Joan, the Finale: Normandy

Our second full day in France started out bright and early. We bused to the D'Orly Airport in Paris to pick-up our rental car for our drive to Normandy. As a light misting rain began to fall in Paris we silently zipped out of town in our rental. The farther we got from the city, the more open and blue the sky became. The sun was leading us to the coast.

We decided to follow Rick Steves' suggested itinerary for a day in Normandy and we are so glad we did. The first stop on our voyage was at Port Winston in Arromanches:

None of us had ever heard of Port Winston before and were enthralled by its tale. Since the Germans controlled all of the ports on the French coastline, the Allies needed to figure out a way to ship cargo, supplies and men to the front lines. This need spawned Winston Churchill's brainchild, Port Winston (aka Mulberry Harbour). This port was constructed in just 12 days after D-Day. The construction of this port included: sinking old ships off the coast to create breakwater, constructing platforms/decks a year in advance in England, towing all of the construction material used across the English Channel in the 12 days after D-Day. It truly was an amazing feat of engineering ingenuity and sheer "I think I can, I think I can" attitude.

Here is what's left of Port Winston today:



We walked down the beach for a more up-close experience:



After a quick seaside lunch, and a gander through the Port Winston Museum we hopped back in the car and made our way to Omaha Beach and the American Military Cemetery.

Finding ourselves staring at the serene, brilliant blue water at Omaha Beach, it was hard to imagine the chaos and horror of June 6th, 1944:

In homage to the brave souls who lost their lives here, it is a place of great peace and beauty.

From the beach, we made the 20 minute walk through the sand dunes up to the American Military Cemetery. Again, we found ourselves engulfed by an overwhelming sense of pride for the brave soldiers, tranquility of the pastoral landscape, and pain for the young lives lost.

After we quietly meandered through the Cemetery and Memorial area, we slowly walked back to the car feeling so appreciative of our lives today and so very thankful to all of the remarkably brave heroes, past and present, who made it all possible.



If you'd like to view all of our photos from our visit from our visit with Joan, please click on this link:
Joan's Photos

Joanie - Thanks so much for making the trip out to see us. We had a fantastic time!

Joan: Paris, France

Sorry for the brief interruption in our programming. We're now back on schedule.

We hopped on the bullet train to Paris...



...to find some spacious accommodations for our 3 hour train ride:

After a fun train ride we Metro'ed our way to the hotel, got checked-in and headed out to see the Arc:



Per usual, the Arc was stunning at night:

After the Arc we stopped for a quick dinner and then back to the room to plan our next day. The following morning, armed with a flexible itinerary for the day, we headed out ready for some fun!

Our first stop was at:

Sainte Chapelle didn't disappoint! Although some of it has yet to be restored, the stained glass shone brightly with the warm Parisian sun spilling through.

From Sainte Chapelle we headed over to the Musee D'Orsay for some art appreciation. We wandered through Van Gogh's, Renoir's, Degas', and Monet's. Quite a lovely bunch of artists to enjoy! After all of that art, we had worked up a hearty (Ha! I had to.) appetite. The patisserie we passed didn't stand a chance!

Here we are with our adorably wrapped goodies:

And the pièce de résistance, a chocolate tarte and a pistachio eclair...SWOOOON:

In a heavenly French-pastry induced haze we made our way over to the Montmartre neighborhood to see Sacré-Cœur:

High above the rest of Paris, Sacré-Cœur provided stunning views of the sprawling city. We silently observed the beauty of the Basillica interior and then Joan and Brian made the steep trek up to the top of Sacré-Cœur for a great photo op:

Almost Paris'ed out for the day, we had one more (important!) stop before we could head back home. In stead of standing in a long line to visit the top of the Eiffel Tower we decided to grab a grassy seat on the lawn next to the Tower to soak up the grandeur:




Finally we lazily made our way back to the hotel for a relaxing night in the Executive Lounge. As we ate and drank, we mapped out our next day in Normandy, which we will post about later.

The day after Normandy we were back in sight-seeing mode in Paris. Our first stop of the day was Mass at Notre Dame. We had a very peaceful time listening to Mass in French surrounded by the uplifting grace of Notre Dame:

Fun celebrity sighting!! As Joan and I were walking around the apses of the Church (behind the altar) we saw James Franco being filmed on some teeny tiny camera. He was all decked out in a cool 40's looking suit and matching moustache. Good times!

From Notre Dame we crossed the Seine...

...and walked around until we found a fun little café to grab some lunch at. The next morning we hopped back on the bullet train headed for Stuttgart quietly replaying the fun memories we created in France. Cheers to a wonderful time in Paris with Joan!



Next stop: Normandy

**Congratulations to Emily!! You are the winner of the 200th-Post German Goodies. Thanks to everyone who shared a fun birthday memory!**

Joan: A Preview

We just spent a fantastic week with Joan and can't wait to share the images and tales. Per usual, there are tons of photos to go through and some thoughts to organize. For now though, here's a sneak peek of the last week...

There was play time with Toby:

There was also lots of enjoying the fall colors and the ridiculously mild late-autumn weather:

There was Paris:

And, there was Normandy:

Can't wait to get cracking on the next post, Joanie in Germany.
Happy November!

Cris & Randy: The Finale - An Impromptu Trip to Monaco

After a brilliant, late-night suggestion that Cris and Randy extend their trip in Europe for a week, we found ourselves on the road driving from St. Paul de Vence to Stuttgart via Monaco. What's a European vacation without a little unplanned excitement?! We were pumped. Not only would be get to hang out with my mom and Randy more, but we'd also get to visit Monaco, a place we'd talked about going to many times.

We pulled in to Monaco, checked-in, and enjoyed some snacks on our balcony looking out at the Mediterranean:

We then got ready for our fun night out. Dinner and a trip to the Casino were in order! We all got glammed up and made our way out on the town. After a few drinks and many Euros poorer, we decided to break from the gambling action and head to dinner. Dinner was a delight! Champagne and seafood all around. Refreshed with food and beverage, we made our way back to the Casino for Round Two. Here we are outside of the Casino (I didn't bring my camera out that night, so pleasebear with the iPhone photos):



We ventured back to the Casino to donate more of our money and people watch. The most interesting sight of the night: A mega-rich Italian man who walked in with his model girlfriend, sat down at his own private BlackJack table, and got 50,000 Euros worth of markers. THEN, 20 minutes in to his private game, he started pounding on the table and yelling at the dealer. I learned from a fellow onlooker that he was yelling "Impossible! Impossible! It is impossible to lose that many times!!" After his little tirade the pit boss let the dealer shuffle the deck and start fresh. What a little whiner!

Having gotten our fill at the Casino we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest. The quiet, glittering harbor was waiting up to say Bon Soir to us:



The next morning we loaded up the car and started the long, but gorgeous drive to Stuttgart. Once in Stuttgart we inundated my mom and Randy with German food and beer; we even squeezed in a trip to our favorite, Rothenberg!

We had a fantastic visit with Cris and Randy. Thank you both so much for sharing your European vacation with us!!

If you'd like to view all of our photos from our visit from our visit with Cris & Randy,
please click on this link:
Cris & Randy Photos

Cris & Randy: St. Paul de Vence - The Flora

The French Riviera is exquisitely accessorized with the strikingly vibrant flowers and plants. I went a little trigger-happy photographing all of the remarkable blooms.

Take a stroll through our French Garden:

Up next: Impromptu Trip to Monaco!