I think I have been mentally postponing this post because I knew it was going to be massive. So, before my brain forgets all of those wonderful little memories, here we go.... Like I mentioned in my last post, our trip was awesome. The White family campaign "Aim to not be Lame" was inspired by the fact that for the last 5 years we have been totally lame. We've had really good excuses, mainly revolving around our kids and Ryan's busy career, but now we're just ready to live life to it's fullest, children in tow. You ready? You're a trooper if you make it through this....
Thursday we drove to Normandy and spent the day learning more about World War II. We started off at a couple of the D-Day beaches, followed by the Normandy American Cemetary and Memorial and my kid's favorite place, Pointe Du Hoc. The area at Pointe Du Hoc has been left in it's original condition and the ground is just rittled with large crater after large crater from bombs dropping. The kids loved running in and out of the craters and playing in the cement "forts" where the German soldiers sought protection. We ended our day in a wonderful little town, Bayeux, and had dinner at a local pizzaria. The husband/father of the other family we went with served his mission in France and so not only did he speak fleunt French (which was EXTREMELY helpful) he knew all of the best places to eat. We were well fed.
Friday morning we went to the Bayeux Cathedral and the Bayeux Tapestry, both of which were amazing and beautiful. We had pastries from bakeries every morning for breakfast, and, in my opinion, Bayeux was home to the best ones. The Bayeux Tapestry was one of my favorite places overall, partially because the tapestry is so old, and the story is so cool. The boys also really liked the tapestry and both of them seemed to soak in the story. We were driving to our next destination and Brayden said to Landon, "Let's play. You be England, and I'll be Normandy, which means I always win." True Brayden style right there. The gift shop had a number of really beautiful tapestries that Ryan and I were ogling, starting at 600€ ($900). I wish! It also had a really great children's book that re-told the story that has been really fun to read with the boys. From the Bayeux Tapestry we went into another great little city, Granville. The kids played on the beach and I did a little shopping along a small street filled with shops. We were talking with some locals (one of whom knew English) and it came up that before we moved to Brussels I had never been out of the US (true story). Anyway, this guy was shocked, and said, "Really?? Not even on holiday?!" The culture here is just so different. Everyone goes everywhere and sees everything (broad generalization I'm sure, but you get the point) and now I'm excited to be a part of that.
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and headed to Mont-Saint-Michel. I don't know how many times I said, "Amazing!" that day, but it was a lot. Mont-Saint-Michel has to be one of the most amazingly constructed buildings I have ever seen. It's an abbey on an island and it's 1300 years old. Along with the abbey there were also quite a few little museums within the village, that we didn't see due to cranky kids and hunger. From Mont-Saint-Michel we headed to another crowd favorite, the city of Saint Malo. I think I could buy a little place on the beach and retire there. The ocean view was incredible, and the city itself was so cute. Saint Malo is a walled in city full of shops and eateries and hotels. It's small, and all the buildings look the same. I believe at the time of construction it was a military base of some kind. The kids played on the beach until after 9pm that night, and even at that they were disappointed that it was time to go. It was a nice relaxing way to spend our last night in Northern France. By the time we got to our hotel it was midnight and Charlotte was trashed. She was so tired she could hardly walk (poor girl). Ryan had picked up some food for a late-late dinner and I set her in the pack n play to eat. When I turned around, she was zonked. Totally snoring, in the middle of the room. She's still recovering from her lack of sleep.
Sunday was our most low-key day with a morning at church and our drive home. Belgium and France both have lots of really great rest stops with play stuff for the kids, so we took advantage of those and had a leisurely drive home (or something like that) all the while planning our next trip.
We got the keys to our new house yesterday and will be moving in this weekend. I am so excited! The house ended up needing more work (as in cleaning, painting) than we originally realized, and here in Belgium those kinds of things can fall on the tenants often times, and does in our case. So, we have a bit of work ahead of us, but I don't mind doing it...at least for now. Stay tuned....
12 comments:
I know what you mean about the not travelling outside the US. If it were not for my mission in Spain, I would not have even seen the other side of the country. I even grew up so close to Mexico you could almost see it, but nope, never went there either. We are actually going to try Utah as our grand adventure this month. One step at a time..... Lots of love sent your way.
Wow you've been busy in the blogging world. The header is totally awesome. and all the awesome places you are seeing and visiting.... I would love to go someday.... but you're much more brave than I to move... I think i'm too comfortable in USA.
Lisa those pictures are increddible! Especially the architecture. I wish I could jump in the pictures and see your adventure.
Emily
Okay...jealousy has officially set in! I love the pictures you got. It all looks so fascinating and fun. I LOVE your new blog look!! Jenny...you are amazing!! I'm now thinking that Jenny needs to do me one...even though she has no clue who I am!! :)
I can't wait for the next adventure...make sure I'm on your "private" list.
WOW! I love the pictures! You've had some fun adventures. Your kids are so cute! I am sad we won't see them for a while. It looks like you are adjusting really well to your life as a European. I am impressed!
You are making me seriously consider coming to visit you. I'm serious! I want to experience at least a little of that with you guys. How fun!
That picture of Charlotte playing in the sand is the cutest thing I have ever seen.
testing testing
amazing! everything is neat...i definately need to get out of little old rexburg long enough to see what's in the world :)
good luck with moving.
amazing! i definately need to get out of little rexburg and see what there is in the world :)
good luck moving, cleaning, etc.
Great pictures, Lisa. Thanks for allowing others to live your travels vicariously. :) You guys already seem like pros at this Europe thing!
Great pictures! You guys already seem like European traveling pros.
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