Sorry I haven't written about my weekend trip to Normandy and Brittany...I was really tired when I got back. This will probably be a long post....just warning you.
Saturday 11/7:
I woke up at 6:30 ish and got ready to leave. I planned on leaving the apartment at 7:15 to make it to the bus on time. Well, I didn't end up leaving until 7:25, and was late getting to the bus. I had to run through the metro and because I had to transfer twice. It was 7:55 (I was supposed to be at the bus at 7:45) when I was standing on the last platform waiting for the RER B. This guy asked me in a horrible French accent "Pardonez moi, parlez Anglais?" I told him yes and he asked if he was going the right direction to get to the airport. I told him yes and then we started talking. He turned out to be from Chicago.....SMALL WORLD! when he said that I was like OMG NO WAY!!!!! I think the people on the train were a little annoyed with me because we were really loud. He was here for vacation for two weeks and now was heading back home. I got off the RER and ran like a crazy person through the station. I made it to the bus at 8. I was so worried that I was the last one there but I wasn't. Someone ended up being 25 minutes late so I didn't feel so bad. We left and just about everyone fell asleep. I looked out the window for a while because I like to do that and everything looks so different when you get outside of Paris....there are actually blue skies and grass...unbelievable! It was a 3 hour bus ride to Memorial de Caen, which is a WWII museum. It was very nice. I had lunch there and watched this movie that showed how the US, British and Canadian soldiers came into France from the beaches and helped France defeat Germany. I learned a lot. I was a bit upset though because I wanted to have more time to look around the museum. I felt like I was being rushed. There were a lot of cool artifacts to look at but I really didn't get the chance because we were on such a tight schedule. We left the museum and headed to our next destination.
It was an hour drive to Colleville-sur-mer. This is where Omaha beach is and the American cemetery. It was a very emotional place. The security there was so tight. The guy yelled at me because I forgot to take off my scarf when I walked through the metal detector. I thought that was a little unnecessary but it's his job. The first level is a museum th
at explains how the American troops stormed Omaha beach on D-Day June 6, 1944. It described how they planned the attack, and how it progressed. There were a lot of videos playing and I was surprised that they all were in English. The descriptions of the artifacts like uniforms and the packs that they carried were also in English. Usually in the museums the description is first written in French and then in English. Well, I guess since this is funded by the US government and it's for the US troops that stormed the beach it should be in English. We left the museum and as we were walking outside there was someone on a recording saying all of the names of the American soldiers who were killed on Omaha beach. It gave me goosebumps. We walked outside and onto the overlook of Omaha beach. I
took so many pictures. In a way I felt weird taking the pictures because of all the men who lost their lives there....but everyone was doing it. As we stood there over looking the beach it started to rain and these bell started ringing. Then they started playing "America the Beautiful" and I got a little teary-eyed. Standing there I felt really proud to be an American at that moment. I know that sounds super cliche and corny but it's true. We walked down to the beach and it started to rain harder. We stayed on the beach for a while. The water wasn't as cold and I thought it was going to be. I took a rock from the beach....don't tell anyone.
at explains how the American troops stormed Omaha beach on D-Day June 6, 1944. It described how they planned the attack, and how it progressed. There were a lot of videos playing and I was surprised that they all were in English. The descriptions of the artifacts like uniforms and the packs that they carried were also in English. Usually in the museums the description is first written in French and then in English. Well, I guess since this is funded by the US government and it's for the US troops that stormed the beach it should be in English. We left the museum and as we were walking outside there was someone on a recording saying all of the names of the American soldiers who were killed on Omaha beach. It gave me goosebumps. We walked outside and onto the overlook of Omaha beach. I
took so many pictures. In a way I felt weird taking the pictures because of all the men who lost their lives there....but everyone was doing it. As we stood there over looking the beach it started to rain and these bell started ringing. Then they started playing "America the Beautiful" and I got a little teary-eyed. Standing there I felt really proud to be an American at that moment. I know that sounds super cliche and corny but it's true. We walked down to the beach and it started to rain harder. We stayed on the beach for a while. The water wasn't as cold and I thought it was going to be. I took a rock from the beach....don't tell anyone. It was a really steep down to the beach and even steeper going back up. I can't even imagine what it must have been like f
or the soldiers because they didn't have stairs, there were Germans shooting at them, and they were carrying at least 70 lbs of equipment on their backs. We made it back up and then went to the American cemetery. If you've ever seen "Saving Private Ryan" it's exactly like the scene where they are in the cemetery. It was so peaceful there. I wish I had more time to look around, but yet again I was being controlled by the schedule and had to head back to the bus. The following pictures are of Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.
