A Renaissance Soul blogging on traveling, books, work, miscellany, and enjoying life.
I would highly recommend a visit here if you're in Paris and if you can handle the stairs. It's a good workout so in addition to seeing a magnificent place of worship and incredible views of Paris, you can also justify eating that extra croissant or pain au chocolat or having that extra glass of wine. Enjoy!
I've written about our tours to various D-Day spots and Mont St. Michel, but here, I'll write a bit about Bayeux, the charming city we stayed in while we were in Normandy. Bayeux was the first city to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy (aka, Operation Overlord, which includes but is not limited to D-Day) and because it was used as a headquarters of sorts, it miraculously escaped destruction via the bombing raids that the Allies completed throughout the region.
For several years, we've been collecting magnets during our travels. They make great souvenirs since they are inexpensive, small, and easy to bring back home even while traveling carry-on only. Plus, we can revisit our trips every time we look at them displayed on the sides of our fridge. However, several trips ago, we ran … Continue reading Magnets from Normandy, Paris, and Bruges
The day after our D-Day tour in Normandy, we took a guided tour of Mont St. Michel. If you have a chance to visit Normandy, I would put this as a must-see on your travel itinerary. A Visit from St. Michel: If you build it, they will come Mont St. Michel is about a 1.5 … Continue reading Mont St. Michel in Normandy, France
After so many D-Day posts, I thought I would lighten up the mood a bit by sharing this. I took this photo a few days ago, impressed by this shaggy little dog's patience and discipline while waiting for his or her owner who was in the cafe. I think this pup earned a pain au … Continue reading Cafe Dog in Bayeux
This post is the fourth in a series on my D-Day tour of Normandy, France. See the rest of the posts here. German Cemetery We started our tour at the German cemetery. The French government has allotted about 17 acres for this space, which is mostly maintained by volunteers and German family members. There are … Continue reading Normandy D-Day Tour: German and American Cemeteries
This post is the third in a series on my D-Day tour of Normandy, France. See the rest of the posts here. Point du Hoc: A hard-won and costly battle Point du Hoc was a strategically important location for D-Day since it was the highest point between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach. The Germans recognized … Continue reading Normandy D-Day Tour: Point du Hoc
This post is the second in a series on my D-Day tour of Normandy, France. See the rest of the posts here. Angoville-au-Plain We next headed to Angoville-au-Plain, a tiny Norman village home to a small and fairly nondescript church where 2 US Army Medics performed some serious acts of heroism that went unrecorded for … Continue reading Normandy D-Day Tour: churches and monuments marking acts of heroism
A couple of days ago, we went on a tour of the Normandy countryside to see various sites related to the D-Day invasion. Norman weather is apparently fairly moody and can change quickly, so I've been told. Our tour day was a perfect example of this. The day quickly changed from the forecast of mostly … Continue reading Normandy D-Day Tour: Utah and Omaha Beaches
After pretty close to 24 hours of travel, we finally made it to our Airbnb in Bayeux in Normandy, France. We are pretty exhausted but not too tired to oooh and aahhh at the view from our front window. Allow me to present to you the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Bayeux, consecrated in 1077 with William … Continue reading A room (in Bayeux, France) with a view
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