Normandy Through the Ages

Arya officially chose Paris for her birthday, but we knew from there we’d launch into some northern France (and beyond!) locations as well. Our first stop was the Normandy region and our first destination was Mont Saint Michel.

For those of you who have been loyal readers of this blog all year, you’ll remember when we visited Carcassonne and Avignon I had giddy 9-year-old Dave excitement because they were so Medieval and fairytale like. Mont Saint Michel (MSM for short from now on because I’m lazy) is the same sort of deal and 9-year-old Dave was again going crazy!

Unlike Carcassonne, MSM is not a castle but rather an abby. What makes it unique and extra cool is that it’s located on a mound of land that sits in a very shallow coastline area of the English Channel. So shallow that during low tide, the water’s edge is a few miles out, but at high tide, the mound becomes an island!

The original abby (which was built in 800 AD) and the more “modern" one (from ca. 1200 AD) is at the top of the mount. Over the years a town built up below to house pilgrims who came to visit and the whole town is surrounded by a wall to keep out invaders and the sea. The town is full of very thin side streets, buildings with entrances from the street or from the ramparts, portcullises, shops, taverns, the whole bit (and of course some of it is cheesy tourist traps now, but such is the way of things).

Most people who visit will come for an afternoon, wander through town to the top, visit the abby, then head home. We actually got a room in a hotel on the island so we were able to be there after hours when all was quiet and the whole place was lit up (and even later not lit at all!). It was quite an experience to get to wander the streets almost empty at night, it made the 9-year-old illusion of going back in time even cooler.

The abby itself is impressive. Very large, very open. It seems old. It seems like monks lived there (they did, and a few still do). Lots of passages, some great views out to the channel. However the tide change was the real star. When we went in to eat dinner, the tide was still too far out to see the water. When we came out after dinner maybe an hour later, we were on an island! In fact, the tide came up so high one of the main entrances to the city was blocked! 

...I feel like all this explaining really doesn’t do any of this justice, nor do the pictures. Should you find yourself in Normandy, go out of your way to visit, it’s worth it. And if you’ve got the day to spare, splurge to stay in the hotel!

From MSM, we went up to our last French stop in Bayeux. This small town is known for pretty much one thing, the Bayeux Tapestry. I actually visited the tapestry once before many years ago and that time I remember being underwhelmed. Perhaps that’s because I was 18, on a quick stop of a tour, and had no guide to explain anything to me. It was just a big long tapestry. This time however we got the included audio guide which talks you through each section of 230 foot masterpiece. It’s basically a Medieval comic strip that tells the story of William the Conqueror becoming the king of England starting with King Edward the Confessor declaring him heir to the throne, through the Battle of Hastings in which William conquered (get it?) the Saxons lead by Harold who was trying to claim the throne for himself…and as I type that, it kind of sounds lame. A long wall hanging with pictures of old English history? What a hoot! But at least for me, it was a cool site and I learned way more from that than I did in my high school world history class!

(stole this pic from online, couldn't take real ones in person)

Just outside of Bayeux is Pont du Hoc, Omaha Beach, and the D-Day Memorial Cemetery. For the non-World War II buffs in the audience, Pont du Hoc is a point that sticks out in the English Channel right between Omaha and Utah beaches, the two beaches where the Americans landed during the D-Day invasion. The site, while on French soil, is controlled by Americans to this day and acts as a memorial to the events of June 6, 1944. This strategic location held several gun emplacements that could open fire on both American landing sites. To prevent that threat, a small team of elite rangers snuck on to the point a few hours in advance of the Allied fleet to take over the large guns and prevent it being a threat. Longer story short, they were successful, but only after landing at the wrong point initially, lots of extra time, and large casualty to the team. What remains now are the German bunkers and a lot of bomb craters from the bombing runs that preceded the ranger’s mission. It was quite interesting to see the actual locations and to picture what it would’ve been like to be either a German soldier or a ranger during the mission. And as they have been all the year, the girls impressed me with their ability to process and understand (as much as kids their age can) the importance of the base.