or the soldiers because they didn't have stairs, there were Germans shooting at them, and they were carrying at least 70 lbs of equipment on their backs. We made it back up and then went to the American cemetery. If you've ever seen "Saving Private Ryan" it's exactly like the scene where they are in the cemetery. It was so peaceful there. I wish I had more time to look around, but yet again I was being controlled by the schedule and had to head back to the bus. The following pictures are of Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.It was a 3 hour bus ride from Colleville-sur-mer to Saint Malo, where we were spending the night. Saint Malo is a very old town in Brittany. It is a fortified city, meaning that is has a stone wall that surrounds the old part of the town. It would protect the village from any enemy that tired to attack. The
hotel we stayed at was called Bristol Union. It's run by a cute family. I roomed with Amber. It was a very small, typical French hotel room. We had two twin beds that had a small gap between them so they could both fit in the room. That night we went out to dinner. I had a salmon salad for an appetizer. It was smoked salmon and was amazing. I loved it. My entree was steak au poivre. I ordered it saignant, meaning medium, because I was afraid if I ordered it a point (well done) it was going to be too dry. When I got the steak I couldn't even cut into it because my knife was dull. The bus driver, who came to dinner with us, pulled out a pocket knife out of her purse, washed it, and then handed it to me. I was like ummmm thanks? The steak was incredibly rare. I forgot that in France the rare, medium and well done are completely different then they are at home. My steak was chewy. I had to chew it like a million times before I could swallow it. I really couldn't even look at it while I ate it because it was so red in the middle. It came with potatoes, and some sort of squash puree. It all tasted very good. You just had to ignore the "moos" coming from your plate as you stuck the steak in your mouth. I had two big glasses of red wine with dinner....delish. It was free so I figured, why not? They did set the bottle in front of me. Dessert was an apple tiramisu. It really wasn't t
hat great. We got done with dinner and then walked back to the hotel in the pouring rain. That night Amber and I watched "Final Destination" in German. It was pretty funny. I had a hard time sleeping. I kept waking up and seeing what time it was. That got annoying really quick. Luckily, Amber doesn't snore....hahaha. The top left picture is our small room from the hotel and the bottom one to the left is a picture of the wall that surrounds the city. It wasn't night time when I took the picture either, I know it's really dark. Those were the clouds that were threatening our day.
hotel we stayed at was called Bristol Union. It's run by a cute family. I roomed with Amber. It was a very small, typical French hotel room. We had two twin beds that had a small gap between them so they could both fit in the room. That night we went out to dinner. I had a salmon salad for an appetizer. It was smoked salmon and was amazing. I loved it. My entree was steak au poivre. I ordered it saignant, meaning medium, because I was afraid if I ordered it a point (well done) it was going to be too dry. When I got the steak I couldn't even cut into it because my knife was dull. The bus driver, who came to dinner with us, pulled out a pocket knife out of her purse, washed it, and then handed it to me. I was like ummmm thanks? The steak was incredibly rare. I forgot that in France the rare, medium and well done are completely different then they are at home. My steak was chewy. I had to chew it like a million times before I could swallow it. I really couldn't even look at it while I ate it because it was so red in the middle. It came with potatoes, and some sort of squash puree. It all tasted very good. You just had to ignore the "moos" coming from your plate as you stuck the steak in your mouth. I had two big glasses of red wine with dinner....delish. It was free so I figured, why not? They did set the bottle in front of me. Dessert was an apple tiramisu. It really wasn't t
hat great. We got done with dinner and then walked back to the hotel in the pouring rain. That night Amber and I watched "Final Destination" in German. It was pretty funny. I had a hard time sleeping. I kept waking up and seeing what time it was. That got annoying really quick. Luckily, Amber doesn't snore....hahaha. The top left picture is our small room from the hotel and the bottom one to the left is a picture of the wall that surrounds the city. It wasn't night time when I took the picture either, I know it's really dark. Those were the clouds that were threatening our day.Sunday 11/8
I woke up and got ready and headed downstairs to eat breakfast. It was your typical French breakfast. I had some pound cake, kiwi, yogurt, and compote....yeah, I kinda pigged out. It was all really good. We left a little after 9 and drove an hour to Mont Saint-Michel. It was raining really heavy
during the drive. We were scheduled to have 3 hours to explore Mont Saint-Michel but Dr. Costello said that would depend on the weather. As we were driving he gave us a little history on the Abbey that is Mont Saint-Michel. According to the legend, St. Aubert saw a vision of Saint Michael the Archangel. Saint Michael told Aubert to build him a shrine. Aubert didn't listen to him and ignored him for a long time. Apparently, one day after not listening to him, Saint Michael burned a hole in Aubert's head with his finger. After that, Aubert started building right away. There are sheep that graze on the grass that grows from the salt from the water surrounding the island. When these sheep are killed and the meat is sold to local restaurants, on the menu it is listed as sheep from Mont Saint-Michel. This is because it tastes different than other sheep from France because of the grass that they graze on. I think Dr. Costello said that it's not saltier tasting it just has a different taste. He said he's had it before but only a person who eats a lot of lamb can really tell the difference. The abbey is on top of the island with a small village below it.
