Blogs from Upper Normandy, France, Europe - page 14

Yesterday, Monday, I spent my first full day as guest bookseller at La Galerne bookshop in Le Havre. This large bookshop over two levels offers a wide range of books across many different themes. I spent the morning in bandes dessinees and the afternoon in essais/beaux livres. There are BDs in many genres from historical and realist to BDs for young girls and children. Among the ones for young girls was one that celebrated shopping! I don't think that I will be ordering that one for Language International. Pascal runs the department was very warm and welcoming. He was happy to show me his favourites which again gave me another perspective on the genre. The strangest one so far (or should that be, most obscure?)is the BD that mocks wine critic Robert Parker. The essais/beaux livres ... read more

Sunday 24th October. I got up a bit later today, I was starting to feel 'jet lagged', do you know what jet lag is? It's when your body is trying to get used to being in another time zone and you kind of feel a bit tired and want to sleep at all funny times of the day. You know that France is in another time zone to where you live, so when I'm writing to you now it's still night time for you and you're asleep but here it is day time. Isn't that weird when you think about it?! I hope you had a good nights sleep and enjoyed your weekend with Mom and Dad and your brother. This afternoon I went to the local riding stables to see the horses there, they are ... read more

Next door to our time-share is a highly rated, gourmet restaurant in a country hotel. Last night we celebrated our trip and my birthday with a special night out. The restaurant-hotel is set in a restored 1600's mill over the Seine River. It is considered one of the true treats of France. We began with a walk beside the Seine River on a clear evening with stars and a bright moon. We were greeted by Pierre and seated in easy chairs in front of the fireplace for our appertifs. I ordered a kir royale and Gary had a martini; they were delivered with a tray of cheese puff-pastry. After deciding on our dinner choice, we were shown to our table in the dining room. This room seats 20 to 30 people and is decorated with crystal ... read more

With a husband who loves WWII history, of course our trip has had several visits to World War II locations. One of our first days in Europe was to visit the Anne Frank House. While in Berlin we spent time at the Reichstadt, Brandenburg Gate, Check-point Charlie, and the many memorials. Later we visited Terezin in Czech Republic and the Jewish Ghetto. Of course while we were in the Munich area, we spent time at Dachau. Later that week we were in southern Bavaria and saw Eagle's Nest (Hitler's country getaway and the documentation center at Ober-Salzburg. A week or so later we were in south Belgium and stayed in Bastogne, learning more about the Battle of the Bulge. This Monday was spent at the Beach (D-Day Beaches to be exact). We headed out to the ... read more

Looking forward to 3 hours sleep before breakfast. Despite being one of the lucky ones to grab a big armchair, I still managed little more than a brief head-bob on the ferry crossing. The guys who just lay down on the floor probably had it best in the end. Can't complain though, after a week of awful weather in London it couldn't have been better for the ride down to Newhaven. Big thanks to those who came out to see me off, just like being on le tour...... read more