From there, we visited Omaha Beach which today looks like any other beach you may have visited. Of course on D-Day it was the site of the most problematic (and now famous) of the five Allied landing sites. So strange that if one didn’t know the story of what went on there 71 years ago, there is little to tell you that it was a place where over 4,000 US soldiers lost their lives in only a few days.

Which brings us to our last stop of the tour, the Memorial Cemetery. What a beautiful tribute to those who fought for us so many years ago. There is a Wall of the Missing for those who are MIA from the day. The sheer size of that wall and the number of names it has listed alone is overwhelming. 

Then there is a central statue that represents the spirit of American youth which is particularly striking thanks to it’s beauty in the midst of something so terrible.

And of course there is the cemetery itself which is row after row of grave site. Aesthetically it’s beautiful. The perfect rows and symmetry are almost mesmerizing and the extremely well tended grounds are pristine. For better or worse, I’m not one to be overly patriotic most of the time, but I found myself feeling a strong sense of pride for our country after our visit.

And to end on a slightly more upbeat note, our hotel in Bayeux had a little kids play area in the lobby. Something most people probably walk by and never notice. Ashley and Arya however not only noticed, but discovered a set of wood blocks cut sort of like dominoes. They decided to make those dominoes and that area their new home. Any time we were in the hotel they would make their way there and just create domino train after domino train. 

After days full of Medieval and world wars, it was nice to be reminded to appreciate the little things that give us so much happiness every day.

Paris for My Birthday

For my birthday we went to Disneyland Paris!

We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel.

Here are some things I enjoyed. Crush’s Coaster is one of my favorite rides at any roller coaster park. You sit in a shell and spin around while you’re on a dark roller coaster. It goes really, really fast! I was closing my eyes though so I didn’t see what was there. Another ride that I liked was Big Thunder Mountain. The one in Paris is different than the one in California because when you start you go down into a tunnel that takes you under the water and the actual ride is on an island! We went on it 5 or 6 times! RC Racer is a half loop where you go back and forth up both sides. It’s kind of hard to explain, but really fun! Ashley also went on Tower of Terror for the first time, but I was still a little too scared. The saddest part was that Space Mountain, which  is different than in California and has a loop, was closed!

While we were at Disneyland, I got to meet Goofy, Pluto, Donald, and Mickey! My favorite Disney character is Pluto. I had a Pluto pen for my autograph book and he thought that was silly. Donald gave me a really big hug!

Another fun thing we did at The Studios (Dad note: that’s the other Disney park in Paris next door to Disneyland Paris, similar to the one in Florida at Disney World) was the Artist Studios. We learned to draw a bunch of Disney characters including Stitch, Winnie the Pooh, Daisy, and Mickey. We went back over and over because it was so fun!

After Disneyland, we went to the city of Paris. It was one of my favorite cities we’ve been to this year! We arrived there on May 15, which is the day before my birthday. That night we had a scheduled time to go up the Eiffel Tower which was at 11:00 at night. 

We went up only to the second floor because our tickets didn’t get us to the very top. We took pictures and got to look through a telescope around Paris and saw the Arc de Triomphe and Notre Dame. We stayed up there long enough that the minute I turned 8 I was on the Eiffel Tower! 

It was very fun!

The next day we went to the Louvre, a very famous museum which has so, so, so, so much art, including the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo.

The room with the Mona Lisa was very crowded. We had to wait a long time to get to the front of the crowd to see it.

Before we went to the museum I picked out a statue of a blue hippo I saw online that I wanted to find when we visited. It was in the Egyptian section of the museum. We started looking and couldn’t find it. Do you see it yet? Nope! Keep looking…still can’t find it. Up levels, down levels. Nope! Finally we found it in the last room of the Egyptian section. We actually think the one we found isn’t quite the right one because it didn’t look exactly right and there was a sign next to the one we found that said another one was on loan to another museum.

Close enough!

We also went to the Arc de Triomphe, which is on the Champs Élysées.

