6-24

 

Yesterday was primarily about getting from England to France. We had a slow start before heading out to Portsmouth for the ferry ride to France. The trip only lasts about 6-7 hours so by the time you clean up, pack for the next day set your alarm for a very early start the next day you are lucky to get

4 1/2 to 5 hours sleep before getting on the bus and heading to the Normandy beaches. Ran into the tour director that we used back in 2011.

 

6-25-13

 

 

You can see that we made it to Omaha Beach at Normandy and visited the German gun emplacements that are still there. We had a half day guide who was very good in spite of a very heavy French accent. We are staying the night in Caen, a beautiful city near Normandy and will head to Paris after a stop in Rouen. The flowers were near the guns and while there we visited the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. I had our group place Oklahoma Rose rocks (pea sized) on the markers of Oklahomans that were killed in the first 10 days of fighting there  and take a picture as you can see I also found my Okie and honored his memory. Rouen is another great stop we'll have an early lunch there, see the site of Joan of Arc before an early dinner in Paris with great hopes of going up the Tower tomorrow evening!  Bonsoir!

 

6-23-13 - last day in London

 

We started our day with a bus tour of London which ended at the Palace and the Changing of the guard. We separated from the rest of the group to have lunch in St. James park and that was great. After lunch we toured the Churchill Bunker Museum and then attended the Evensong service at Westminster Abby which was great. After dropping a few pounds in the gift shop we went to dinner for our first fish and chips and I even ate some not all of my meal. After dinner we made our trip on the eye which was also great. All in all a good day. Tomorrow is a late start for our trip to Portsmouth and the ferry ride to France and Omaha Beach . . . more about that later. 

We arrived at 6:30 AM on Saturday which meant that we ended up with an extra day to see London, so we headed to the Tower of London, Trafalgar SQ (sp?) and will do the London Eye tomorrow evening. Tomorrow we begin with changing of the Guard at the palace, the Churchill Bunker Museum, and if all goes well Evensong at Westminster. We are all dead tired including me so this one is short. Everyone is well and we've had no problems other than being tired . . . It was a great day.

getting ready to board the flight to London! Bye

You'd better be packing. Don't forget to insure that your carry on has NO sharp instruments like knives, scissors, nail clippers. All liquids must be in small tubes or bottles that hold less than 3 oz. and they must be in a clear quart sized zip lock bag. We will be meeting this Friday at 10:30 AM at the United check in counter, DO NOT BE LATE!! If you arrive early do not try to check in until we are all there because we will check in as a group. Parents will NOT be able to go beyond the security check but may want to stay until we've all gone through security to insure that there are no problems. As you can see below you will want to have some rain gear in your carry on as London looks to be rainy on both days we are there. Don't despair their rain is often intermittent and is not like what we experience here in Oklahoma but you will need an umbrella and or rain coat/hat. You may also note that the high temperatures in London and Paris are looking like they will be in the mid 60s so you will also want something to keep you warm, think layers but certainly something with long sleeves. Sixty degrees, wet and a breeze blowing can be cold compared to what you have become accustomed to here so think dry and warm in your carry on.