Paris Pasteries

All I can say is ... there goes my waistline.

Garnier Opera House

This was truly one of my absolute favorites. I took a guided tour and learned even more than when I was here in 2007. The Opera House was a place to "be seen." Separate entrances, large grand stairs, and balconies over looking the main staircase so that your entrance into the opera would be a show all of itself. People would buy their own boxed area with walls. Their names would be on the door and it would be theirs for the year.

One of the pictures shows a very small snippet of the library of music, opera and design from the Opera House.

The entire building was one I could sit in all day a muse; however, the place I loved the most is under the grand staircase - the very bottom picture.

This is the place that Phantom of the Opera was written for. Unfortunately there are no rivers underground...only a large vessel holding water in case of a fire.

Vincennes Castle

We took the Metro to the end of line 1 and found Chateau Vincennes. The chapel was one of my favorites...nice and bright on the inside with HUGE stained glass windows. This castle started out as a hunting lodge for Louis VII. Over the many years other kings have added on. It has been used as a prison.

The picture of paintings are of when it was used for a prison, the prisoners would paint the walls. I also got photos (not included here) of graffiti from 1861. I am fascinated by ancient graffiti.

This picture of Eric...I could make an entire photo book of Eric with statues. Thank goodness Eric keeps his clothes on.

Switzerland

Our short visit to Switzerland was beautiful! I had to take these fun pictures of the hotel. By the time that we arrived in our room the TV was on with dad's name on the TV welcoming him to the hotel. Then they came and made up two beds for Eric and Michael and left an adorable teddy bear on each of the beds in a cute little bag. Then...they left a Swiss chocolate bar for each of us, water, ear plugs, and little wonderful extras in the bathroom. We decided that we didn't want to leave the hotel.

The next morning we were hoping to get up to the alps. Unfortunately there was a low cloud cover so the boys didn't get to see the majesty of the alps. However, the scenery was extremely beautiful and since they didn't know what they missed, it didn't bother them.

We enjoyed the day of sight seeing and driving back to Stuttgart Germany to catch the train and get back to Paris.

Lichtenstein Castle

The boys and I caught a train (a fast one! It went 320 mph) from Paris to Stuttgart Germany. Welc met us at the train station and we all spent the night in Stuttgart and then rented a car to drive down through Germany and into Switzerland. Welc was going to be looking at fruit trees and checking out the fruit in markets.

On the way we visited a small castle called Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein Castle sits on a crag overlooking the Echaz Valley in Germany. It is a fairytale castle. We had a short 30 minute tour and then we were off on our way to Switzerland. We drove on the Audubon at speeds a little over 100 mph. I was not thrilled in the least with that. I tried to keep myself occupied with watching movies from the History channel (Joan of Arc and Napoleon) that I had downloaded on my ipod.

Bastille Day - July 14

Bastille day here in France is like the 4th of July in America. Bastille day marks the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 and the first major event of the French Revolution of 1789.

In the evening we went to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. I really have to step back at moments like this to soak in the reality of being here in Paris. It was beautiful. I found myself realizing that it was not the same without "Oh beautiful for spacious skies..." playing in the background. France is wonderful but America is where my heart is.

Dday continued

These photos are of the bunkers that the Germans built in preparation for a battle. Eric is standing in the doorway of one. Inside is an empty shell of fear and death. "Cement" walls housed the big machines of war with wide "windows" to swivel and get aim.

Behind Eric in one of the rooms the Americans found 33 German soldiers. Three escaped to a small town nearby and all the others were killed. Looking in that blackened muddy room I recalled the words of a Veteran. In the museum I had heard him speak that he is still haunted by the sounds of a soldier "gurgling" in his blood. The German had attacked him from behind and the Veteran took his knife and sunk it into the German's temple. He then had to slit his throat. Because he could not bear that the man was dying a slow death, he turned him over and stabbed him in the back. That veteran is still haunted by those sounds and life for him was never the same.

Inside the bunker you can see a direct hit probably from one of our ships.