Also Notre Dame where I got a birthday cupcake with a candle and we got to tour the bell tower.

We also went on a boat tour where everyone went “Wooooooooooo!” any time we went under a bridge. Another day we went to Versailles which was the palace of King Louis XIV and was very boring and crowded.

We stopped at the Centre Pompidou which has very modern art that is very cool.

Paris is definitely one of my favorite cities we’ve gone to!

A Tour of the Wall

The number one reason we picked Lucca for our European sabbatical? Here it is. Lucca’s wall. Over the last nine months, we have pretty much lived in a town surrounded by a big park. This mainly pedestrian city was fortified by a wall which had it’s early beginnings in the second century BC. It was then completely replaced in Roman times with a medieval wall with work lasting from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. The wall we enjoy today was expanded during the Renaissance, part of a greater expansion of Lucca, and was completed in 1650. There is a lot of history here! Not only are the walls amazing, but the area surrounding the walls is free from development and is a protected green space. 

Our apartment is just down the street from an entrance to the wall. We can see out our window all the runners, bikers, and strollers that pass by everyday. We can see the many breeds of dog that are walked, and we enjoy watching people buy gelato when Marco is out with his cart.

Here are five other reasons why we LOVE Lucca’s walls and why we think you would too!

It can be enjoyed anytime of the year. There are two distinctive sections of the wall. The old side has big, well established trees which keep the lane shady anytime of day, so even when it’s hot and humid out, it feels cool and relaxing. The opposite side of the wall is new(ish). It has wide, expanded road which is great for kids on training wheels and those touristy four person bicycle carts. The trees here are only five to ten years old which allows the lane to receive full sun the majority of the day. For a runner (which I sometimes claim to be), it’s tempting to just run the shady side when it’s hot and the sunny side when it’s cold!

shady side

sunny side

It’s a kids paradise. Within a stone’s throw of the wall there is access to several playgrounds as well as stand alone swing sets on the wall itself. Around every turn medieval forts and ruins make for great places to play hide and seek, explore, build fairy houses or make believe. 

Makes for a romantic date. Be it picnic lunch, midnight stroll, or mid-afternoon nap, you and your honey can find a little piece of nature and intimate conversation. Being so close to the wall, Dave and I have taken advantage of getting out for a walk or run sans listening ears anytime our apartment feels a little too cramped. Even if the wall is busy, it’s a breath of fresh air! If you’re getting hungry, or in the mood for an apartif, there are several nice restaurants right on the wall. Want to take in some art? There are seasonal exhibits and shows in buildings on the wall. Or, you can also enjoy spying the terrace gardens on the surrounding villas and apartments.

Not only trees and flowers, but animals too! Yes there are a lot of trees. And in the spring, right after Easter, the wildflowers take over. It’s breathtaking. We’ve also found worms, bugs, and many species of birds. But beyond that, there is also the Lucca Botanical Garden right next to the wall, just a few blocks from our apartment. Along with exotic trees an flowers, there is a huge pond with fish and turtles!!! The turtle is Ashley’s favorite animal and they are abundant here. The girls love popping into the garden and watching the turtles climb up onto a lily pad or hoping that one makes his way onshore. If that’s not enough excitement for you, we have a resident muscovy duck that lives next to the canal that has his own house. The locals leave him food and our girls have named him Sam.

The Sunday afternoon stroll. In Europe, Sundays are kept as a day to slow down and spend time with family. Many stores and restaurants are closed. You will find this especially true in small towns. In Lucca, this is an opportunity to get out with your family and your dog for a walk around the wall. We have seen more dogs here, and many breeds we are unfamiliar with, than we are accustomed to. It was not too long after moving here that we decided we wanted to get a dog when we got back to the states. If you’re looking for a time to have the wall to yourself, avoid Sunday afternoon and evening. But, if you’re a local wanting to socialize, this is the time to get out. There is nothing else going on in town so might as well check in with all your friends and neighbors and get some exercise too!