Adventures in Europe; Day 8

Buses, Beaches, and Art I don't understand

Day 8 started bright & early.  We had scheduled a group bus tour to Normandy and had to meet at 6:45 in the morning.  Early, right?

We made it to the bus and started our 3-hour drive across the French country side.  It was beautiful... what I saw of it... I slept through a lot of it.

Our first stop was a museum where we learned a lot about World War 1 & 2.  It was really interesting to learn about it from the perspective of the French.  We probably could have spent all day there.  But after a couple of hours we were scheduled for lunch. 

I wish I would have taken pics of lunch.  The French are serious about lunch.  We sat at tables set with china and nice linens and bottles of wine on every table.  You know I'm down with a country that's down with day drinking.

After lunch we made our way out to the beaches to learn about the D-Day invasions.  Our first stop was Pointe Du Hoc, the part of Omaha Beach that has steep cliffs.  Our guide was great and shared all kinds of information.

One of the guns set up by the Germans.

It was so crazy to actually walk around on the same ground where so much history happened.  The land was still littered with huge craters from when the Allies had bombed the area the night before D-Day.

Bomb Crater.

The Nazi bunkers are still standing along the banks.  This is where the German soldiers stayed and kept watch over the beaches.

German Bunker.

The area was gorgeous.  There were steep cliffs that American soldiers had to scale in order to access the land.

Cliffs at Pointe du Hoc.

Exploring the cliffs.



Inside the Nazi bunker

From there we traveled further down Omaha beach.  It was absolutely crazy to see that the area had been commercialized and is now full of vacation rentals.  It just seemed bizarre that people would want to vacation in the exact spot where so many people had been killed.



Omaha Beach

Memorial on the beach.

Omaha Beach.

Omaha Beach.

We visited several beaches and learned more about the history there.  We also visited a cemetery for American soldiers that died in France.  It was overwhelming how large the cemetery was. 

American cemetery in Normandy.

Normandy was absolutely beautiful.  The land is broken up with hedgerows that are dense areas of bushes that made it extremely difficult for the Allied soldiers to get through the area.  They had to specially equip their tanks in order to cut through the thick hedgerows.

Hedgerows in Normandy.

I loved this statue of Mary.  After occupying France, the German soldiers took her down so that she couldn't be used as a land marker by the Allies.  That's why she made it through the war and was able to be put up again after it was over.

Statue of Mary.

Our final stop was at Juno Beach, where Canadian soldiers had landed on D-Day.  This shows how much I don't know about history, but I hadn't even realized that Canada was involved in the war.  So it was cool to learn about just how involved they were.

Drew at Juno Beach.

Juno Beach.

After a long day of touring and learning, we boarded the bus and headed back to Paris.  This trip was one of the best things we did while in Europe.  I loved seeing the French country side and seeing history close up.  Both Drew & I are pretty interested in WW2 history, so the whole thing was pretty fascinating.  It was incredible to stand on the beaches where so many people fought bravely for the freedom of so many.

By the time we got back to Paris it was 10:00 PM.  However, it was still so light out!  We didn't even feel tired.  Our bus dropped us off near the Louvre, so we decided to walk through the Tullerie Gardens and check out the scene. 

The garden is absolutely beautiful with tons of interesting (???) sculptures and fountains.  Yet another place in Europe where people are drinking and hanging out. 

I don't understand art.

And that was our day.

Lessons Learned:
1.  Bus tours start early and the French are NOT okay with you being late.
2.  Old people on bus tours don't know how to take pictures.  Make sure you check your camera.
3.  The French used to have to fight off naked Centaurs.

Adventures In Europe; day 7

Rue Cler, The Eiffle Tower, and Scam Artists Galore

We caught our 6:00 AM train without any problems.  Well, maybe one problem... we ran into our very first pay-toilet in Europe.  Drew had to sneak into this pay-for-your-pee bathroom because we'd spent all our Franks (probably on chocolate).

Ha ha ha.

The train ride was long and uneventful, but it was pretty cool to see the Switzerland and France from the train.  We arrived in Paris, and maneuvered the train station & tube to get to our hotel. 

