Blogs from Upper Normandy, France, Europe - page 9

Starting with a quick heads up before getting into everything. While I love that people are reading what I have to say, I’m actually more so writing everything as a way to retain the wonderful memories I’m living. So if it ever seems as if I’m ranting on about things that are either uninteresting, strange, unrelated, please just bare with me or skip a bit (it won’t hurt my feelings (unless you’re related to me!) In other words, this post is long. Enjoy! The last time I wrote something I was being rapidly propelled across the French countryside in a T.G.V (Train à grand vitesse (a.k.a really fast train (the French are known for acronyms, not creativity))) on my way back to Dieppe from a weekend in Paris. Well I’m still traveling, though this time by ... read more

The armada of Rouen, every 4 or 5 years, gather a lot of ships coming from all the world. This year, from Russia, France, Brasil, Poland, Mexico, Sweden, The netherlands, The united kingdom, Bulgaria, Portugal, Oman, and Germany. That's the worst time to visit Rouen due to the mass of people in the city, you can't drive, you can't park, you can't ride bike...Paris it's a ghost city compared to Rouen during Armada ! So, be prepare ! But, if you like ships, especially, the old ones, that's the best moment ! The ships are just amazing, really huge. At first, it seems like toys, because you can't realize the fact that ships were like this before ! So much cordons everywhere, huge voiles, and...made in woods ! The city offers free water, but if you ... read more

Day 1 The dreaded day has come...getting the bags out of the unit and down the stairs out of our Paris apartment...I managed slowly to get our my bag down. One step at a time....then Carmens bag....two people carrying the one bag..lol ...done....good bye unit....off to the station.....taxi first....done....station arrived...gave the men a tip for his back fund....poor man lifting our bags....Breakfast then train....the after much confusion about our seat allocation and arguing with the passengers we finally got our seats...lol...we were in the wrong carriage....Trip to Lyon is two hours....lots of country side was seen...getting out of the train was fun...had to bring the bags from the upper deck to the lower...the same deal as the unit ....a nice looking guy asked me if I needed help with the bag, in French....At first i didn't ... read more

Hey everyone! Been a couple weeks since I last posted something so I thought I’d drop a quick word. Life has been pretty easy going here. We’ve kind of been finding out where we stand in the family and getting to know everyone better. At first we had a harder time talking to Laure, the mom, because she’s not quite as charismatic as Guillaume is, but seeing as how we only see Guillaume on the weekends and we’re always with Laure, that has quickly changed. So much so that we actually meet her for her lunch break once a week and grab a bite to eat! As for the rest of the family, we’re getting along great with everyone, though we’ve had some discipline issues with Zoé. She just doesn’t quite understand what no means and ... read more

CHERBOURG TO THE D DAY BEACHES The sun was shining brightly but the temperature was cool. I boarded the bus early since the tour was scheduled for nine hours and I had to be back on board at 5:30. My time in Cherbourg was only a drive through on the way to Arromanches, a modest sea side resort which is where the British forces landed at Gold Beach on June 6, 1944. I only missed the 69th anniversary by a little more than a week. There is a Museum with good films and displays which explain the immense operation to free Europe. Some of the man made port so vital to the success of the invasion remain on the beach. It was very thought provoking to walk on the beach where so many had died in ... read more