Day Trip to Geneva, Switzerland

Max and I also took his parents to Geneva for the day. We did a lot of window shopping, I stress "window", for ridiculously expensive watches in the jewerly stores that seemed to be on every street corner. The chocolate was a little more in our budget, except for that 10 pound Toblerone bar...

In 1536 the Catholic cathedral of St. Peter (above) became a Protestant church. This is where John Calvin preached until 1564, making the cathedral a guiding center Protestanism. I couldn't help but personally appreciate this place.

The climb up the catherdal tower promised panoramic views of the city. The staircase was very narrow and short; I knocked my head on the ceiling at one of the low places, breaking my sunglasses and giving myself a good headache, but I was so worth it.

Max had visited Geneva before, on a trip he took back in high school. He remembers seeing this flower clock and taking pictures of it. We couldn't find it right away, but then practically stumbled across it after almost giving up our search. I still can't tell the time on it.

July 14th - National Holiday

July 14th is a National holiday in France and a vacation day for Max. It is known as Bastille Day in english. We were able to see the firework from our back balcony. It made up for not seeing any fireworks on the 4th.

Reims, France

We spent the last day of our trip in Reims where we saw the Cathedrale Notre Dame. This was the place where kings would go to be crowed, including Charles VII who was brought here by Joan of Arc.

We had to celebreate the end of our trip with some champagne, and since we were in Champagne...you know. We took a tour through the Mumm champagne cellar. They have some 25 million bottles of champagne in their cellars. Hehe.

Omaha Beach & Normandy American Cemetery

We arrived at Omaha Beach in the evening during low tide. This is the monument "Les Braves", dedicated to the men that fought here on D-Day. During high tide the sculpture appears to rise out of the water.

Standing on Omaha Beach was very moving. There's not a whole lot I can write about Normandy that would really be able to describe this place, so I'm not going to try.

There are 9,387 headstones here. The Normandy American cemetery is one of 14 permanent American WWII military cemeteries on foreign soil.

Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey

Constuction of Mont-Saint-Michel began in 708 after St. Aubert, bishop of Avranches, saw the archangel Michael in three dreams. The pre-Romanesque church was built before the year one thousand and work on the abbey continued until the 18th century.

Here is Max with his parents, standing near a ledge of the abbey. There was nothing to obstruct the view, and therefore nothing to stop any of the wind!

The abbey stands alone on the horizon, connected to the mainland by a 2-mile causeway. It is surrounded by a vast mudflat, which is actually pretty slippery, trust me. For hermit monks seeking solitude, Mont-Saint-Michel was about as isolated as you could get.

Loire Valley, France

The first stop on our 5 day trip with Max's parents was a visit to Chambord. This building was intended as a hunting lodge for King Francois I (1494-1547) even though he only spent 72 days here. The estate covers approximately 13,500 acres and is the largest enclosed forest park in Europe.

In the center of the keep is the giant double helix staircase, consisting of two spiral flights of stairs that wind independently around a hollow column.

Unlike the other chateaux we would see, the Chateau de Blois was surrounded by a city setting, rather then by forests or lakes. This building contains elements of Gothic (13th century), Flamboyant (1498-1503), early Renaissance (1515-1524), and classical architecture in its four wings.

This projecting staircase tower in the Francois I wing exemplifies Renaissance architecture. I just thought it was pretty neat looking.

Next, we were off to the Chateau de Cheverny. The estate has been in the same family for more than 6 centuries and the current residents are living on the third floor. Apparently, Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa was hidden in the Orangerie (think green house for orange trees) behind the chateau during WWII.

I'm not going to lie, the kid in me was itching to run over to the chateau's kennel while yelling "puppies"! A little girl beat me to it. Here, 70 well trained dogs are held, waiting to go on the family's next hunting trip.

The last castle on our tour through the Loire was the Chateau de Chenonceau. It was built in the 16 century and for a time belonged to the mistress of King Henri II, Diane de Poitires, who was virtually the queen of France. She was kicked out of the chateau by the actual queen of France upon the king's death.

Chenonceau was built over the River Cher which corresponded to the line of demarcation during WWII. The entrance to the chateau was in the occupied zone while the South door gave access to the free zone and provided a way for the Resistance to help people escape occupied territory. Throughout the war, German artillery was kept ready to destroy the castle.

Day Trip to Chamonix-Mont Blanc

A week after returning to France, Max's parents arrived for a visit. We took them on a day trip to Chamonix-Mont Blanc, which is only about an hour and a half from our place in Chambery. Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps and is a great place to visit on a hot summer day. This place is usually packed with skiers in the winter.

At the end of a 20 minute train ride into the moutains, we were able to see the Mer de Glace or Sea of Ice. It is a glacier running down the northern slope of Mont Blanc and it the longest glacier in France. We're close to it here, but we can get even closer...ready Marty?









From the train, we took a four person gondola down to the top of a long staircase (about 350 steps). The staircase is bolted onto the side of the mountain and descends down to an entrance in the side of the glacier.











Being on "solid" ground was a good feeling for certain persons who weren't so crazy about dealing with the heights. Here are Max's parents at the entrance of the glacier. A new entrance is dug each year due to the movement of the glacier.


The inside of the glacier was carved out to resemble the rooms of a house. I think this is a kitchen? Lights placed in carved out grooves changed the color of the ice from blue to green to a purple. There was even a St. Bernard there that you could have your picture taken with. They made sure to wipe his drool before each new group picture was shot. It almost felt like winter in Michigan.

Back in Michigan

Max had to go back to Ohio for a 2 week long business trip in June. Instead of staying in France, all by my lonesome, we decided I should fly to Michigan to see my family and friends. Max was able to drive up to Michigan over the weekend and we celebrated his birthday a little early with some cheese cake and steaks!

I finally got to see my sister and brother-in-law's house in Grand Rapids! It's the perfect place for them and I know they'll enjoy it for many many years. They have a great kitchen were Rob is able to cook up his gourmet meals. I was also able to meet the newest addition to their family, Desi the cat. He's a very likable little guy.

I was even able to join in on some of the festivities surrounding my 10 year high school reunion. I still can't believe it's been 10 years already. It was great seeing everyone, especially the girls! It was also pretty fun catching up with people and getting to tell them that I live in France now. Who'd of thought that?

The last day of my visit, we got to celebrate Dad's birthday, which we combined with Father's Day, as is usually the case. My sister and brother-in-law drove over to complete our little party. I was so happy to be able to celebrate the occasion with family. And don't worry Dad, I didn't post your age for the world to see, thanks to Colleen's stragicially placed hand.