July 25th - 26th - Paris, France

We have now returned to Paris, France to visit all the sights of Paris. This is where we spent our last two days of our European trip.

The morning started out with a visit to one of France's most important Roman Catholic shrines, Sacre-Coeur. It sits on the hillside and can be seen from all over Paris. The view of Paris from there was also spectacular.

From there we drove to down town Paris. This was a busy and fun day for Paris in that it was the finish day for the “Tour De France.” There were many streets we could not drive down but the excitement was fun to see. We parked and then begun our walk around the city.

We visited the famous “Notre-Dame.” They started the building of this in 1163AD and it took two centuries to complete. There has been some great events of French history taken place there, including the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. Again, another spectacular Cathedral.




































From there we walked to a building completely opposite in architecture from Notre-Dame, called “Centre Pompidou.” What a contrast to these two buildings. There are pipes, ducts, struts and a tubular escalator that scale the outside of the building. Inside are six floors of multiple exhibit areas, too big to see it all in a couple of hours, but we managed to enjoy one exhibit on the 6th floor.




















From there we headed back toward the main part of Paris. As we walked across the Seine River we notice people already standing in areas to see the bikers ride in. There was still about 3 hours before the first one would arrive but we could feel the excitement growing.














As we headed for the Eiffel Tower, we went passed the building that housed the tomb of Napoleon. It is still guarded, even though you can go in and walk around.


Can you tell which one is Napoleon?






Around the outside the grounds were beautifully landscaped.











You can also see the remains of a moat all around the building and grounds. (Tawni, here is what an unused moat looks like).










We finally reached the Eiffel Tower. We hoped to go up on top by the time the racers would come in so we could see them ride around the Arc de Triomphe but the line was really long that we had to waited in. We did make it up on top and we took pictures down at the Arc but we figured the winners had already arrived. It was still great to go to the top.




The Second day in Paris we went to the “Musee du Louvre”, which contains one of the world's most important art collections. It was first built as a fortress in 1190 and thereafter, four centuries of kings and emperors improved and enlarge the palace. It was first opened as a museum in 1793 and major renovations have been completed since then.












We spent the majority of the day there and still only saw a portion of it all. The famous “Mona Lisa” (c.1504) by Leonardo da Vinci was a must to see. Todd taught us how to run from place to place to see all the highlights, and that is just what we did.

What a day of culture we enjoyed and still had a little fun.



From there we drove down “Champs Elysees” to the “Arc de Triomphe” and drove around it. The Arc de Triomphe was first started a year after a great victory, the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Napoleon promised his men they would “go home beneath triumphal arches.” It was not completed until 1836 and now it is the customary rallying point for many victory celebrations and parades (including the Tour de France).

Back to our nice hotel to relax and prepare for our flight home tomorrow morning. I have really, really enjoyed our European trip and hope you all have enjoyed it with me. Love to you all. Over and Out!

July 24th - Travel Day to Paris

This was just a travel day to Paris.

July 23rd - Bayeux, France

The main reason we stopped in the small town of Bayeux, France was to see this Gothic Cathedral. Another, amazing, Cathedral!







Bayeux also was the first city in France to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy (see my next blog) during the Second World War.






On 16 June 1944 General Charles de Gaulle made his first major speech in Bayeux in which he made clear that France sided with the Allies. The buildings in Bayeux were virtually untouched during the Battle of Normandy, even though it was very close to that battle area.




The Bayeux War Cemetery with its memorial includes the largest British cemetery dating from the Second World War in France. We did not have time to visit it.

July 23rd - Normandy, France

Normandy Bay is a very historical area to visit and we became very emotional while we were there.

A little background history for my Grandkids:

On June 6, 1944 a successful invasion took place there that was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. It was commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower (later became President) and the invasion was called “Operation Overlord,” or as we know it as “D-Day.”

Over 100,000 Allied troops, made up by American, British, and Canadian troops, landed along Normandy bay at five different beaches on that June 6th day.

Now a few questions for my Grandkids to look up (go to http://www.enotes.com/topics/d-day for some answers.
1.How many ships carrying men and vehicles were there?
2.How many planes were there that carried men to parachute in?
3.How many men jumped out of those planes in parachutes?
4.How many planes dropped bombs on the Nazi German troops defending the beaches?
5.Who was the Nazi German leader the Allies were fighting against?










We walked along the shore where all of this took place. It was really hard to visualize all those troops invading on that single day but how important that was for the freedom of France.








As we walked up from the shore, we saw many of the bunkers that the Nazi Germans had made to fight from. We could still walk in some of them.









Some were very large rooms that lots of items (guns, ammunition, etc) could be stored.













There also stood two monuments in a small park area that overlooks Utah Beach. It honors the achievements of U.S. Corps that fought there.






A little further up the hill from the beach, the USA have built a very, nice building called the “Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.” With artifacts, videos, etc., it depicts the significance and meaning of “Operation Overlord” and honors the values and sacrifices that took place there.





The grounds around the visitor center were beautifully maintained along with the cemetery of the fallen servicemen and women. It was an emotional area to visit but it reminded us of how important freedom is to us all.

July 23rd Mont-St-Michel, France

Today we had a full day of visiting some historical and amazing sights. I am going to blog them in 3 different blogs because of the significance of each and my lack of free time to blog all three at one time.



Mont-St-Michel is one of the most enchanting sights in France. This is the island of Mont-Tombe where an abbey was built on top, which almost doubles the island in height. This island is now linked by a causeway so we can walk right up to it without waiting for the tide to go out.




Mont Saint Michel was built as a medieval castle. It has two large towers to defend the entrance to the castle.




It was also a monastery that had its greatest influence in the 12th and 13th centuries and was a renowned center of medieval learning.




The buildings of Mont St. Michel are constructed of granite and the crown of the abbey is 240 ft. above sea level. There are small homes and shops around the lower level. The population of the island is 41.

July 22nd - Travel France

Today was a travel day from Belgium to France. We have now visited 8 different Countries and we are returning back to France.






We took more of a coastal route along the North West part of France and ended in Caen, France. These are just a few pictures I took as we passed through Boulogne and surrounding area.








This city was built on the hillside with streets leading down toward the ocean. It reminded me of San Francisco, CA.









I really liked the flower boxes on each corner in Boulogne, France.

July 21st - Bruges, Belgium

We drove to Belgium today and when we arrived we learned it was “Belgium Day” (something like our 4th of July) and it was a big celebration all over Belgium. Instead of going to Brussels we headed toward the coast to the city of Bruges.








Bruges is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Belgium with its canals and winding lanes lined with medieval buildings.









In the 13th to 15th century, Bruges was the center of the international cloth trade, specializing in lace. In those golden years, they built lavished mansions, churches, and civic buildings which made Bruges the wonder of northern Europe.











We enjoyed walking around and taking pictures of every interesting building we could see. It was very clean and lots of people out in the open areas celebrating “Belgium Day”.










They had lots of entertainment going on in the open gathering areas and wonderful shops to walk in and out of.











They also had lots of outside cafes where people were sitting, enjoying the entertainment and one another.

J