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.