Back to Paris

Back to Paris
We tried to arrange to go to see Mont St. Michel but because the volcano in Iceland blew again, we were unable to arrange seats on the trains. Maybe we will try again after our trip to Corsica on May 14th.

Paris Catacombs (warning for young eyes– Pictures of skulls and bones below)
I was surprised to see such a long line for the Catacombs in the middle of the week, this early in the tourist season. We have been very fortunate to see so much throughout Europe without having to deal with the tourist hordes. After waiting in line, in the rain, for a half an hour, we finally descended the long spiral staircase and walked what seemed like a half a mile underground to get into the ossuary. The picture above shows nearby representations of Ports and was carved by a miner who was killed in a cave-in.

The graves in Paris were filling up with people from the many wars and pestilences, so it was decided to move many of the bones to catacombs underground. They were moved in carts down the streets of Paris in the middle of the night and placed with reverence deep underground.

An amazing sight to see thousands of bodies piled on each side for several blocks.

It is said that even the bones of the King and Queen Marie Antoinette of France are down here although during the July Monarchy, after about a decade, the king sent down some men to look for these bones. They were able to find some that still had some very expensive stockings that supposedly belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette.

A very cool lion in the square outside the catacombs. He is said to be facing away from the then powerful Prussians.

Omaha Beach Cemetery

Omaha Beach Cemetery
We arrived late in the day, just in time to catch the lowering of the flag with taps which brought a tear to everyone's eyes. To see so many crosses.....like soldiers still marching....perfectly aligned.

I don't know if you can read this cross, but I was struck that he was a General. This picture shows only part of the cemetery and these were only the men whose families chose to have their bodies remain in Normandy.

The D-Day Beaches

The D-Day Beaches
We were very fortunate to have a guided tour of the D-Day beaches with Carl and Laure. I did not know about the huge docks that had been built in England and brought over to the Normandy beaches for the final assault against the Germans at the end of WWII. These were used to dock the hundreds of ships carrying men and supplies to the D-Day beaches. You can see a line of them in the distant background. Seeing this brought some perspective to the huge Allied effort.

Nazi Bunker
One of the many Nazi gun installations that the Allies had to deal with. Note how thick the bunker is and how they stepped the angles so that incoming bullets would be deflected outward.

This shows the number of ships involved in the D-Day assault.

Finally! My Own Village!

Beaudouin Village
Carl took us to see a village with our name on it. We have no idea of the history of how it got it's name, although I am hopeful that Carl or myself may find the time to do some research.

More Rouen

This is the cathedral where Joan d'Arc was burned at the stake. It is also where Claude Monet painted a series of paintings of the doors.

This shot taken in Rouen, shows some of the typical architecture in Normandy. Tudor in style with many buildings being half wood framed. Many odd angles and several looked like they would fall down easily, but have obviously stood the test of time.

Rouen, France and Saint Joan d'Arc

Rouen, France
We went to see the town of Rouen where Joan d'Arc was tortured and burned at the stake. This is the tower where she was held til her death.

Joan d'Arc dressed as a knight.

We learned that in this tower she was told that if she promised not to wear mens clothes that she would be set free but three days later she dressed up again and was then burned at the stake.

Panilleuse, Giverny and Claude Monet

We took the train to Vernon and a long lost cousin of mine, Carl Beaudoin, picked us up to take us to a small village called Panilleuse, France, where he lives with his wife, Laure and children. Their family graciously hosted us for three days and even took us on a tour of the D-Day beaches.

Giverny
Carl and Laure took us on a tour of the nearby village of Giverny, where Claude Monet lived and where he painted his famous garden. It was late in the day and we were not able to go in to see his  garden, but it was nice to stroll the very picturesque village.

Giverny has many art works on display including this sand sculpture of the last supper.


Living the dream, two Rolls and a tractor.

Rosslare, Ireland to Cherbourg, France

Cherbourg, France
We took the overnight ferry from Rosslare, Ireland to Cherbourg, France. We splurged and got a porthole for an extra 30 euro. This was like a small cruise ship. It even had two theaters, which we let the kids go to see the movie, “Up”. Having already done the Chunnel, this was a nice way to return to France.
Arriving in Cherbourg, the next evening, we were greeted with this statue of Napoleon. I wish we could have spent a little more time in this charming little port town but we had to head off to meet up with a cousin of mine.

BLARNEY CASTLE

The castle itself

As you can see, to kiss the blarney Stone, you have to lay on your back and bend over backwards.

My brave wife and yes, that would be about 5 stories straight down.


Even Guy got up the courage.

MORE BALLYSEEDE CASTLE

The Ballyseede dining room with its tall candelabras.

An Irish wolf hound can pretty much sleep wherever it wants.



















My little prince and princesses.

Ballyseede Castle

At Ballyseede Castle we ventured out on a walk down a very narrow single lane country road. On each side of the road were chest-high ancient stone walls with cattle grazing just beyond. We came to an old cemetery and went through the wrought iron gates.We walked among the crypts and Celtic crosses that towered above the kids to find that...

...many of the graves had been opened. Peeking  inside the darkened holes, we were able to see glimpses of gleaming white....well I'll not go into the details, but it was the “real” stuff. Safe to say this outing made our stay at the nearby haunted castle that much more intriguing. 

Another opened gravesite.

18 Countries Visited so Far

Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, Bosnia, Italy, Slovakia, Austria, France, Greece, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, England and Ireland

Ballyseede Castle

After two months of constant travel, we decided to take a vacation from our vacation and stay at Ballyseede Castle near Tralee for 2 nights. We are going to try to simply relax here and not be tempted by all the touristy things.

No this is not the lobby, this is our room. We have not seen the resident ghost Hilda, yet but we have one more night here.

Dublin's Guinness Storehouse

If you go to Dublin, you must go to the Guinness Storehouse/Brewery. Here is the 9000, yes 9000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759 for 45 pounds a year.

Great tour ending with a sample.

Dublina, Viking Museum

The kids had a great experience and learned a lot about the Vikings who settled in ancient Dublin.

Junior Vikings keeping warm.