Beaches of D-Day, Mont St Michel & Paris again! :)

Well now that we know we are truly headed back to the USofA we have been busy making arrangements! We officially have our return ticket booked and it is a ONE WAY ticket home!  Can you tell we are a little excited?  We are very glad to be heading to Savannah!  It is so funny because I have a friend here, Jennifer, who lived in the Savannah area and what a blessing it is to be able to bounce ideas/questions off someone who has already lived there!  I also hear from my sweet Allison that I am only 3.5hours away from her and her sweet new family!  I cannot wait!  Allison,  here I come!

So needless to say I have lost track of time a bit and we are headed to Portugal & Southern Spain on Friday.  Well...I haven't blogged about our last trip yet so once again I am down to crunch time!  I have another friend here Stephanie and she is so good about blogging all the time!  As for me I will continue to strive to the bar she has set by merely keeping up and posting as the trips occur...not months later!

Our latest trip was put together because my hubby had a speaking engagement at the University of Paris! Now we have already done "Paris" so we decided to spend our weekend out in the Normandy region of France.  More specifically we stayed in the city of Bayeux.  Now to date our French experiences had been less than stellar, but this trip made up for it ten fold!

We spent our first day just getting there and we stayed at a really nice little hotel in the small town.  Our first touring day was spent getting it all in...First stop was to tour the sites along the coast line.  We concentrated on Omaha beach.  We spent the first couple hours touring the museum and cemetery!  

Just outside the museum they have this and it reads...

"Our debt to heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid.  They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices."

Living here there is one thing I have realized!  There is no country that LOVES their country like we do!  There is no country that can compare with our patriotism and devotion!  I am so proud to be where I am from...I am an American and was never so proud as on this day on the beaches of Normandy!  Where so many lost their lives so that we can continue to be FREE.  

Here are Mark & Brooklyn...in the background you will see the cliffs!  The terrain in the area was unbelievable!  To think they had to come on shore and see that!  

Here is the family walking up to one of several actual German bunkers that held huge cannons.  

It was such a beautiful day!  Here is a view of the cemetery.  It is so beautifully done right at Omaha Beach!

Mark taking some time to reflect...

There were so many of these...too many in fact! It reads...

"Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God"

There is a beautiful semicircle monument called the "Garden of the Missing" where 1,557 names are etched for those soldiers who were never found! 

This is a view of Omaha beach from the Cemetery.  I never realized that it is rather steep here.  It wasn't as though they had a flat surface to conquer.  They were headed up the side of these hills and cliffs almost immediately!

Mark on Omaha Beach.

I was adamant that we hike down to the beach even though it was quite a trek.  In the end we were all thankful we didn't pass up the opportunity.  It was just unbelievable to imagine what happened on such a beautiful and peaceful place only 68 years ago!  Brooklyn picked up a rock for her Papa ( my grandfather).  She said "he would really like having a piece of this beach"  and I think she was right on!  

After our unforgettable experience at the beaches we hit the road for Mont St Michel.  Now I didn't know much about it but was pleasantly surprised to find it was actually a little city inside the fortress.  It is such an amazing sight as you drive up.

So many of you may know that when the tide comes in it is surrounded by water!!  Too neat! 

The kids chilling out inside the walls!

Here is my Doodlebug striking a pose in one of the little gardens inside!

Zach was our fearless leader back down!

Once again our trip was wonderful!  This trip ranks as one of our tops!  I am so glad we decided to take the time and go! We finished our trip back in Paris for the night!  The kids and I flew out the next day but not before we saw the Eiffel Tower one more time!!