We did start to get the feeling that maybe we attract the crazies on the tube.  We had a guy hop on and give some sort of speech or rant or something... it was in French so we couldn't figure out what he was talking about.  Then he hopped off at the next stop, still shouting.  In London we'd gotten flipped off by a super scary guy on the tube.  This led to the very serious rule of traveling: The tube is not for people watching.  Seriously, hold onto your stuff and look at the floor.  Do not stare and for goodness sake never make eye contact.

After checking into our hotel we hit the streets.  I'd found a guided walk in our guide book of a street called Rue Cler and I fell in love with the descriptions.  This was our first stop in Paris and thank goodness, because it absolutely became our favorite destination.

People in France don't really shop in big grocery stores.  They have little neighborhood shops that sell items individually.  Like, they have a fromagerie (cheese shop), boulangerie (bakery), charcuterie (butcher), and wine shop.  The French are totally into fresh food, so they will stop on their way home to pick things up for dinner.

Flower Shop!

It is customary in France to take flowers to someone when you visit their home, so there are also tons of flour shops.  The flowers were amazing.

Fresh fruit!

The French are said to "shop with their noses".  They like to pick up produce and give it a good sniff to check for freshness. 

Oh la la!

Above is a charcuterie, which typically means butcher.  These shops also sell tons of mouthwatering deli sides to go.  We drooled over the cases of fresh salads and exotic sides.

Speaking of drooling...

And let's not forget about the most important shop of all; the patisserie.  This is where you will find all of the amazing French pastries such as macaroons and chocolate croissants.  This is where it's at!

More drool-inducing goodies at the Patisserie.

Probably our most important discovery on Rue Cler was Cafe Du Marche.  Paris is littered with open-air cafes, and we claimed this one as ours.  The service was friendly, the food was good, and the wine was plentiful.  What more could you ask for in a Paris cafe?



 

I love you!

After getting our fill of the wonderfulness of Rue Cler, we headed for another Paris icon.

Oh hello there!

Our hotel was less than a mile from the Eiffle Tower, making it an easy walk.  We instantly fell in love.



Love Love Love!

The tower is set behind a huge span of green lawn.  The lawn is covered with people.  Some are drinking, some are napping, some are picnicing, some are making out, and some are even doing CrossFit.  There are also tons of food vendors and people trying to sell you things or get you to sign a petition (this is a scam, walk away!).

We stopped so Drew could get some French Fries.

When in Rome France...

And Drew made the best discovery of all; sorbet!  There are tons of gelato and ice cream stands, which he can't have because of the whole no-dairy thing.  BUT, most of them also offer sorbet, which he discovered he loves!  Thankfully he could enjoy this while I was getting my fill of pastries and crepes.



Sorbet at the Tower.

We aren't the greatest planners when it comes to trips.  We kind of just go with the flow.  So after spending some time at the Eiffle Tower, we decided to make the short (ish) walk to the French Army Museum.  It was a beautiful building on the other side of our hotel. 

Army Museum.

Unfortunately, by the time we arrived, it had already closed.  Paris will mess you up on time.  It gets light at about 4:30 in the morning and stays light well after 10:00 at night.  It was so bizarre. 

 

So instead of the museum, we headed back to the Eiffle Tower to enjoy the evening.  On our way we were confronted by a French man who tried to pull the "gold ring" scam on us.  I had been so worked up about pick-pockets and scam artists the entire time we were in Europe, that it was actually kind of exciting to actually have a scam attempted on us.  I know, I'm easily amused. :)

 

 

Lessons Learned:

1.  Keep some change handy because sometimes you have to pay to use the bathroom.

2. The Tube is NOT for people watching.

3.  Check museum closing times and don't let the late-night sun fool you into thinking it's early.

4.  Read up on tourist scams, they are real!!!

What I Wore In Europe

Before our trip to Europe, I did a bit of shopping.  However, I think I was a bit delusional about what our trip was going to entail.  I didn't think about weather or the activities we'd be doing.  I was shopping like we were going to Hawaii and bought lots of colorful sundresses.  Not exactly Euro-chic.