I don't know a lot about war. Standing on those bluffs, in the bunkers, and on the sand looking up at those bunkers I wept. I wept because my 18 years old boys were there with me and that is the age of most of those young men who died on those sands in 1944. I wept because I missed my father and his patriotism. I wept because I know those men storming the beaches of Normandy on that hellish morning felt alone and very scared. Scared of the unknown and the unsaid.

Dday landing

Saturday July, 10, 2010, we rented a car and drove to Normandy. My heart kept turning to my father who would tell his Navy stories. I remember his pride, patriotism, and love of the Navy. All those memories came flooding back as I stood upon this ground. I wanted my father to be with me. I wanted to tell him that I finally got it and how grateful I was for all this courage, brotherhood, and sacrifice. As Welc and I stood in front of the crosses on that still afternoon we couldn't speak to each other. Our throats were knotted and our eyes wet.

We stopped in a museum the pictures that I took were three separate standing walls.

COMPETENCE: "We had to know where we were, where we were going, we couldn't afford to be wrong; we had to be right on it, we couldn't afford a disaster." Pvt George Tily

COURAGE: "I started out to cross that beach with thirty five men and only six got to the top, that's all." 2nd Lt Bob Edlin.

SACRIFICE: "then it all came down to this brief first day of battle on the coast of Normandy, and, for so many of them it all ended. For the rest of us, what has been since has not been the same." Capt. Charles Cawthorn

I moved on down the hall and saw for the first time a purple heart. "Sgt Frank Peregory received the Medal of Honor for his heroism on June 3, 1944 while moving inland from Omaha beach. When machine gun fire halted his unit's advance, Peregory stormed through enemy positions and attacked with his rifle, bayonet, and hand grenades. His daring actions cleared the way for his battalion's successful advance. He was killed a week later and is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery."

We went down and walked that beach looking up at what was left of those bunkers that Sgt Frank Peregory faced.

Sacre-Coeur

Sacre-Coeur means Sacred Heart is on the highest point in Paris. It was build as a memorial of 58,000 French soldiers killed in the Franco-Prussian War. It took 46 years to build. Glittering inside is a huge Byzantine mosaic of Christ.
The views are unbeatable and this is the place to watch the sun set in Paris...and we did.

Cemeterey

July 7, 2010
Jon Magnus who is from Wenatchee just happened to be in Paris visiting. He has previously lived in France working as a French interpreter. Jon took Michael, Eric and I to the cemetery where Chopin is buried. Since Michael won our local state competition with a Chopin piece we just had to visit.

Jon pointed out that some of the tombstones have CPE or Concession A Perpetuite on them. If they have that engraved, the grave will remain in the cemeterey forever. If not, the grave will remain only as long as the space has been paid for and then it will be pulled up and a new one put in its place. My first thought was "That is terrible!" my second thought was that I sure hope this cemetery is keeping meticulous documentation.

37 Rue de Charonne

The is the place that we moved to where we will be staying when we are in Paris. It is beautiful. I have not posted any pictures yet of the libraries (yes four to five full libraries from floor to ceiling). It is cool inside and Welc purchased a fan so on hot nights we have some air circulation.

I find myself more and more intrigued with the paintings and drawings everywhere. I want to know the story behind them all.

This place is located by the Bastille which originally was a fortress but soon became a jail for political prisoners. It was here that angry citizens rising up against the excesses of the monarchy on July 14 1789 stormed the Bastille. This began the French Revoluation and destroyed the hated symbol of oppression. There is now in it's place a column which they call July Column with the Angel of Liberty on top to commemorate those who died in the revolution.

Notra Dame

On the walk home from church we passed and went through Notre Dame. I was hoping that a mass was going on so the boys could hear the organ and singing inside the church. There is a beautiful spirit when that chapel is filled with live music. The mass had been held earlier in the day when we were at church ourselves. The picture of Welc, Eric, and Michael is in the back of Notre Dame - a view that is not taken often and I feel it is actually one of the nicest views.

Jet Lag

The boys didn't really think they had jet lag...so when I heard one of them snoring away in the other room I had to snap this picture. They were almost comatose. I could barely wake them when it was time.