Paris in July Deux! – #fanfun

TRAVELING BEYOND THE CITY

There is so much to do and see in Paris, you are hard-pressed to find enough time for everything. But we saved a few days for beyond the city excursions. One was a tour of Normandy. We visited all of the WW2 sites I’ve so often read about, climbed in and out of the bunkers and felt the sting of the wind coming off of the Channel. The French believe the spirits of the men who died at Omaha Beach still linger there and it’s quite possibly true. Standing on that particular beach has the reverent feel of being in church. The same is true of the American Cemetery in Normandy. Most heartbreaking of all was the small white cross with the inscription, “Here lies an honored comrade known only to God.”

I have been working on a novel set during WW2 and this trip to Normandy was a great inspiration. It will definitely have me moving that story up to the front burner.

Perhaps our most enjoyable day was the one spent with our charming hosts. They drove in, picked us up at the apartment and together we visited the home and gardens of artist Claude Monet. In college I was an art major and my favorite era was the impressionists, so seeing this was a thrill. When you stand beside the pond of water lilies that inspired Monet’s painting you can understand the love that went into each brush stroke.

As if all this wonder weren’t enough, we did an overnight stop in Dublin, Ireland on our trip home. How many people want to guess what we did there?

Now here’s my laugh of the day. I always imagined pubs were for eating and drinking, I’m thinking maybe shepherd’s pie or Irish Stew but it seems in Ireland the pubs are just for drinking. No food. Not even pretzels. Just drinking. I think that might be why the Irish are so well known for their blarney.

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