Normandy

Known as the site of D-Day in World War II - June 6, 1944........I was able to tour Normandy as part of the "Band of Brothers" tour. So, so sad to see the numbers of cemetery markers in the American cemetery. It was also remarkable to see such beautiful beaches, and how that beauty was pretty deceptive of the history.

A monastery and a town...surrounded by water?

I remember learning about this place when I was in middle school, and it fascinated me. Mont St. Michel is a monastery (still active today) that was built hundreds of years ago. It has become a bit commercialized - the monastery is at the top of the island, but you have to trek up the cobblestone roads filled wtih restaurants and souvenir shops to get there. It is a CLIMB - but the view is worth it. What's fascinating is that when the tide is low, you can easily access the island. However, when the tide is high, you can't reach it as it is surrounded by water. What a beautiful place!

Hampton Court

We were able to visit Westminster Abbey and Hampton Court today.

I couldn't take pictures inside the Abbey..but I wish I could have. So many memorials to famous artists, poets, diplomats, and royalty are there. It's absolutely breathtaking to see where Henry V and Edward the Confessor are buried. Of course, the gift shop was filled to the gills with Royal Wedding memorabilia. The abbey is just beautiful and I go back every time we are in England.

My son was excited about going to Hampton Court, home of Henry VIII and also William and Mary. This gave me an opportunity to test my knowledge of Henry VIII and all of his wives, but it was remarkable to see that many of the decorations/tapestries are original to the day. Even the chapel where Henry VIII learned about the concerns about his second wife is totally intact - and just beautiful.

My son enjoyed going in the maze, reminiscent of the maze in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

visiting a school!

Today I had the opportunity to visit a school in Sussex. It's a primary school with 200 children (they couldn't believe that Kensington has 750 - that's unheard of!) There were roughly 30 children in each classroom.

Two of the students took us around for a tour while my son was a celebrity of sorts on the Year Six room. After visiting the classrooms -including a garden and a pool - I had the opportunity to sit down with the principal. It was remarkable to see that we're fighting the same battles: accountability and testing, lots of paperwork, government working against teachers, and the budget. As a matter of fact, the school teachers in England are going on strike tomorrow due to a plan in the government that raises their retirement age to 66, with fewer benefits.

I did acquire a copy of their tests, so I'm looking forward to comparing these against ours. I'm also looking forward to a continued relationship with this school.

excitement at Harrod's

Harrod's is a famous department store in England. I love coming here because it's so fancy and so over the top -- it makes Nordstrom look like WalMart.

In addition to clothing and all of the typical department store stuff, there is also a food market that is extravagant, with all sorts of items from all over the world. You can also have dinner there (we did), but you have to be prepared. For example, my son likes scallops and that's what he ordered. He got one, I mean ONE, scallop. Poor kid. However, between how much the dollar isn't worth, and the prices of things at Harrod's, I'm hoping pearls start shooting out of his ears.

Regardless, Harrod's is quite the experience with the Egyptian escalator, the memorial to Princess Diana, and the amazing market!

Windsor, and the weather

This is my third time in England...and I have never dealt with rain, despite being told "It ALWAYS rains in England". Well, today, it happened...quite the downpour, outside of Windsor Castle.

However, that's okay. Windsor Castle is beautiful, and there was a special exhibition there in light of Prince Philip turning 90 this year. In addition, my family has been working on our geneology, and we have somewhat of a "royal tie"...so going to St. George's Chapel, where many royals are buried, was a neat experience.

It was nice to share this experience with my son. I've been to Windsor before, but this was his first time.

Tower of London visit

Today we visited the Tower of London. Now, I was there 14 years ago, but I saw so many changes that have taken place - so it was like a whole new visit.

We saw the following at this massive complex, sitting next to Tower Bridge:

1. Tower cells/prisons, including the one where Sir Walter Raleigh was held, and other cells where people were imprisoned for a time, sometime before their execution.

2. The site of the execution of Anne Boleyn, among others (the last time I was here, the STONE was here. Now there's a memorial statue)

3. Armour of various kings from Henry VIII through James I.

4. Crown jewels...so much opulence.

We also did a "Wall Walk" around roughly half of the perimeter of the complex.

