France Day 2: Stuck in the Mud

Madelyn woke up at 4:30 am this morning. I followed at 6am – bright eyed and ready to go. We put our hair in French braids (obviously!), grabbed a baguette, some camembert, a few croissants, some café au lait, and hit the road.

First stop, Etretat.  We wanted to see the famous white chalk cliffs and arches.  But it was FREEZING. Drizzling and really cold. So we did the fastest photo shoot ever, and ran back through the town to the car.

We jumped into the car, put it in reverse, and it wouldn’t move. The engine revved, but it was as if the transmission were in neutral. I thought maybe it was stuck on something, so we got out, looked under the car – nope – nothing. I got back in, and tried again. Totally stuck. I ran over to a meter reader, who was writing people parking tickets, and asked in broken French if he could help me.  He tried – and had same problem, and still no clue as to why. By now we had gathered a small crowd.  Someone said, “Avez-vous verifie le frein de main?” I answered, “I didn’t PUT ON the parking brake, so no need to check it!” (Gee, I must have accidentally learned French since yesterday when I told those cops I didn’t know any.)  Sure enough, I looked down, and the freaking parking brake was on.  Thanks a lot, Volkswagon. Now the town of Etretat will forever talk of that dumb blonde who couldn’t back up. In my defense, the parking brake didn’t put itself on yesterday! But did a few more times today. At least now we know.

Next we drove to Honfleur to see it’s beautiful Vieux Bassin (old harbor) and eat lunch. To get there, we had to drive over the Pont de Normandie, the longest cable stayed bridge in the world. Lovely, since I do not like bridges. M laughed as I white knuckled it the whole way.

Those skinny houses in Honfleur were built at a time when buildings were taxed based on their width, not height. Pretty crafty! We ate at a café underneath a skinny house, as by now the sun was out and it had warmed up significantly.

My original itinerary had us going straight from Honfleur to Mont Saint Michel, but on a whim, we decided to check out the D-Day beaches at Normandy since they were nearby and M had enjoyed all that WWII history yesterday.

We were so glad we made that choice. It was the highlight of our day. We went to Omaha beach, where there is a small museum that explains D-Day with photos and films. Then we walked through the cemetery, overlooking the beach where those brave souls came ashore.  More than 9,000 American soldiers are buried there. NINE THOUSAND. It was a very shocking and emotional experience.

All the towns around the area had giant photos of the destruction, placed right in front of what they had rebuilt.

Driving towards Mont Saint Michel, I thought a lot about both of my grandfathers, and told M stories of them from the war. Suddenly, I stopped mid sentence because we saw it from 7km away – Mont Saint Michel. I was so excited. I had wanted to see the Mont ever since I was Madelyn’s age and learned about it from my French pen pal Christelle.

We parked across the causeway, took the shuttle over, and dragged our luggage up the mountain, through cobblestone streets. M has asked me to note that, “it was terrible.”  However, there are only a handful of hotel rooms on Mont Saint Michel, so few people get to sleep on the island. It may have been terrible getting here (it was), but it was so worth it. Our hotel, Hotel Le Mouton Blanc, was ancient and perfect.

The island was developed in the 700s (!!) when the monastery was first built because the Archangel Michael appeared to Saint Aubert, and told him to build a church on the rocky island. Since then, pilgrims have come to this holy site to worship by walking from the mainland across the sand at low tide.  The tides come in very quickly here – sometimes a meter a minute. The water can rise 14 meters in just one tide cycle. So the crossing was often deadly. That didn’t stop people from trying it today though. And thank goodness for those people, because it was the funniest thing we saw all day. Every single person we watched as we walked the ramparts waltzed right out, and then promptly sunk and became stuck. M thought this was beyond hilarious, as you can see in this video we took:

We climbed up to the abbey on top of the Mont, which had to have been a few million stairs. I kept stopping and told M I had to stop to take "artsy photos"such as this one below. Really it was so I would't die.

We had dinner, which I partnered with a large bowl of cider – the local alcohol specialty. We had some caramel cookies with a silhouette of Mont Saint Michel pressed into them for dessert, then called it a night.

Tomorrow: More Brittany and our first Chateau.

France Day One: Bonjour de France

It was a day full of giggles from the moment we boarded our Air Tahiti Nui flight. The airline was made for me, with its tropical theme and turquoise amenities. 

It was all normal until an announcement was made:  “According to French regulation, this plane has to be sprayed. Please feel free to close your eyes and cover your face during this procedure.” We looked at each other like, “What the fudge?” I have flown a lot in my lifetime, and I have never seen THIS:

Is this an Ebola thing? Fits of laughter ensued and we re-enacted the aggressive double-handed spraying motion the whole flight.

We watched 4 movies each, ate 2 meals, and voila – we were in Paris.

We picked up our rental car, a VW Golf – automatic, of course. It is appropriately named because it operates just like a golf cart. When you take your foot off the brake, it doesn’t automatically go like cars in America. You have to actually push the accelerator to start forward motion. This caused some initial confusion at a toll booth when I thought the car had stalled. I turned it off and re-started it, much to the chagrin of the line of hurried French behind us.

