London Day 1

I ended my first day in London with a sunset ride on the London Eye - do you see Big Ben?

(Fact: Big Ben is actually the bell that chimes on the hour, not the clock)

I sorta saw the Tower of London...

and took a canal ride on London's Little Venice from the Camden Lock after we went to St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana was married in 1981).

Cheers then for now mate... will post more soon!

Last Memories of France

My last weekend in France was a happy one. Here we are at the Botanical Gardens in Tours. Can you find us in the wildflowers?

We took a short train ride to Amboise to visit the chateau Close-Luce where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last days working for Francois I of France.

The best part about visiting this small chateau is the park. It's a great place for kids like me to let out some steam and burn off some energy. I did have some fun moments with my Mommy and Mamaw.

I had to go to "time out" during lunch because I have a hard time staying seated and eating my entire meal. Despite the hiccup, we had a nice lunch in the gardens, and I found a cat to follow around (part of my distraction at lunch....).

I am in London now.... God Save the Queen! Will update with more photos soon. We can't wait to get back home to see our friends and family!

Chartres

Visiting the Chartres Cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage Site) with my family! It is one of the oldest surviving cathedrals in France that hasn't been destroyed by war and houses part of the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary when she gave birth to Jesus.

Our tour guide (who did an excellent job), but wasn't too happy to see a baby in his group. Thankfully, I took a little nap during his lecture and caused zero problems.

The cathedral is undergoing a "cleaning" of sorts, look at the difference here!

We went to the town to see "Chartres en Lumieres" which is a festival of lights that are actually displayed as artwork over 26 public buildings around the city. VERY COOL! We rode "le petit train" to see all of the different displays.

Interesting shower in our hotel. I liked playing in here, but did not like the bathing part. A little scary with all of the jets!

Hanging around in mommy's kicks and my backpack

My friend Oliver that I met at the park

Rainy days

Who said rainy days aren't fun?

Home Away from Home

We spend lots of time in our little kitchen. I have my own little cups of ice cream and this bench seat that lets me move around a little bit, although Mommy wishes that I would learn how to sit down during meals.

Plenty of fun playgrounds near our house....

Tours has the oldest and largest flower market. I even saw a goat buying pastries while we were there!

The Birds of Notre Dame

One of my favorite activities in France is bird, cat and dog watching. I did what all tourists do on the square in front of the cathedral, I fed the pigeons!

Jardin du Luxembourg

This carousel is located within the most amazing park. This was my first solo carousel ride (since it's only made for little people). We have found lots of "aires des jeux" or outdoor play spaces for kids that are just my size in France, and this one takes first prize!

Paris je t'aime

I had a great visit to Paris with my Mamaw and Paw. I saw all of the wonderful monuments and statues, and I really became one with the city.

Rodin's "The Thinker"

I think Paw makes a much better Napoleon!

We met a lady from Memphis visiting with her granddaughter, and she was nice enough to take of picture of me with my family with the Eiffel Tower. See, nice southerners are everywhere!

I loved visiting Les Invalides and Napoleon's tomb.

Mont-Saint-Michel

We stayed at a great little hotel in Saint-Malo, the town from which Jacques Cartier sailed from France when he discovered Canada. The town is fortified (meaning it has a wall all the way around it) to protect it from invaders.

I love eating lots of French bread with my Paw!

Here is a photo of the entire family before we summit Mont-Saint-Michel, an ancient place of pilgrimage and home to an extremely old abbey.

There were many steps to conquer with the stroller. Good thing I am a princess and I just got to ride all cozy with my blanket while Mamaw, Mommy and Paw did all of the lifting.

Omaha Beach

Note from Mommy: what an amazing moment to see my daughter run and play on this beach with her grandparents! If it weren't for guys like my grandfathers (Vi's great-grandfathers) this moment may not have been possible. Not to mention that this is one of the widest and most beautiful sandy beaches that I have laid eyes on. The people in this area of France have truly preserved some of our history (and their history, too) in making these sites hospitable and easy to visit.... happy travel moment here.

Normandy Days 1-2

The first order of business when we arrived at our hotel in Bayeux was for me to take a bath. I smelled like a mixture of spilled milk and circulated airplane air. I've never been to France before, but Mommy says this is the biggest French bathroom that she has ever seen! Mme Florence (the B&B owner) was a great host and even had a pack-n-play and changing pad ready for me. You can see more of the hotel here on her website.

We first visited the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise which hosts the museum dedicated to the paratroopers that landed in the Normandy region before the D-Day invasions. One paratrooper did make a famous landing on the top of this church, but now a dummy has taken his place. The monument of the cross in front of the church is an ancient Roman landmark, and the church dates to the 11th century.

Our next stop was in the town of Grandcamp-Maisy where we visited the Ranger Museum. It tells the story of the American Rangers who had to conquer the Pointe-Du-Hoc on June 6, 1944. It is a quaint beachfront town and we enjoyed stopping here.

Next, we drove to the actual site of Pointe-Du-Hoc. After seeing this place in person, it is hard to imagine the job that the Rangers on this mission had to complete. They had to land their boats in rough waters, scale the cliffs, and then destory the German arms located at the top. Some of these weapons were massive and could travel over 20,000 meters out into the sea! This picture is not from Mommy's camera, but the aerial view shows all of the craters that developed from continued bombing by the allied forces.

Posing in front of one of the German guns that was strategically built partially in the ground; this one was never completed before it was destroyed by American forces.