Normandy...

We drove to Normandy for the Easter weekend. We had Monday off, so we decided we would do a little "long weekend" trip, and we both wanted to see the sights on the French coast.

We arrived in Caen, France on Friday night, and we were exhausted after working and driving 5 hours. We called it an early night, as we had to be up and at the tour meeting sight at 8:20. We took a tour called "American WWII History," from 8:30-5:30. It was long, but so great. We arrived to find we were taking a bus with another couple from Michigan. We were pretty excited there would only be 5 of us, well six if you include Gracie and the tour guide, Olivier.

We drove around to all of the major WWII sights, including the German gun battery, Omaha and Utah beaches, the Culleville-sur-Mer American cemetary, Pointe du Hoc, Carentan, the 506th Headquarters, Drop Zone D (the paratroopers), Sainte-Mere Eglise (and Museum), Hiesville (General Taylor's HQ), the Pratt Memorial, Marmion Farm, and Brecourt Manor. There were even more little sights along the way that were were able to see as well!

The tour was fantastic, and they had original maps, pictures, and plans to correspond with all of the sights. It really was fascinating. The cemetary was incredible, and we even went to a lot of the "Band of Brothers" filming spots. I was skeptical of the length of the tour, but not once did I feel like it was long...the time actually flew by. The only thing wrong with the trip was the weather...it was cold and rainy. But I hear that this is par for the course in Normandy, so if you are planning a trip, be prepared!

We finished the day with a nice meal and hit the hay...we were exhausted! The next morning we drove to Deauville/Trouville-sur-Mer and stopped to walk around. This area came highly recommended, and I absolutely loved it. The houses were like nothing I'd seen in France, or Europe for that matter, and the area was so cute. The towns are within a stones throw of each other, and they surround a cute harbor and the ocean. It was cold and windy, but very crowded and posh. They had all of the designer stores and fun terraces to eat at, and a casino. Stephen and I played a few slots...of course lost all our money. I shouldn't have even mentioned it...how sacriligious to gamble on Easter.

We decided to forego lunch and head straight to the Palace of Versailles to round out our day. I was disappointed that the flowers weren't planted yet, but the gardens still amazed me. It's incredible how enormous the gardens behind the palace are. What a fun backyard! Stephen and I joked about how amazing that would be, if our backyard was that big...

Now back to reality! We relaxed and did almost nothing yesterday, and it was back to the grind today! It was such a fun weekend, but of course the reason for the season is that HE IS RISEN! I'm such a rhymer :) Hope you all had a great Easter!