrooper (Red ... read more