But we figured it out and were off to Amiens, where we ate lunch in the shadow of the tallest cathedral in France -- The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens. Medieval cathedral builders (between 1220 and 1270) were trying to maximize the internal dimensions in order to reach for the heavens and bring in more light. And it worked, because, mon dieu – it is tall!! It been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

But even more extraordinary than its size, was its artwork. We found this crying angel sculpture from 1625, which perfectly expresses how I feel about my Cleveland sports teams.

This cathedral also features the most ancient wooden sculptures of any church in Europe. They were amazing and gruesome. Madelyn liked this one of a lady “going crazy” while another lady’s head is being served on a platter in behind her. I liked the one of a headless torso, with the head being held high above it:

But most moving of all was the story of the medieval stained glass that was mostly destroyed when the US and English forces bombed the church during WWII. Very little remains, and the people of Amiens replaced what was lost with clear glass so that the destruction would forever be obvious. M asked me, “why would we bomb churches?” I didn’t have an answer for that. My guess is that maybe that’s where the Germans hid, hoping we would spare bombing such a treasure. At any rate, it was heartbreaking.

We picked up some macarons at the famous Jean Trogneux and hit the road for Rouen.

We found our hotel without issue, but while following directions to the parking courtyard, we ran into a little legal trouble. The hotel owner told us to go around the block and use the bus lane “just for 50 meters” to get to the gate. So we did that, and were promptly pulled over by 2 French motorcycle officers.  They started rapidly telling me what I did wrong in French. And in my best L.A. blonde accent, I said, “I don’t speak French.” They literally laughed, said, “d’accord” and drove away.

By now we were exhausted, after being awake for 36 hours straight. But I wanted to stay out until at least 7pm so that we wouldn’t fall asleep too early and wake up at an ungodly hour. So we walked around Rouen taking in its amazing medieval sights and half-timbered buildings.  

First, we stumbled upon the Gros Horloge (“Big Clock”), built in 1528. It only has an hour hand, because in the 1500s, knowing what hour it was offered sufficient knowledge. Minute hands only became important in a later, faster paced age.

Next we found the Place Du Vieux Marche, the square where 19-year-old Joan of Arc was burned in 1431. The spot of her death (and later, 800 executions via guillotine) is marked by a large aluminum cross.

Rouen’s Notre Dame Cathedral, built in 1035, was made famous in a series of paintings by Monet.  But again, we found its recent history more fascinating. During World War II, the cathedral was bombed by the British. Seven bombs fell on the building, destroying its two rose windows. One of the bombs did not explode. A second bombing by the US Army Air Force burned the oldest tower. During the fire the bells melted, leaving molten remains on the floor.  The church also has an amazing carved stone stairwell.

On our way back to the hotel, we passed by the Palace of Justice, home of Normandy’s parliament.  These pockmarks on the side of the building are left over from the bombings during the Normandy invasion.

Takeaway of the day: Wow, the US really did a lot of damage to France during WWII. It must have been terrifying to be living here during that time.

We grabbed a few crepes for dinner and called it a night.

Tomorrow: Normandy and Mt. St. Michel!

Packing List for Europe

Hi Travelers!
Today I thought I would share with you my packing list for a summer trip to Europe. I suggest you copy this list into Word and save it on your desktop. You will find that you can adapt it for different trips. A camping, cruise or winter packing list would be very different from this one. Each time you make a new list by altering this basic list - save it with a name that identifies it, such as "Cruise Packing List." This method will make your life a LOT easier each time you travel, as you will use these lists over and over.

When it is time to pack, print this list for EVERY person that is going on the trip - and hand each person a copy. It is their responsibility to pack everything on the list, and to fit it all into one suitcase (or you can highlight just the items they are to pack if certain things don't apply to them). Ask each person to check off each item as they pack it. That way, your kids can pack for themselves, and you can just check the list, instead of the suitcase.

Ok, here we go. Items highlighted on the list will be explained further below.

Carry On Bag:

Euros

American dollars

Accordion folder with all reservations

Passports

Medical insurance cards

ATM & credit cards (notify both of your whereabouts ahead of time)

Pens

Highlighters

Chewing gum

Books/Magazines

Airplane pillow

Sunglasses

Extra pair of contacts

iPhone

iPhone charger

iPad (pre-loaded with movies to watch)

iPad charger

Laptop

Laptop charger

DSLR Camera + bag

Prescription medications

Snacks

Any jewelry that has value

Clothing:

Light rain jacket

Panties – one for each day + 2

Bras – 2-3 per week

Socks

Swimsuits

Shorts

Tops

One light cardigan

Jeans

Day dresses

Pajamas – wear each 3 times

Belt

Shoes:

Tennis shoes

Walking sandals

One pair of ballet flats

Accessories:

Money belt

Light scarf

Eyeglasses

Extra sunglasses

Cross body purse

Ponytail holders

Electronics:

Extra memory cards

DSLR camera charger

Car charger for iPhone (only if you are renting a car)

Cable to listen to iPhone in car  (only if you are renting a car)

Toiletries:

