France Trip: Day 4 William the Conquerer's Castle

Angie: 

The day started off by going to the local Market Day and bought some groceries, mostly snacks. The market was fun because it sold everything we wanted and it was our first real exchange with the locals. They were all very nice and while they didn't speak English, we were able to get by just fine on the little bit of French I knew and the universal market hand language (point at something and hold up your fingers to indicate the number you want).

We got to drive around the beautiful French country side. After we went shopping the kids played at the playground near the shops. After we unloaded the groceries, we went to Caen and saw William the Conquerer's Chateau (i.e. castle). It was pretty neat. The kids really enjoyed it. They had fun climbing up all the stairs and see the city of Caen from high up. There was a playground in the castle grounds that Misty enjoyed. When we were doing at the castle we went to a town called Vire, which is only a half hour from our gite, and found a pastry shop and chocolatier. We went back to the gite to have a snack before dinner. I made a cheese platter that Ray and Lexi loved. We ended up going back to Vire for dinner. We found an American restaurant. The waitress was very nice and patient with us since our French was something to be desired. Perhaps I picked up more on the Rosetta Stone than I had though. Anyways, we enjoyed our dinner. I got a "Kentucky Chicken...the sheriff's secret recipe". Much to my disappointment it wasn't fried chicken like I had hoped. Instead I would call it more like a Memphis chicken, as it had been marinated for awhile and was grilled. Overall the meal and the whole day was very enjoyable.

Ray:

Monday morning we headed into town for some food. There was an open air market going on in the local town. It had livestock being sold, butchers having barbeques, and vendors selling their wears. We picked up some food in the form of cheese, breads, and fruits. Angie tried her hand at speaking the French she has been trying to self teach herself for the past 2 months. It was a good thing too, as no one there spoke any English. The rumors of the French being notoriously nasty and rude did not seem to hold true for any of these people. They were all friendly and full of smiles and appreciative nods of the heads.Monday afternoon we drove to the Chateau of William the Conqueror. This was actually his boyhood home which his father had built before William was even born. But the castle was impressive. William had made some improvements to it after meeting his wife and then going slightly paranoid she would be in danger while he was away. From the battlements we were able to see both the Abbeys he had constructed to appease the Pope over his wedding to his wife (apparently the Pope did not approve but they married anyway). There was also a very [architecturally] overly ornate church just outside the grounds of the Chateau. Inside the Chateau were two churches, two museums, and a playground. Misty liked the playground, naturally. But I think Neil kind of did too. 

France Trip: Day 3 Check into Gite

Our Gite

Angie:
Today was a transition day. We spent the morning with the Scouts at the American Cemetery in Normandy. The scouts had a big ceremony, but I mostly chased after Misty the whole time so she wouldn't scream during the very solemn ceremony. We broke camp much later than we wanted, but it wasn't a big deal. We checked into our gite and settled in. The kids went through the brochures and we decided what we wanted to do for the week. We were all pretty exhausted from the campout, so we went to bed early.

Ray:
The next morning we brok camp and got dressed up in our best uniforms for a wreath laying ceremony at the Cemetary. It was touching and uplifting. There was an F-15 flyover as the ceremony started. Turns out the plan was from the local (to us) US Air base in London. It had been flying the no fly zone in Libya and was returning home when it was tasked with helping out. One of the scouts from the troop at that base was near us and they were surprised to learn the jet was from their base. I'm sure that added to the emotions of the day for them.
My wife has been doing a lot of research to make this a memorable vacation for the family. As such she has found us a Gite (pronounced Jeet) less than an hour away from everything we wanted to see or do while in France. Better, she did it for less than the price of a hotel room. This is a country house (complete with cows and fields and lots of middle of nowhere space) with plenty of room to stretch out and relax. It is here that we went Sunday afternoon. We spent the night Sunday "veggin" out at the Gite, as nothing in France is open on a Sunday.

Lexi and Neil have dropped out of writing a journal entry from here out. Neil did make a general food review, but I'll post that later.