during the drive. We were scheduled to have 3 hours to explore Mont Saint-Michel but Dr. Costello said that would depend on the weather. As we were driving he gave us a little history on the Abbey that is Mont Saint-Michel. According to the legend, St. Aubert saw a vision of Saint Michael the Archangel. Saint Michael told Aubert to build him a shrine. Aubert didn't listen to him and ignored him for a long time. Apparently, one day after not listening to him, Saint Michael burned a hole in Aubert's head with his finger. After that, Aubert started building right away. There are sheep that graze on the grass that grows from the salt from the water surrounding the island. When these sheep are killed and the meat is sold to local restaurants, on the menu it is listed as sheep from Mont Saint-Michel. This is because it tastes different than other sheep from France because of the grass that they graze on. I think Dr. Costello said that it's not saltier tasting it just has a different taste. He said he's had it before but only a person who eats a lot of lamb can really tell the difference. The abbey is on top of the island with a small village below it.It was a very long, steep climb up to the abbey. Just as I thought we had finally made it I was w
rong and there were even more stairs. I was really tired and out of breath by the time I made it up to the first overlook of the abbey. Even though I was exhausted, the view was well worth it. It had finally stopped raining and we had the full 3 hours to explore unless it really started pouring. We had an audio guide for the abbey. It was a very good guide. It was interesting and not boring at all. The abbey was really confusing...it was like a maze. There were so many rooms. In this one common room there were two huge fireplaces. They were so big I didn't have to duck to walk into them. It was insane! The picture to the left is one of the many huge fireplaces inside the abbey. The tour took about an hour and a half. After we finished with the tour I bought a few things from the gift shop. Mont Saint-Michel is split up into 3 levels. The first being the lower town, second the upper town where there is a walk way that takes your around the entire town, and the 3rd level being the abbey itself. After the gift shop, Laura, a girl from the program, and I walked around the 2nd level. Because it had been raining on and off all day the stairs were really slippery. I was walking down this huge flight going to this over look when I stepped down and ended up falling right on my tailbone and sliding down five or six steps. It really hurt. Laura helped me up and I was covered in mud a
nd rocks from the stairs. It was gross. I'm just glad I didn't twist my ankle or hit my head or something. After that my legs were shaking so bad coming down the rest of the steps. I didn't want to fall again. The pictures here are from the overlooks once you reach the top of the stairs. There were two overlooks. These pictures are from the second overlook because there wasn't a view of the parking lot from this overlook. It overlooked the sea and these other islands. After falling down the stairs we went into town to get lunch. I ended up getting a galette with andouille sausage and tomatoes. A galette is like a crepe but the batter doesn't ha
ve sugar in it like crepes do. The batter is also brown where as the crepe batter is yellow. I guess you could call it a savory crepe. It was very good and the andouille was amazing. I bought a chocolate filled beignet for dessert and then headed back to the bus. I told Dr. Costello about falling down the stairs and he started flipping out. He was like are you hurt? did you hit your head? do you need to see a doctor??? I was like no, I'm fine, just sore and I'll probably be sore for a while. He dropped it after that. Everyone came back to the bus and we were on our way.
