Paris - Normandy Vacation

Well, it's about time I report on our France trip. It was amazing! Paris was all rush, rush, and Normandy was relaxing and educational; so the two halves fit well together. My parents flew into Paris and joined us for this vacation.

Paris
We rented a flat through Vacation In Paris in the first arrondissement, and we have never stayed north of the Seine before, but really liked the location. It was a 20 minute walk to Notre Dame and a 25 minute walk to the Louvre-- perfect! We enjoyed the little markets and shops on the cute pedestrian streets near us. When we first arrived we noticed we were staying on 'sex shop row' which also added some color to the neighborhood. As James noted, the very old church just across the street from 'Paris Sexy 2001' had probably lost the morality war on this piece of turf a long time before.

We did the Musée Louvre twice, and I enjoyed it much more than I have before. We found new and different things to enjoy, and since I'd been there twice before I think I was more relaxed and able to take it in better--- it really is a HUGE museum. My favorite piece this time was a statue made of onyx and marble, truly unique and beautiful. We also returned to the Musee Marmottan which hosts Claude Monet's original work that started the Impressionist movement, Impression Sunrise. We originally visited here 11 years before, and all the Monet works were as amazing as I remembered them to be.

I can not think about our time in Paris without giving my mom a bit of a hard time for her daily metro snafu. It became comical how many ways she could lose/destroy a ticket and she hopped the turnstiles at least twice... with a valid ticket hidden somewhere in her pockets.

I would be remiss however, not to thank my parents for babysitting for us on day 2 of the trip (while they were under heavy jet lag), so that we could go out and enjoy a proper dinner to celebrate our 10th anniversary at a gastronomque restaurant in Paris, Le Tastevin. It was one of the best meals of my life and a great celebration. Thanks Mingy & Grandpa Joe!

Other highlights include: the Rodin Musee, Musee d'Orsay, Musee L'Orangerie, le Sacre Cœur, Saint Chappelle, Notre Dame, the Jardin des Plants, going up la tour Eiffel and Angelina's for a hot chocolate & sweets early dinner. Wow, no wonder we were tired leaving Paris 5 days later!

On our way to Normandy we stopped by Claude Monet's house at Giverny. It was my third visit there, and I truly do love that place. I was a bit bummed that there was a lot of dandelion type fuzz in the air and it settled on everything looking like snow on the ground and making the famed waterlilies pond look a bit dirty. But, I was glad to have seen it at this different time of year.

Once we arrived at our chateau in Normandy, Chateau Sully, things began to unwind a bit. Each day, we enjoyed long afternoon naps followed by swimming in the enclosed pool. James was so spoiled by the softness of the sheets that he didn't sleep under the covers in our next more economical hotel in Lille.

We enjoyed good food in Normandy, thanks to Trip Advisor, Rick Steves and our deep love for Indian Food. The snotty owner of our chateau said there was no Indian food in the town of Bayeux, but we happened upon the Taj Mahal Restaurant (49 Rue St Jean, Bayeux) and it was the best Indian food that we've eaten in Europe.

We took the one day Rick Steves recommended tour of the D-Day sites and split it into two (hello, we travel with 2 kids under 3). It worked perfectly, and on day one we saw the Arromanches and some German Gun Battlements; and then on day two we saw the American Military Cemetery (see my separate post on that), Omaha Beach and Point du Hoc with the bomb marks still evident all over the bluff. These sites were all well maintained, interesting and educational. A piece of history you have to see and experience to get a good feel for it.

Our last morning in Normandy (Sunday) we happened upon a seaside market in Port en Bessin that was incredible. We purchased a slinky, beautiful table runner, fresh paella, strawberries, cherries, normandie cheese, apple juice, apple appertif, apple cider and plastic forks for our feast on the little towns pier-- what fun! After this, we were off to Vimy Ridge, a Canadian WWI memorial where my Great Grandfather fought for 3 years. We arrived 20 minutes before closing time, but my Dad was still happy to see the trenches and memorial.

The next day we drove home to Luxembourg and took my parents to the famed Brazilian Steakhouse lunch (Restaurant Rodizio). The massive cuts of meat sizzling on metal rods were impressive, but the perfectly cooked pineapple was the winner in everyone's book. (See photos for Anna's excitement over this meal)

A great trip followed by a couple days with my parents here in Lux to show off Parc Merveilliuex and Cahteau Vianden before they took the train back to Paris.

We're off to Belek, Turkey next week for a week at an all inclusive beach resort. Can't wait!