France Trip: Day 2 Omaha Beach

Mulberry Bridge

Ray:

Memorial on Omaha Beach

After a sleepless night with Misy, we woke up (a relative term) to start the day of history learning. The campsite was located a scant 2 km from the actual beachhead the Americans (my grandfather included) had founded. A short walk across a street and a farmer's field brought us to the cliff which separated Omaha from Juno beach. Looking at the topography led me to realize that there was only a few ways off the beach. Unlike a normal beach where you can drive right up to it and go straight to the water, Omaha is a bunch of cliffs that can only access the beach by way of a very winding roads downward - much akin to a mountain pass. A little studying of old history books and the monuments in the area brought me to realize that the Germans knew about the ways off the beach. On the other beaches, the Germans had to build walls of defences and a lot of artillery; on Omaha they only had to defend the 5 exits from the beach. So they spent the same amount of men and materials on Omaha as the others, but it was much better guarded. The Allied command recognized what the Germans would do and chose not to put a veteran unit on Omaha as a veteran unit would have recognized the danger and refused to fight there. So the Blues and Greys of the 29th Infantry division, a rookie unit, was selected to assault this beach. In the first 30 minutes of fighting on Omaha over 3000 Americans had lost their lives. In a strange twist of fate, we had almost exactly the same number of Scouts and their relatives on this beach (during the 67th anniversary of D-Day). The fighting on Omaha was allegedly the most brutal and bloddy of the whole war.

German Pillbox on hill top

Every five or six years my Grandfather would let slip the occassional single fact of something he was part of during the invasion. Between my Uncle, brother, and myself we have come up with the facts that my Grandfather was a Beachmaster on Omaha beach on June 6. That's not a lot to go on for nearly 20 years of trying to find any facts. This trip and my Grandfather's trip to the same place for the 50th anniversary shet a lot of light on what he did. He was in the 185th Port Company, 487th Batallion which I believe was attached to the 6th NBB of the 5th Special Engineering Brigade. (Angie's notes: I found a book that discusses this Batallion A Moment in History: The Story of the American Army in the Rhondda in 1944 and a website of an interview with a man in the 185th Port Company Assault on Normandy coast was brutal, unforgettable and here is another site that explains what the Beachmasters did during D-Day WWII Naval Beach Battalion & Beachmaster Unit One). 

The Boy Scouts spent the weekend learning almost as much about the history of Normandy as I did. As part of the typical Boy Scout exercises, the Trans Atlantic Council was asked by the people of Normandy to assist in making Beaches of the Normandy landing a UNESCO's World Heritage site. This is not to say that the landings and sufferings of those many Americans did not make it a place that will be recorded in history forever, by making the beaches a UNESCO's World Heritage site the world can recognize and perserve its significance. We spelled out the words "Normandie Land of Liberty 2012" so a helicopter could take some pictures. Organizing 3000 boys aged 5 to 18 and all their relatives had to have been a daunting task, but the pictures show the proof that it was done. 

Messages in the sand from other
scouts saying things such as
"You will never be forgotten"

When we were done with the fun on the beach our troop took a stroll to the American Cemetery in Normandy. This is the only cemetery in the world where American soliders lay interned on foreign soil. It is an awe inspiring place of respect, solitude, and sadness. There was 9,238 alabaster white crosses, Star of David, and Buddhist symbols all lined up in neat and orderly military rows. Each a stark reminder of what the ultimate sacrifice for Freedom really means. Not a single boy in our scout unit played war or discussed the latest strategy for beating [insert name of latest XBOX or PS3 game]. This was a first in my memory for Boy Scouts. I have never seen so many boys actually focused on the same non-electronic thing before. They were reverent and solemn the entire time. It made the cemetery even more eerie, but I was so proud of them.

