Normandy, France 20130821-0904

Some weeks ago we had dinner with our long-time-friends Jim and Michele. During dinner they described an upcoming trip to the Normandy area of France. After sitting through the description and fantasizing about what it would be like, I mentioned that we were envious. Jim stated that we could join them if we wanted. HELL YES!! So, we made plans to accompany them.

Our travel plans took us from San Diego to LAX and from there over the North Pole to Paris. We would spend a few days in Paris and then head to the Normandy area to see the war memorials as well as indulge in what the country is famous for: fine wines and cusine.

Trip Details

The link table below contains links to the photos and dialog for each of the days of the expedition. This table will be updated as the trip progresses.

**Links to Daily Adventures**
Part	Dates	Adventure Locations
1	20130821-23	San Diego, CA to Paris, France
2	20130823	Paris Walkabout
3	20130823-25	Van Gogh, Caen and Honfluer
4	20130825	Honfluer and Touville
5	20130826	Normandy Beaches
6	20130827	Mt. St. Michele
7	20130827	Vitre
8	20130828	Le Mans
9	20130828	Saumur
10	20130829	Chateau Chenonceau
11	20130830	The Gardens at Villandry and City of Tours, FR
12	20130831	Chateau Chambord
13	20130831	Tours and The Great Cathedral of Chartres

Europe is a very cool place. One of the interesting aspects of traveling there is that it puts the (short) history of the United States into tight context. Most of the large cathedrals took 2-3 times as long to build as the United States has been in existence. And it also reinforces the appeal of unsettled territories of the U.S. to locals and clearly highlights why there was a rush to immigrate. All the land in Europe had been claimed for hundreds or thousands of years therefore the only way to get your "own" land was to go somewhere else. Of course, all the land in North America had been claimed in the name of the European Kings, but those claims were difficult to enforce across the ocean.

Land ownership and in general the size of things is an issue in Europe. Everything is small and cramped compared to equivalent items in the U.S. Hotel rooms, bathrooms and streets are smaller. If you go, you should consider getting the smallest vehicle that will accomodate your personal items. We were challenged several times where our vehicle (medium sized by U.S. standards, a BMW 5 series) would not easily fit. Streets are narrow, turns are tight so beware.

Many thanks to Jim and Michele for inviting us along on their trip. And kudos to Michele for detailed planning that made things quick and easy.

Normandy, France

Seeing the places that made history during WWII

20130821-0901

The Trip

Trip Details