Normandy Part 2

The next stop on our D-Day trip was to Point du Hoc. It was so amazing to see how straight up those cliffs are in person. And amazing how it seems time has stood still there, the bunkers, the craters in the ground from the explosions, it is fascinating.


Point du Hoc

Inside one of the old German defences, was this nasty old room, I wasn't even quite sure what was inside the doorway since it was pitch black but just stuck the camera in, and this was what was in there. Thankfully Dan came down and was prepared with a flashlight so we were able to look around (even though it was quite stinky, lol)

Ben & Emily went through one of the tunnels, and popped up here like a cute little set of gophers :)

A kind of overview of the land from the top of one of the old German defences

Zach checking out "Sarge" and the motorcycle attached to it

Utah Beach

Down on Utah beach.... family members, see the seashells I am holding... those were your souvenirs, shells I had picked up for each of you from Utah beach.... and then I forgot them in the rental car (oops)... sorry about that, but at least you know I thought about you ;)

As we were leaving we noticed this sand sculpture, beautiful.

Zach rockin' out on the iPod on the way back to the Hotel! :)

Bayeux, France

So after our first day in Paris we rented a couple cars, and drove down to Bayeux. On the drive down I was in the back seat with Zach and after he passed out Edward Cullen & Twilight kept me company until I fell asleep, lol. Thank heavens for the iPod! ;)

After we got settled into our rooms, we went to see the Bayeux Tapestry, which was so neat to see in person! (no pics are allowed, so to see if check out the website http://www.bayeuxtapestry.org.uk/)

After the Museum we wandered around near the hotel and explored.


While we were out exploring we grabbed a crepe, and Zach LOVED his first real French Crepe! (as you can tell, he was too busy watching Cars to smile for the camera!)


That night we headed out in search of a restauraunt that was big enough for our large group of 10. It was so beautiful walking around down there, like its own littlw world, it was beautiful!

What a fun first day in Bayeux

Paris!! (round 1)

Next we are off to Paris!! Zach really enjoyed the flight by this point he had become an expert flyer! He especially loved opening & shutting the windows :)

After we got to the Hotel and got settled in we headed out to grab some lunch and then went over to see Notre Dame. It was so beautiful, I'm so glad we were able to go there. Once we got inside it was just so peaceful, we sat in the benches for about 15 minutes just enjoying the relaxing atmosphere taking in the beautiful architecture! SO amazing.

The beautiful Gargoyles

Some of the beautiful sights we came across in our exploring :)

After Zach got in a nap we headed out to the Arc de Triomphe which was so awesome up close. There was some sort of military looking ceremony type of thing, so we weren't able to get closer, darnit!

After the Arc we walked up the Champs-Elysees to meet up with Grandma & Grandpa Magleby, Uncle Dan and Aunt Katie for dinner at the best steak place! Steak and Pom Frites, that's all they have on the menu, and it was so good! Zach really enjoyed his first real french fries there!

Next we went up to the Trocadero to get some good shots in of the Eifel Tower, it was the best view to take it all in, and the beautifulness of the city behind it.

Oslo, Norway

After our amazing time in Denmark, we boarded and overnight cruise like ship to head to Norway. It was wonderful, I can see why some people love cruises, and Zach loved that every time he looked out a window he could see lots and lots of water!

Once we got to Norway we headed up to the Hotel and found a place to do some much needed laundry before heading out and doing some exploring :) We found a great pizza place (which both Joe & Zach loved!) and of all the booths in the place ours had pictures of both "Doc" and "Flo" which Zach noticed and was very excited! I was quite surprised he could tell that they were the same types of cars!! Such a boy he is! This picture is Zach pointing to "Flo" sadly the one of Doc turned out a little too dark :(

And here is a beautiful flower Zach picked for me :)

Me & Zach in front of the Royal Palace

The lovely "tin foil" statue thing in front of our hotel, lol :) it was pretty cool looking :)

Day 2 in Norway we headed out to the Viking Ship Museum, which was so neat, Zach especially loved seeing all the boats! At one point, being the fast lil toddler he is, he snuck under one of the chained off areas and ran up to the ship, touched it (a no-no!) and said BOOOOOAT!! lol silly boy :)

Enjoying some yummy pizza on the boat

The really cute pink boat in the harbor as we came back from the museum

On the way back to the Hotel after the museum, we passed a bookstore with some carts outside and I noticed this right away, and like the dork I am whipped out the camera to get a picture, of Eclipse (from the Twilight series) in Norwegian, lol. I seriously considered buying it until i saw the price tag and realized how ridiculously expensive it would have been, lol (it came to around 18 American dollars i think) and I just couldn't justify the purchase so I will settle for a picture of it, hehe

For dinner that night, we took a Tram up the side of the mountain to the restauraunt at the top, where we got an amazing view of Oslo :) It was so beautiful up there!

One sleepy boy on the way back to the hotel, can you see that glazed over look in his eyes! :) Bye Norway, you were so fun!