We woke up in France this morning, which is the first time ever for me! (Dayna and Amy spent a week in Paris 18 years ago!) The hotel offered a French breakfast, that should have been a hint but we bit. For the meager sum of about $8.00 American each we got a French screwing. It was better than bread and water, but not much. We'll remember to go down the street in the future.  

Just next door was the car rental office (good planning) . In a few minutes the nice lady had our car ready to go. We have a pint sized Toyota Yaris, but perfect for just the two of us. Gas costs about $7 per gallon, if I have it figured correctly (!), so using a little car is better. We just tell them we left our Rolls Royce at home.

Basically, the day consisted of driving from one extreme end of Normandy to the other end, a job that took the American GI's two months to do in 1944. But, then, they had those darn pushy Germans mucking things up. We, on the other hand, were driving, once again, on the right and had four lane highways!

Dayna has little interest is war history and I am going to spend a whole day on a D-Day tour on Monday, but I thought she should at least see some of the battle history. We first stopped in St. Mere-Eglise which is where the American airborne troops landed. If you remember the scene in "The Longest Day", it is where the American soldier got hung up in the church steeple -- Red Buttons played the part . We did not see any of the beautiful museum there because I will be back on Monday.   I, then, navigated Dayna to Utah Beach which was the beach where Americans landed nearly unopposed (compared to bloody Omaha). I'm glad I saw that because my tour won't go to that beach; plus, since we live in Utah, it has special meaning.  

 Our last stop was the town of Bayeux. It was the first real town that the allies captured and it is the "headquarters" of all tours, etc., having to do with D-Day. We really only wanted to get some lunch. We made our way into one of the small cafes in town and were seated in one of those double tables that is about two inches from another double table. (The kind of table we all hate to get.). But, it was all there was. As it turned out we were sitting next to a really nice couple from Massachusetts who were a little younger than us, but he is a retired orthodontist and she is a professional photographer. He is a pilot, loves airplanes, has one of his own, and was a member, like me, of the Experimental Aircraft Association . Did we hit it off or what?!

After a a super enjoyable lunch we were ready to head to our (actually, my mom's) timeshare, just south of Rouen. For the last 15 kilometers, we relied on the GPS to get us here and. I have to say, I don't know how we would have found the place without it. Really! We are on the banks of the Seine River -- that's the one that goes through Paris. We are almost at the mouth of the river. It was, and is, raining so we haven't done much exploring of the grounds, but they look beautiful.  
We have a little one bedroom condo that will suit us great for the next 7 days as a base of exploration.

Tonight we picnicked in our house. Wine, bread, cheese, meats, a perfect dinner listening to the rain, and Dayna is making frequent trips to the laundry room to see if the washer and dryer are available. With only one washer and one dryer, it will be late before we are ready for bed. Tomorrow, we are going to go to Mont St . Michel which is the castle/Abbey on the island that is surrounded by water when the tide is in. Note: As much of the ocean as we have seen, we have yet to see the tide IN. The tide seems to know when the Beckmans are arriving, so it goes OUT. :(

Laundry is finally going down stairs. Long overdue!! Th little joys of life!