 

After checking the weather and doing a bit of research I realized I was planning all wrong.  I think I over thought it a bit because I started planning for weather extremes and taking it too seriously when I read something about Europeans wearing mostly neutral colors.  I ended up packing almost nothing but neutrals.  Oops. 

 

Anyway, here's what I wore.

 

1.  Travel Clothes & London Site Seeing



Grey T-Shirt Dress, Leggings, Boots, and greasy plane-hair

I hadn't planned on wearing this outfit except for the plane ride, but since we couldn't get into our hotel until much later, that's what I ended up wearing all day.  It was a bit warm, so my jean jacket is strewn over my purse.  You will be seeing a lot of that jean jacket.

2.  London Site-Seeing & Bus Tour



Striped Shirt, Black Jeans, Chucks.

Those Chucks are like the only colorful thing I brought!  Not pictured is my jean jacket. :)


3.  Tour of London/Market Fun

Black Skirt, Grey Tee, and Sperrys.

The weather would change so much throughout the day that I literally wore that stinkin' jean jacket everywhere.  It would get hot and I'd take it off.  It would get cold and I'd put it on.  All day, every day.

4.  Travel Day to Switzerland.

Grey T-shirt Dress, again.

Don't be grossed out, but I re-wore a lot in Europe.  In fact, I wore the exact same thing on the way to Switzerland as I did on the way to London.  When we got to Switzerland it was HOT and I stripped off my boots and leggings as soon as we got to our B&B.

5.  Sky Diving

Super Hot Jump Suit.

The only day I wore anything colorful, and it was provided by the company. :)

6.  Jamie's Swiss Uniform


Black half-zip, North Face Pants, Mizunos.

I seriously wore this almost every second we were in Switzerland.  My friend Julie had been to Switzerland the summer before and lent me the pants for hiking.  I wore them a lot. 

 

This also gave my jean jacket a much-needed break.  I Febreezed the heck out of it and let it air out on the balcony for 3 days.

 

7.  Travel to Paris

 

Black Dress, Leggings, Scarf, Boots.

I spiced up the travel outfit by swapping the grey t-shirt dress for a black dress and adding a scarf.  I know, I'm crazy like that.  We were able to check into our hotel after arriving to Paris, but I decided to stick with this outfit.  I'm pretty sure Drew is holding my jean jacket.

 

8.  Day Trip to Normandy

 

Striped top, jeans, Chucks, and grey blazer.

This is just another variation of outfit #2.  Although, all of these outfits are pretty much just variations of each other.  To spare the good people of France the site of a Canadian Tuxedo, I opted for a grey jacket today instead of the jean jacket.  Are you sick of seeing black, white, and grey? 

9.  Rainy Day in Paris

Striped Dress, JJ, Sperrys.

This was the dumbest outfit choice ever.  I love this dress, but it rained almost all day and I was flopping around in my dress and Sperrys.  And the jean jacket, of course.  I put my hair up in a sock bun but the rain did a number on that too.  It half-way fell in the back and I'm sure I looked like an idiot until I finally pulled the whole thing out and just wore a ponytail.  

10.  Last Day in Paris

Black Polka Dot Top, Black Jeans, Sperrys, JJ

Another all-neutral outfit!  You can't see my shoes, but I'm wearing Sperrys.  By the end of the second day in a row of walking around in them all day my feet were killing me!  They are comfy enough, but they rubbed my toes and the backs of my heels.  So I switched into flip flops before we headed out for dinner. 

 

I know, right?  You can't wear flip flops in Paris!

 

Other than the utter lack of color in my wardrobe, I was actually pretty pleased with what I packed.  I felt like I had comfy clothes to wear for site-seeing that also carried into the evening.  It would have been fun to dress up and go out at night, but that would have required a bit too much effort.  And we didn't actually go anywhere a night that required more.

 

If I could do anything differently, I would have packed WAY less shoes!  I was so concerned with all the walking we were going to do that I definitely over packed in that area.  I brought 5 pairs (boots, Chucks, Sperrys, running shoes, flip flops) and could have probably done with just 2 or 3.  I guess it's better to be over-prepared than under, right?

 

I'd also add some damn color.  I sort of make Europe seem depressing!