Angie:

Thatched Roof house w/American Flag

Misty did not sleep much during the night, but she woke up with a new tooth. While the days events went off pretty good for a Boy Scout functions, overall the day was exhausting. I could go on about what the scouts did, but Ray clearly gave a full report. My day pretty much was spent chasing Misty. I did enjoy and appreciate the whole Normandy D-Day invasion. It is amazing our troops where abile to take control of this area. The beach and landscape being so challenging, and the Germans shooting at them from every direction.Ray enjoyed seeing what his grandfather went through. He ha a better appreciation for him and a better understanding of what he did on D-Day.

Lexi:

Warning: This page contains so much awesome you may explode or implode. 

Lexi and her friends having fun

Burr! Last night was cold. We just had scrambled eggs but no the way you would normally cook them. We cooked them by: putting eggs (not cooked) in a plastic bag, adding milk to the plastic bag, and boiling it in a pot. Now we get to go on a hike on the beach, awesome right. I am going with Maddy (we have to have a buddy and I thought Maddy would be a good buddy). Maddy saw one of her friends Sara and I saw Abi. We all went on the beach after lunch and played on the beach. We built an awesome memorial out of sand. We built it on Omaha beach although it got distoryed by one of the boys. Then me and Abi had to go and make letters in the sand. Then when I left I was on TV, French TV! Then Abi and I found Sara and Maddy. They said they built a bridge you could walk over and they hit water so it was like a real bridge. Then they said they really dug deep in our sand castle and hit water so it had a moat. Then we had to leave for a memorial service (we just went to the museum, same with everyone else). Then we went back to camp after dinner we had marshmallows and smores. Since my dad went to a camp fir thing (most people did) so we got to stay up till 10-ish. That day was fun, even though that night was cold.

Neil:

We stood in some letters spelling: Normandie Land of Liberty. Also we did a ceremony in the letters. 

France Trip: Day 1 Dover to Calais

White Cliffs of Dover

We begin our holiday with a ferry ride to Calais, France. We stayed at a bed and breakfast by the ferry terminal the night before. The plan is to camp out with the Boy Scouts for the weekend in Normandy, and then we have reserved a gite for the week. We also have reservations for a cabin near Versailles for the following weekend so we can see Paris.

Ferry leaving Dover to Calais, France

Angie: We had a great breakfast at the B&B. It was a great place to stay for the night before heading off on the ferry. It was much easier to go through customs and get on the ferry than I thought. The ferry ride went quickly. We ate lunch, went to the ship stores, and let Misty play in the toddler area. We arrived in camp with plenty of time to setup, get comfy, and enjoy the company of our friends before we crashed for the night. It was very cold that night, so I was glad we have arctic sleeping bags.

Lexi: 

Warning: Do not talk to anyone in France unless you speak French!

We just got off the ferry. My parents say it will take at least 3 hours to get there (I think it will be 4 because of traffic). OMG, something so funny just happened. Ok I had to go to the bathroom and I forgot we were in France and I asked the lady in front of me if this was the line for the bathroom. She was like HUH?!? It was so funny. Though I feel so bad for the lady. Now after (7 hours) we got to the camp. Now I get to help my dad set-up our tent. 

Neil:

This trip was AWESOME!! On Day 1 we set up camp and played.

Ray:

This trip was made possible by the Boy Scouts of America. Neil’s new troop has been planning a spring camporee on Omaha Beach for 3 years. We were able to get in on it, but because this was also Angie and Mine Anniversary weekend we decided to make a family vacation out of the trip.

As a warning to the casual or unwary reader, my Grandfather was on Omaha beach on June 6, 1944 but has always been incredibly tight lipped of his entire time in, so I was particularly interested in the historic side of the D-Day landings as seen through the eyes of the locals and the historical markers; this may possibly come out in my writings and ramblings.

Dover Castle

We started this trip a day earlier than the troop as we wanted to avoid driving through rush hour London traffic. We spent Thursday night in a bed and breakfast in Dover. Before sunrise Friday I went up the hill to get pictures of the castle at Dover as the sun rose and shone upon it. The typical British weather kept that form happening the way I wanted, but I still managed to get a few shots. Friday morning we left on a ferry TO FRANCE! