Day 7

Day 7

We’ve just arrived in Liege, Belgium after leaving Paris this morning and have visited several sites associated with the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne, Belgium.

Our guide, Robby, was an older gentleman, probably my age :-) that worked with the local community promoting visitation of the battle site and was an amateur historian as it relates to the fighting in this area. He was very engaging and informative.

We visited what is called the “Jack Forest” which is where the American 506th Army met the German forces in the Ardennes Forest. We walked through the forest and smelled the freshly cut spruce trees there before arriving at the site of a line of fox holes that date back to December 1944 when the battle took place. If you’re a little rusty on your history this battle was very well portrayed in the HBO movie “Band of Brothers” which our tour director has been showing on the bus as we traveled today.




We had lunch in Bastogne at a number of different places on the square and most of us enjoyed the local speciality of Belgium fries which are very similar to American fries with the exception that they are fried twice and as a result are hot and soft on the inside and crunchy on the out, tres bien!

We’ve visited several memorials to specific American groups including the 101st Airborne Group as well as a German cemetery where the dead were buried 3 to 6 to a grave but all noted on the head stone. The headstones were a cross but not the white of the American Cemetery at Normandy but a darker, smaller grante headstone. Nicely done but very somber looking in comparison to other cemeteries that we’ve visited.

We’ve finished dinner by 8:00 PM and were checked into our rooms in the local Best Western Hotel here and most are settling down to a slower evening with a later start tomorrow. Breakfast is at 9:00 AM with the bus loading at 10:00 AM for our trip to Berlin. We drive for about an hour and pick up a bullet train for the remainder of the trip with speeds up to 180 mph, I’m looking forward to that trip. We eat lunch before the train and will bring a sandwich for dinner on the train. We arrive late in Berlin at about midnight, so a late start but also a late arrival.

Bonne nuit!

Well as I reviewed this post I notice that I've not included any of the group and perhaps you'd like to see them as well. :-)

Here we are leaving the German Cemetery towards the bus before heading to the Jack Forest.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And below you can see the fox holes that have filled in significantly from 1944.

And below we are in front of the American Memorial at Bastogne.

And then of course the obligatory bus shots! :-)

 

Well that will cover today pretty well. If time goes well this evening I'll try and go back and fill in some shots from day 5 & 6, so you might want to review those days, but first a shower and clean up prior to going to bed and then we'll see. It's now 10:30 PM but . . .  

Day next 6/7?

Well its nearly 2 AM Paris time and won't post much other than to say we are well and having a great tour. We've just finished out Paris at Night tour and have just arrived back at the hotel for an 8:00 departure for Belgium in the morning and a 5 hour bus ride to Bastogne, site of the Battle of the Bulge. More later.
We also took a cruise down the Seine before the trip to the tower.

Here we are at the beginning of the cruise.

But after a long day of touring Paris some of us were pretty worn down, I'll not show the photo my wife took of me but there is one. :-)

After finishing the river cruise we took a ride on the metro to a stop near the Eiffel Tower for the completion of our Paris by night with a trip up. Most made the trip to the very top while a few of us settled for a stop at the level about a third of the way up which provided a very nice view. The evening brought a foggy evening with a cool breeze which caught seveal  of us by surprise as we hoped that the bus would provide some warm shelter.

Day 5

We are becoming seasoned metro riders understanding that staying together is a vita skill in this process.

After a short walking tour we ended up near Notre Dame and would spend some time touring the church and the surrounding area.

That evening would bring dinner with a few new items that were ordered a la carte, James,  not pictured indicated that he likes snails, me, I didn't try them.

This is where we ended our first day in Paris!

We left Caen this morning visited Rouen had lunch there before driving into Paris mid afternoon.
Dont really have time to fully update you today because as you can tell we didn't get back to our rooms until dark and couldn't ask the desk how to sign on to the internet until this morning.
We are headed back to Paris this morning and will tour Versailles this afternoon and do our Paris by night tour this evening so it will be another very late night. Not sure when the next update will come.

Day 4

Day 4

As we left Portsmouth yesterday I took a shot from the upper deck before heading down for our 4-5 hours’ sleep as we sailed across the channel to Caen, France. The temp was in the low 50s and there was some fog that added a strange look to the photo, but nice none the less.

The next morning we had breakfast before going ashore and loading on the bus for our trip to the beach at Normandy and the American Cemetery there.

After a tour in a nearby museum we visited the German gun placements along the shore and took a few photos before going to the American Cemetery.

















I had each of your students find a specific grave for an Oklahoma military man that was killed in the first 10 days of the fighting and is buried there. I had an Oklahoma Rose rock to place on the marker and asked them to photograph the headstone. So ask them about that. The guide set this up well with some scenes from “Saving Private Ryan” as we rolled up to the cemetery. If you remember the film it begins in the cemetery.
(If you look closely you can see the stone on the right side of the cross, it's smaller than a pea.)
The photo is of the airman that I assigned myself.

From there we drove further down the beach and walked out on the sands of the beach where there was a memorial on the sand.

We are all dead tired as this was a long day and with very little sleep. We are going to bed early this evening for another early start tomorrow.

Just noticed that I didn't take many pics of the group today, sorry but there is a good group shot for the fini (we're in France, you know).

The kids are a joy to travel with and I believe that they are having a great time.

Day 3


Today we got off to a late start, wakeup call at 9:00 AM breakfast by 10:00 AM and departure scheduled for 11:00 that was closer to 11:30 AM but a loosely scheduled day so no big deal.

We took a drive down the highway on the wrong side of the road for about two hours before we arrived at Portsmouth and toured the D-Day Museum there then had lunch at various pubs a short walk away. Here most ordered their first fish and chips and reported that it was good and the chips were just like home (fries).

As you look at this picture you might have a concern so I'll add a close up for my concerned parents. :-)

After lunch we returned to the museum for a look at the 16th century fortifications of the port put in place originally by King Henry the VII and improved upon by Henry the VIII. Here in late afternoon a small group had their first taste of British tea and were all enjoying the cultural differences.

Dinner was at Tiger Tiger which is evidently a popular night spot and we say a lot of interestingly dressed folks heading up the stairs to the room above us.

We’ve now moved to the departure site of our ferry this evening and we’re waiting in various ways before loading for the 6-7 hour passage to Caen, France where we arrive in the morning.

All is well and I believe that everyone is having a great time; I’d say that we wish you were here but I’m pretty sure that 11 of the group like the groups’ configuration just the way it is.

Thanks for letting me enjoy your kids this summer; we’re having a great time, stay tuned for more updates as I have time.

Day 1 & 2

Day 1

Here we are the last time you saw us as we gathered before boarding the plane in Tulsa and you can see by the next two photos we arrived unharmed but changed. Some got some sleep on the flight and others of us not so much. I ended up taking the one seat that was separated from all of the others in the back of the plane which had more side to side movement than up and down. The best news about the London flight is that we made it and it is now “History.”

After making our way to the hotel and unloading our luggage but not checking into our rooms we were ready for out first adventure and off we head for London. The trip into the city took about 45 minutes and included walking, a train ride and a ride on the “Tube,” mind the gap. Mind the gap is a prerecorded message that is played at each stop as you enter and exit to keep you thinking about where you step.

Our first stop was at the Emperial War Museum which has exhibits from all of the conflicts in English History. I walked by one that had British artifacts from the Colonial Wars of North America but spent most of my time in the Holocaust exhibit.

Outside the War Museum we took several group shots and then took a bus and walked a short distance to eat our first real meal in London. We had bangers and mash and in spite of how that sounds they were pretty good and your talking to the picky eater of the group. In case you don’t speak English as its spoken here bangers are sausages and mash refers to good ol mashed potatoes with a sauce or gravy over them. Most bowls were empty on their way back to the kitchen.

We then took a short walk in that area and decided that we’d had all the fun we could stand for today and headed back to the hotel which is pretty nice and located next to a wild game preserve although “wild” game is a bit of a stretch.

This is one of several photos that I've added this evening to give you more of what happened on day one. This was in the financial district and these are bankers and such having a little down time after work. It is also the location of a scene in one a movie that all the kids knew that I can't remember now but you can ask them about it.

Tomorrow morning comes early as the wakeup call is at 6:30 AM, that’s 12:30 AM Oklahoma time so I’m heading to bed and not sure when I’ll be able to post. I got a one time 30 minutess free today and have not figured out tomorrow yet but I’m working on it.

Day 2

We had an early start to our day with our first stop at Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. My comment is that the British certainly know how to do pomp! :-) Very impressive performance and they do this once a day 7 days a week 365 days a year.

We took a bus tour of the city prior to the changing of the guard ceremony and say St. Paul cathedral, the London eye, London Bridge and the Tower of London to name a few of the highlights. We picked up a picnic lunch near St. Paul and after the changing of the guard had lunch in the park nearby. This was a great morning.


After lunch we visited Churchills War Bunker Musuem.

We visited Trafalgar Square , had dinner at Wagamama, an Asian place and had the noodle infusion, at least most of us did, I found a McDonalds nearby and we were all happy.

We ended the evening with a ride on the London Eye which provided a great view of the city.

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Latest update on Weather conditions on the tour.

Thought you all would be interested in the weather that is anticipated for our arrival in London and time in England.
Note: You will want to take some clothing that is for cool temps, some long sleeves and long pants.


You should also take note of the Thunder storms that are forcast for Friday afternoon, so an umbrella and/or waterproof jacket would be a good thing! It's England, you must be prepared for some rain. :-)






Upon our arrival in Northern France the forcast has changed and will be warmer than originally forcast.


It should still be great weather to tour the American Cemetery and the beach at Normandy! I have an activity planned for the group here, more about that when we get there. Don't you love surprises?

We arrive on the 27th and have the 28th and 29th in Paris and looks like this will be our warmest day thus far of the trip.









Here is a map with dates included but note that Paris and Munich are the southern most sites where we are traveling so the temps will not vary much from those I've posted. I'd say that there will not be a day warmer than 85 . . . if you are lucky.

NOTE: If you click on any of the images, try the map, it will be large enough to actually read. This will be true on all of the photos that are posted as we travel as well.