rong and there were even more stairs. I was really tired and out of breath by the time I made it up to the first overlook of the abbey. Even though I was exhausted, the view was well worth it. It had finally stopped raining and we had the full 3 hours to explore unless it really started pouring. We had an audio guide for the abbey. It was a very good guide. It was interesting and not boring at all. The abbey was really confusing...it was like a maze. There were so many rooms. In this one common room there were two huge fireplaces. They were so big I didn't have to duck to walk into them. It was insane! The picture to the left is one of the many huge fireplaces inside the abbey. The tour took about an hour and a half. After we finished with the tour I bought a few things from the gift shop. Mont Saint-Michel is split up into 3 levels. The first being the lower town, second the upper town where there is a walk way that takes your around the entire town, and the 3rd level being the abbey itself. After the gift shop, Laura, a girl from the program, and I walked around the 2nd level. Because it had been raining on and off all day the stairs were really slippery. I was walking down this huge flight going to this over look when I stepped down and ended up falling right on my tailbone and sliding down five or six steps. It really hurt. Laura helped me up and I was covered in mud a
nd rocks from the stairs. It was gross. I'm just glad I didn't twist my ankle or hit my head or something. After that my legs were shaking so bad coming down the rest of the steps. I didn't want to fall again. The pictures here are from the overlooks once you reach the top of the stairs. There were two overlooks. These pictures are from the second overlook because there wasn't a view of the parking lot from this overlook. It overlooked the sea and these other islands. After falling down the stairs we went into town to get lunch. I ended up getting a galette with andouille sausage and tomatoes. A galette is like a crepe but the batter doesn't ha
ve sugar in it like crepes do. The batter is also brown where as the crepe batter is yellow. I guess you could call it a savory crepe. It was very good and the andouille was amazing. I bought a chocolate filled beignet for dessert and then headed back to the bus. I told Dr. Costello about falling down the stairs and he started flipping out. He was like are you hurt? did you hit your head? do you need to see a doctor??? I was like no, I'm fine, just sore and I'll probably be sore for a while. He dropped it after that. Everyone came back to the bus and we were on our way.It was a 5 hour ride back to Paris from Mont Saint-Michel. The bus driver isn't allowed to drive more tha
n 4 1/2 hours straight at a time by law, so she had to stop at a rest stop about 2 hours from Paris. I was glad because I had to pee so bad and it was nice to finally stretch my legs. I slept for about 45 minutes on the ride back. I woke up and finished reading "A Year in the Merde" it was really good. I want to get his other books because this one was so funny. The rest of the ride I just listened to my iPod and looked out the window. We hit a lot of traffic after we passed the exits for Versailles. It took us about an hour and a half to get into Paris from Versailles, which isn't that far outside of Paris. We got back to the dorm a little before 6pm. I headed for metro and made my way back to the apartment. Renee told me before I left that she would make me dinner that night so I didn't have to worry about that. I just had to wait for her to come home. During dinner we talked about my trip and how awesome it was. Here's a picture of Renee I took while she was making dinner. She hates getting her picture taken. I'm sure you all have been wondering what she looks like so here she is. Just your typical French lady.
n 4 1/2 hours straight at a time by law, so she had to stop at a rest stop about 2 hours from Paris. I was glad because I had to pee so bad and it was nice to finally stretch my legs. I slept for about 45 minutes on the ride back. I woke up and finished reading "A Year in the Merde" it was really good. I want to get his other books because this one was so funny. The rest of the ride I just listened to my iPod and looked out the window. We hit a lot of traffic after we passed the exits for Versailles. It took us about an hour and a half to get into Paris from Versailles, which isn't that far outside of Paris. We got back to the dorm a little before 6pm. I headed for metro and made my way back to the apartment. Renee told me before I left that she would make me dinner that night so I didn't have to worry about that. I just had to wait for her to come home. During dinner we talked about my trip and how awesome it was. Here's a picture of Renee I took while she was making dinner. She hates getting her picture taken. I'm sure you all have been wondering what she looks like so here she is. Just your typical French lady. Over all this weekend was AMAZING. I had such a good time and would love to go back there. Congratulations if you made it to the end of this post....I know it was incredibly long. I have to eat lunch now so I'll update tomorrow about what's been going on this week.
Bonne journee!
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