Normandy Excursion - Day 2

One of my "must see" places to visit in Europe is the D-Day beaches of Normandy. Everyone has heard of the heroic invasion that began here, that led to the liberation of Europe in World War II, however to actually come and see it in person is quite the experience.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is the final resting spot of over 9,000 American military that lost their lives during the D-Day landings. The new Visitor's Center was our first stop and it houses a fantastic collection of exhibits and memorabilia that tells the story of the invasion and the influence that day had on world history.

Although the girls couldn't quite grasp what happened here, they could sense that this was a special place where something very extraordinary happened...

The cemetery is located on the cliffs overlooking Omaha Beach, where the majority of Americans came ashore that day. To look at this beautifully scenic beach today, it is hard to imagine how different it was 65 years ago.

We stopped to pay our respects to those that gave their lives and we visited the other areas of the Memorial as well.

It really is worth stopping by to see when in France.

As we left the Memorial, we saw several Cider farms along the country side and decided to stop off and sample the famous ciders of the region.

We tried the samples and ended up choosing some Apple wine and some Apple/Banana juice for the girls to take home with us to Belgium

Our next stop was to Pointe Du Hoc, the site where 225 US Rangers scaled a 35m cliff to take down a German artillery battery site, only to find that the guns had all been previously moved!

However, they did take the site but suffered some heavy casualties defending the spot, losing 2/3 of their batallion.

"Hey, where are the guns?"

The site is on clifftop with panoramic views of both Omaha and Utah Beaches. On the day we visited, the sea winds were quite strong and we had to hold tight to DS and PS so they wouldn't blow away!

Hang on!!!

Today, there is a monument in memory of these Rangers and their mission that day...

Finally, with enough war stories to last us awhile, we headed down towards Mont St Michel and arrived just as the sun was setting down. Our first glimpse of this beautiful stucture was quite breathtaking!

Tomorrow, we will be up early to explore the grounds...

Normandy Excursion - Day 1

When Jo said she wanted to visit the Normandy region of France, I figured that all there was to see was the D-Day beaches and the American cemetery. Boy, was I wrong!



Located along the English Channel coast in Northern France, the Normandy area is famous for its' beautiful scenery, delicious cheeses and apple cider. And of course, it was the locale where the Allied forces landed in WWII, signaling the turning point of the war in Europe.



The white alabaster cliffs of Etretat was our first stop. A charming coastal village, Etretat's cliffs are famous for resembling the trunk of an elephant.



If you look real hard at the cliffs in the background, you can see the elephant trunk...



We arrived early and were greeted by some beautiful weather and calm seas. We hiked up the cliff to get a better view and found a charming lookout, just adjacent to an old church.







We bought some take away (to-go) pizzas and paninis at a small snack shop and had a "picnic" lunch on the boardwalk. There are so many great places here where you can just sit on a bench and get treated to some nice scenery as you enjoy your lunch.

After lunch, we jumped back into the car and headed a little further south to Honfleur, a charming fishing port and harbor town.





After driving through some REALLY narrow streets in town, we found our home for the evening, the Hotel Monet.



From here, we parked the car and were able to walk into town to do some exploring. We checked out the harbor, the church and some of the local shops.



And of course, to take some more pictures...





For dinner, La Commanderie was a highly recommended restaurant, but wasn't quite open yet. As the Europeans typically eat dinner much later than we are accustomed to, we usually have to do a bit of waiting outside...



Our next stop will be to visit the American cemetery at Omaha beach, as we make our way to see Mont St Michel. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw Normandy. But nothing could have prepared me for the jaw-dropping beauty of Mont St Michel!

More to come...

Off to Elba!!!

This evening, Jo and diving buddy Tor left for their whirlwind, 3-day trip to Elba island, just off the coast from Tuscany, Italy, for some scuba diving and also some well-deserved R&R from their "mommy" duties.

Which means I am left watching the girls til Sunday! Thank god for Wii...

4 Splendid Days in Normandy, France...

As our Belgium Adventure is coming towards an end (gosh, it hurts to say that)... we are getting in those last few "must-see" trips before we go.

And since ISB was closed on Thursday and Friday, we decided to take this chance to visit Normandy, France.

For weeks, I was filled with excitement in anticipation of this trip, as this was someplace I have always wanted to go. To be honest, I didn't think this trip was going to happen as we only have a few more months here and the weather is now "hit-or-miss" since it's so late in the year.

With the exception of one cloudy day, we were blessed with beautiful weather! And due to a carefully planned itinerary, we were able to visit Etretat, Honfleur, Omaha Beach, Pont Du Hoc, Mont-Saint-Michel, St. Malo and Rouen. This trip was extra special since we were traveling during low season with hardly any crowds!

Although the entire trip and each place we visited was spectacular, I will never forget seeing Mont-Saint-Michel in person. Truly a destination you must see while you are in France...

Stay tuned to hear about our trip...

Out for some fresh air...

Today we were having some friends over for dinner, so Jo took the girls out for a bit while I tidied around the house...

Later in the day, I received an email with this picture of the girls apparently having fun at Technopolis, a hands-on science museum here in Mechelen (and one of their favorite places to visit).

I thought it was funny, because that's probably what they would be doing at home if Jo hadn't taken them out today...

Field Trip to the Antwerp Zoo

One thing I love about the schools here in Belgium is that the children get to go on several field trips during the year.

Earlier this week, the first graders at ISB went to the Antwerp Zoo. Established in 1843, this zoo is the oldest animal park in Belgium and is located right in the heart of Antwerp right next to its central railway station.

Antwerp Central Railway Station

I try to participate in DS' class as much as possible and since I had not been here before, I took this opportunity to chaperone the trip. My group of five kids from DS' class had a great day exploring this lovely intimate zoo. The zoo had several old buildings in beautiful surroundings and housed a wide variety of animals such as lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes, birds, camels, hippo's, and penguins, just to name a few. According to my group, the highlight of the day included the nocturnal house, the aquarium, and the sea lion show.

And of course, the playground was a big hit, too!

The World's Largest Auto Show

The Frankfurt Motor Show is also known as the largest auto show in the world. In fact, it's so big, they only throw it every other year...



It's not every day you can go to the World's largest auto show, so I decided to take a day off from work and make my way to Frankfurt, Germany. Normally a 4-hour drive from Brussels, instead I opted for a $228 roundtrip ticket on a high-speed train to Frankfurt.



It all sounded good until you account for all the stops along the way. After all that, it only saved you an hour to get there. (If you count the time it took me to get from Frankfurt station to my hotel, well, lets just call it even!!!)

Logic says that a Tuesday afternoon at the auto show should be relatively empty. But, I forgot to take into account that this is "car-crazy" Germany! The place was absolutely PACKED!!!



I have been to the LA Auto Show on what I thought was a crowded Sunday - it's nothing compared to the crowds at the Frankfurt show.





Anyways, I saw some interesting vehicles, that I wouldn't mind having. Like this really cool VW van/camper (the girls would just love this...)



And also some really nice classic Mercedes convertibles (they sure don't make them like they used to...)



I even tried my hand at some German 4-wheelin'...



And I wondered why would anybody want an Oscar Meyer wiener when you can have real German bratwurst?



All in all, it was an interesting day and something to check off my "bucket list." But, I think I just made my first and last trip to the Frankfurt Motor Show....