Be Joyful Always: Paris and Normandy

EUROPE

Paris - Heart of Normandy

Seine River

Day 1/2:Tues. October 10th —

️TRAVEL

After spending the morning at the Cardiac Surgeon's office,

we were cleared to fly and go to Paris!!

Wed, Oct 11thParis, France

BOARD SHIP

️ TOUR FRANCE -

$12 ice cream A: praline & PB crunch D: praline

$7 coke

After arriving to the beautiful Seine River, we boarded our cruise. Our minds were a little blown as our boat was docked right near the Eiffel Tower.

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Day 3: Thursday, October 12th

Paris, France

️PANORAMIC PARIS:

$20 tip tour guide

$100 north face jacket

We spent the first few hours seeing the major sights in Paris

Charles de Gaulle - Etoile

the Champs-Élysées,
Grand Palais
The Louvre Museum
The Hotel de Ville

He square Rene-Viviani
the Arc de Triomphe,
the Palais Garnier opera house,
and the Paris Town Hall.

️FLAVORS OF PARIS: 2:15-5:45pm

$10 tip

$4 baguette + croissant

And the afternoon tastings of some of France’s sweet and savory (even sweaty & stinky) treats.

It has been a long 3 weeks and getting on this trip has been emotional and stressful - especially for Aaron. He was so worried about me. He's exhausted!

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Day 4: Friday, October 13th

Vernon, France

️MONET FOUNDATION GIVERNY

We stopped to roam a little town called La Roche-Guyon before moving on to Vernon France.

We visited Claude Monet pink house with Green shutter & of course his gardens in Giverny, France. Monet lived and painted for 43 years. Unfortunately his estate has no original Monets paintings there.

Of course I managed to Fall down a flight of stairs before leaving AND decided to try RUM cake. Dry heaved at the table! I don’t have true friends and I Was NOT prepared for that bite!!

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Day 5: Saturday, October 14th

Rouen, France

️ROUEN WALKING TOUR:

We arrived to rain in the city of Rouen but we still walked the city seeing the charming buildings, of course the Notre Dame Cathedral, the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake and the gold Gros Horloge Astronomical Clock.

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Day 6: Sunday, October 15th

Rouen, France

️NORMANDY - All Day!

Today was a day for the books. I am married to someone who loves history and patriotism. He was in awe of the sights today.

It was an early morning drive to the Caen Memorial Museum, where we learned about the invasion of Normandy.

After lunch we drove to the Normandy American Cemetery that is located on a cliff over Omaha Beach, it is the final resting place of nearly 9,400 American service personnel. We had a short but very sweet service placing a wreath at the memorial.

After we went to Omaha beach and stood where the United States, British, and Canadian forces simultaneously landed on five separate beachheads in Normandy, France.

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Day 7: Monday, October 16th

Les Andelys, France

️CHATEAU GAILLARD WALK TOUR:

Today we leisurely walked the city of Les Andelys, France and saw the Château Gaillard which is a medieval castle.

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Day 8: Tuesday, October 17th

Paris, France

️Today we toured the beautiful NAPOLEONS CHATEAU! I loved the textiles on the inside and the florals and black swans on the out.

Joséphine de Beauharnais bought the manor house in April 1799 for herself and her husband, General Napoléon Bonaparte who was one of the most successful generals during frnch evolution. This was the Emperor’s Final Residence Before His Exile