Breakfast of Champions - London

If I can get over the technical difficulties...I will share a picture of the typical English breakfast (at least it's been advertised as such in numerous restaurants I have seen today):

- rashers of bacon
-bangers (sausage)
- a fried egg cooked on one side (yikes!)
- baked beans
-roasted tomato

Surprisingly, my son ate all of his...plus all of MY sausage. I hope he doesn't expect me to cook like this when we get home.

Sainte Chappelle

This beautiful church was actually built to hold relics collected during the crusades. Right next to it is the prison where Marie Antoinette and other victims of the guillotine were imprisoned.

Let's talk money!

In France, the unit of currency is the Euro.

The value of the dollar has dropped in recent years, so one Euro is worth roughly $1.75 US. For the sake of shopping here, I'm just multiplying the cost times 2.

So....in order to get one ice cream cone for all three of us...at 3 Euros each...that's 9 Euros in ice cream..but multiply that by 2, and this little treat was 18 dollars. Want a bottle of diet coke? That's 3.5 Euros...so roughly 6 to 7 dollars for the same size bottle we get for a dollar at home.

Let's just say it makes things interesting!

Crepes!

My son has had one thing on his agenda for France...other than the Louvre...and that was to GET A CREPE! After researching "Where to get the best crepe in Paris" for several hours last night, we found a part of Paris just filled with different creperies. This place was fun in that one side of the menu was savory crepes, and the other was sweet. While I opted for savory, you can see what my son opted for. Needless to say, he's a happy boy. Apparently he's been looking for a opportunity to start off a day with chocolate and whip cream.

First Day in Paris

Our plane landed at 6am Paris time...so without any sleep in the flights overseas, we found we had a full day ahead of us (and no hotel room yet!)

We spent the day visiting the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Fascinating fact about the Eiffel Tower: it will withstand strong, strong winds and will only expand by 6cm due to heat. I was surprised at the size of the tower, along with the fact that something so strong was built so long ago.

We were able to get amazing views of the city from the tower, and I hope to get some of those uploaded soon.

We spent the remainder of the day at the Louvre - a huge, overwhelming museum. There is so much to see there that you really need to have several days to fully enjoy and appreciate it. We focused on the Egyptian and Greek/Roman artifacts, plus a few important pieces like the Mona Lisa. I'll get those posted, but right now, it's 11pm Paris time...and we've been awake for 36 hours!!! We need to get some rest for tomorrow.

Flying through Iceland

We took IcelandAir from Boston to Paris - with a layover in Rejkavik.

As the plane lowered into Iceland - I saw everything was green - what ice? There were hot springs, and I could see volcanoes in the distance. As we landed at the airport, I was surprised to see what we were landing in a field of what appeared to be lavender.

Here is a picture of the sunset...at 11:30pm. As Iceland is so far north, the sun does not fully go down in the summer. So even when we left at 1:00 am...it was still clearly daylight!

And the travels have begun.....

Yesterday, we flew from Charlotte to Boston. We are fortunate enough to have family in Maine, so we were able to visit with them and have enjoyable conversation. Right now, we are sitting in a terminal in Logan Airport - Red Sox and Boston Bruin regalia everywhere - waiting to board Iceland Air. We'll fly into Rejkavik, have a two hour layover then head to Paris. The strange thing is...when we get to Paris, it will be 6:00 in the morning...so this will be a very long day! However, we tried to get caught up on some sleep on the way to the airport today (yes, that's my son, a former Kensington Knight and a current CMS Cavalier!)

We have brought copies of texts about the various historic sites in London, Normandy, and Paris (along with a copy of our ancestry), so we will do additional research on the flight there. We're looking forward to this great adventure!

Preparing for our trip!

We're in the final days of preparing for our trip!
Our itinerary is as follows:

June 25 - arrive in Paris, with a layover in Rejkavik, Iceland.
June 26 - Paris.
June 27- Paris, then taking the "Chunnel" to London!
June 28 - London
June 29 - Stratford-Upon-Avon (birthplace of William Shakepeare)
June 30 - Battle, England (surprisingly, the location of the Battle of Hastings, and where I will be visiting a school)
July 1 - England, then taking an overnight ferry into Normandy.
July 2- Normandy.
July 3 - Paris
July 4 - fly home, just in time for Independence Day!!!