Papa Close in the House!

I have been a bad blogger.  It's been quite a while since my last post and we've been up to all sorts of things, so there's lots to catch you up on.  I'll just start with Fred's visit and our trip to Normandy for now...


Derf in Paris (Derf = Fred = Kyle's Dad)


This was Fred's first time in Europe, so we had to be sure and show him an especially great time.  We did all the typical activities: Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Les Invalides, Notre Dame, Versailles, etc.  Fred did such a good job of snapping those photos that I practically have none from Paris.  I'll have to steal some from him.


As usual we had to schedule a fun dinner with Julie, so we chose a place we hadn't made it to yet.  It's called Le Violon d'Ingres and it was spectacular!  Fred and I had the most delicious fish dish and Julie and Kyle got a cassoulet that was to die for.  

Visiting the Beaches of Normandy


In addition to the local sights in Paris, we also took a trip to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches and Mont Saint Michel.  It is just a couple hours via train from Paris to the town of Bayeux in Normandy.  


We arrived, grabbed crepes (one of the specialties of Normandy) and headed out with our tour guide to see the D-Day Beaches.

The view from our B&B

 Bunker on Juno Beach

 Omaha Beach

 American Cemetery 

Did you know that the French government gave this land to the US? I thought that was really awesome. So we were actually in America for an afternoon :) 

 The American Cemetery was beautifully done and really moving.

 Utah Beach

 National Guard Memorial

 Old Nazi Bunker

 There were giant bomb holes everywhere!

 I just thought our desserts that night were so gorgeous and delish that they were worth sharing. So here they are.

 Yum, right?!

Mont Saint Michel

For day two in Normandy we rented a car and drove about an hour and a half to Mont Saint Michel.  We were pretty pumped for our first time driving in France...

Woooooooooooo!

 If that's not the face of someone who is thrilled about their first road trip in France, I don't know what is...

 Mont Saint Michel

 The whole island is basically just super touristy, but very cool nonetheless.

 The cathedral

 Back to Bayeux for our last night.  We'll definitely go back to Normandy again (you can ride horses on the beach there!) - hopefully it will be a bit warmer next time though.

More Closes in Town + Nice Weather Fiiiiiiinallllly

Last weekend was magical for us here.  We had two days straight where it didn't rain.  Not only did it not rain, but the sun was out and the temperature was fabulous.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for gracing us with your company, pleasant weather.  People around here were beginning to get grumpy from the lack of Vitamin D, and my pale skin is getting downright unsightly.


On top of that good news, Kyle's aunt and uncle, Mike and Kathie, were in Paris for the weekend before heading to the south of France for a barge cruise through wine country.  Ooh la la!  Sounds lovely.  We were lucky enough to share some of their time here to have a picnic and go out for dinner.

 Seizing the nice day!

Alas, I'm typing this from inside my dark apartment because it is raining today.  No wait, actually it hailed.  It is May, right??  Oh well, there's more lovely weather to come and I'll take what we got!  


UP NEXT... Brandon and Carrie visit Paris and we all have an adventure in Bordeaux!

Bisous!
Maygan