Versailles

We are the last leg of our journey!

This morning we went to the Palace of Versailles. We were 7th & 8th in line, having previously bought our tickets.

Due to a chill in the air & fog, the crowd was nonexistent. We got through in an hour! It was like a private tour.

The Hall of Mirrors was beautiful, but even more exquisite was the War Room. The White House should get one of these! A bust of all the famed kings & generals, as well as two- story paintings of all the big battles. We saw George Washington, Joan of Arc, & Napoleon to name a few! The house was grand & we got one last look at the gardens, since we had spent hours there the day before. When we came by later, there were 100s of people just waiting in line! And 100s more coming off the metro! Ah!

So we grabbed some food, checked out of the hotel, and we are currently on the RER Metro into Paris! By 12pm! On to some museums!


-- Posted by Lauren

Versailles first glance

Well, we got to Versailles just fine thanks again to Lauren's planning.

The Normandy area was much more relaxed. We were able to take a train instead of the metro from the Paris area which I preffered. We also didn't have a check during our 3 hour journey so it just happens that we have a spare day on our Eurorail pass now, coast of Spain? Anyway, we are both a bit concerned at this point by the, nastiness, that seems to be Paris so hopefully it will turn around. Either way we are enjoying day one of Versailles which is really beautiful. We were able to tour the gardens in relative peace since the main site is closed on Monday and most tourists were far away!

We also biked around the garden which allowed us to see it all, without dying. So now we are waiting for an American restaurant to open as we are both looking for something less, well French, today at least. So far so good though!


-- Jordan

Normandy

Although it took a few trains and two taxis (including a pretty intersting ride through Paris) to make the trip from Amsterdam to Bayuex we made it. Normandy turned out to be very interesting and quite beautiful, although Rupert our English barmate was right about the French people. We were able to visit an extremely old church complete with a crypt right across from our room.

The crypt was a little creepy but there will be more of that (creepiness) later.

As far as very old things go Lauren wanted to see a tepestry made just after William conquered England to tell the story. By tell the story I do mean all of it, the tapestry was nearly 100 yards long but it actually was very interesting and certainly a unique experience.

Of course our main reason for being here and the highlight of any trip to Normandy was the visit to the WWII sights, specifically Omaha Beach.

It was certainly special to be able to see the actual site and surprisingly moving to read the stories on that ground. Getting there proved to be quite exciting though as we rented a car instead of taking a bus tour; and the French are horrible drivers.
From there we moved toward Utah Beach and stopped at a few museums before heading to Pointe du Hoc. The museums were amazing because they had both Allied and Nazi memorbillia on display which is hard to find in the States. The collection was quite large and seeing the actual SS uniforms is pretty disturbing to be honest.

Next we visited Pointe du Hoc which is where 225 American Rangers scaled the cliff to take a German gun posistion that could fire on both American beach-heads and had to be removed. After two days these men were finally reinforced but only 90 were left. However, in the spirit of the day they did complete their mission and destroyed the guns. Reading the story is hard enough but seeing the cliff they had to climb makes it pretty awe-inspiring to say the least. However Pointe du Hoc wasn't all sad stories because you here got the chance to walk freely among the damage caused by pre invasion bombing that was left as part of the monument. It is amazing how much damage those bombs did.

You also got to explore the remaining gun emplacements and bunkers which is where the creepiness comes back in. On the far back side of the site there is an old command bunker that survived almost completely intact. It is not the one that is lit up for show and we would not have found it unless we just happened to be looking down that hill. You can go inside but I wouldn't recommend it, in the darkness and dampness you can almost feel the Nazi officers waiting around the corner and it is pretty unsettling. I couldn't get a picture because we ran out.

After our tour of the beaches and cemetaries we went back to Bayeux for some French bread and pastry treats. Also we found a carousel across from our hotel which was pretty neat.

So with Bayeux done we are on the train to Versailles via downtown Paris which should be intersting.


-- Jordan

Amsterdam

After seven long hours of train delays & running around stations, we arrived in Amsterdam a bit frazzled. It was dark & pouring down rain. We had less than 30 minutes to arrive at our b&b & we were lost. We asked people, but street names don't really exist in Amsterdam (only canals). We finally agreed to get a taxi. After unsuccesly trying to enter with my pack & umberella, I got in & showed him the address. He said oh & Threw the cab in reverse (!!), and stopped 1/2 block down. He got out & said to get out. Then he said we were standing on the right street, just to go down further. It was less than a block. So then we checked into the cutest suite with Europe's largest hotel bathroom. So needless to say, we weren't enjoying our first night.

However, it got soo much better!! Here's a short run-down of our crazy two days/nights here.

During the days we walked around the entire central ring of the city & saw all of famous canal bridges, statues, squares, & buildings. It truly is a beautiul place and the canals make it even more gorgeous. We visited the Anne Frank house (my dream come true), the Dutch Resistance Museum, the Shipyard (the maritime museum was closed for rennovation), & the Hermitage. No, of course we didn't jet into Russia. There is a one of a kind satelitte museum in Amsterdam. They allow two exhibits out of Russia for 6 months. We saw two exhibits on the royal families. Oh the dresses, jewels, & army hats!!!

Amsterdam is known for the nightlife. Imagine a town that is New York mixed with Carrboro & a side of New Orleans. Fun! The first night I signed us up for a tour of the Red light district. I was scared to go alone. We were the only two there, so no tour, but the awesome lady asked us if she could buy us a drink. We said sure & she took us to the gay part of the district. We had a mini-bar hop. Crazy times, which included the most beautiful bar room where you could touch the water & me holding a dog for someone in the middle of a disco dancefloor.

We ended at a bar where in WW2 the German officers came to drink. Also, the owner was a famed Dutch resistance worker. The next night we got to go on the tour for free! It was great because it combined history with fun facts. Who knew there was so much history in that district? For fun modern pop culture fans, we saw where pulp fiction was written & where Janet bought the famed superbowl dress.

Anyways, I loved Amsterdam. I wish we were staying longer but we are already on the Thalys to France.

--Lauren