We are having a great time on holiday in Paris! Avery's two weeks of French class hasn't exactly paid off and my 2 years of high school French have long been forgotten! But, we are managing to communicate with the locals. It has rained a little each day (just enough to don the raincoats and wellies), but the weather has been ok. Yesterday we enjoyed climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, viewing the Eiffel Tower, and shopping on the Champs de Élysées. The climb up the Arc is pretty exhausting since it is a spiral climb of about 12 stories high. Avery got dizzy and I tried to fake a pulled hammy so Bruce would carry me, but he was on to that plan! The shopping was good therapy for a faked injury. Bruce said the shopping actually made him feel dizzy and caused a serious injury to the checking account. At least I did not buy the 36,000 euro watch at Cartier. It is the most famous street in the world and easily could be the most expensive. Our lunch of pasta and pizza was 70 euros! We ended day one with a nice evening cruise down the Seine River then off to a good dinner.
Day 2 was a guided tour to visit the D-Day beaches and museum in Normandy. It was an incredible trip full of emotions. The day was a mixture of sun and rain. You could not help thinking of what must have been going through the soldier's minds as they approached the landing. We visited several of the German installations which were left as they were at the end of the war. You could really see the advantage they held high up on the cliffs overlooking the beaches. Our soldiers fought on and sustained many casualties over the first days of the war. This point was drove home as you can see from all of the white crosses (almost 10,000) at the American Cemetery and memorial. It was a great teaching moment for Avery about what it means to sacrifice for a greater cause. It made us think of our grandfathers who served during WWII.
Stay tuned for the remainder of the trip.
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