Tissue packets

Mini curling iron

Band aids

Advil

Hanging toiletry bag

Sunscreen

Hair brush

Shampoo

Conditioner

Deodorant

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Floss

Nail clippers

Tweezers

Makeup

Face soap

Face moisturizer

Body moisturizer

Razors

Feminine hygiene products

Qtips

Lip balm

Misc:

Collapsible water bottles

Backpacks

Plug adaptor

Turkish towels

Ziploc bags – various sizes

Easy, right? Now, A bit more detail on the highlighted items:

Folder with all reservations: The easiest way to stay organized is to print EVERYTHING -- all flight, car, hotel, dinner reservations, directions, maps, etc. and put it into an accordion folder, with each day being assigned its own pocket. Label each pocket: Day one/Paris, Day Two/Normandy, etc. Tear out each section of a guidebook and put it in the right folder. So if you have a guidebook about France -- you aren't going to need the entire book. Just tear out the 15 pages on Paris and the 5 pages on Normandy -- staple them, and put them in their folder in your accordion binder. Then pop this folder into your carry on suitcase and everything will be at your finger tips for the entire trip. 

Highlighters:  I like to re-read my travel guidebook each night before I visit a new place, and highlight things I hadn't noticed before, and want to see the next day. Highlighters also come in handy for maps.

Day dresses:  In Europe, women must have shoulders and knees covered to enter a church. To make life much easier on us, I pre-select dresses that have short sleeves (instead of no-sleeves) and hit below the knee.  I also find it is easier to pack casual dresses instead of shorts outfits -- one item instead of 2!  They take up more space, are more comfortable, and look better!

Light scarf:  Picture those big square pashminas they sell for $10 in the mall. This scarf will be your savior in Europe. If you don't have covered knees, you can wrap it around your waist to enter a church. You can lay it down for an impromptu picnic. You can use it as a blanket on the plane. The uses are endless!

Hanging toiletry bag:  Bathrooms are TINY in Europe. Without counter space, you will want a bag with a hanger that you can easily hang on a hook or towel rack. 

Turkish towels:  You can buy these on eBay for about $20. They are very light and thin, but super absorbent and dry quickly. So if you want to hit the beach and don't have hotel towels, these are a life saver, and hardly take up any valuable suitcase space. 

Ziploc bags: Again -- endless uses! Use them to store all the treasures your kids pick up along the way (sea glass, if you are like us!), hold your receipts, transport wet bathing suits, wrap up unfinished snacks, etc. You will wish you had brought more!

I hope that helped!  Enjoy!

xoxo,

J & M

Local Edition: Medieval Times

Every once in a while, we thought it would be fun to seek out a new experience right in our backyard and report on it.  First up, Medieval Times in Buena Park.

Here's Madelyn's take:

Medieval Times was definitely something fun and different! I had fun watching knights be tested for bravery by fighting in epic battles against each other. After buying a flag that matches the crown you have been given, you enter the arena and sit in seats surrounding the battle ring. Then you cheer on your knight while you enjoy a four-course meal. The meal contain chicken, potatoes, tomato soup, garlic bread, corn on the cob, and a drink of your choice. The best part is -- you eat it totally with your hands. No silverware!  The live jousting tournament, the choreography with horses and all the show elements were outstanding. The horses and falcon were so enjoyable to watch! Yes, it can get a little corny at times, but I actually found it very fun and entertaining!

Mom's take:

We arrived an hour early, as instructed, and were assigned green crowns. This meant we would be cheering for the green knight.  Then we were turned loose in a big waiting area full of bars and shopping kiosks. Picture how Disneyland lets you out of a ride into a gift shop - but in reverse. We bought virgin pina coladas ($6 each) and green flags ($5 each), as these aren't provided.  We walked around and looked at the horses in their pens, and all the other paraphernalia for sale. Finally we were let in, and sat in the green section of the arena. As our drink orders were taken (iced tea), we watched a beautiful horse show. I have no horse vocabulary at all, but it was a gorgeous white horse who did tricks and danced on its hind legs. Then, as the knights were introduced dinner arrived:

It was actually pretty decent - better than I expected. Tomato soup and garlic bread, followed by baked chicken, potatoes and corn and an apple fritter for desert. Keep in mind that this cost about $60 each. So it wasn't THAT good, but we figured we paid for the entertainment. 

The knights did a series of competitions, then there was an intermission with a really cool falcon show. It flew right above our heads! There was a cheesy storyline about a princess and a king, but I didn't really pay attention because I kept thinking about our knight. He was a good looking guy, and I got entirely distracted picturing him trying to go on dates. "What do you do for a living?" "Me? Oh, I'm a knight at Medieval Times." I still wonder how that plays out.

Then the knights closed the show by jousting. Again, I got lost in thought wondering why they were wearing motorcycle helmets instead of knight helmets. It was like a weird combination of medieval knights and Daft Punk.

Alas, our knight did not win. (Does this need a spoiler alert? Is the show always the same?) But he came close. And Madelyn had a lot of fun cheering him on. In the end, that's all that really matters. 

xoxo,

Jennifer and Madelyn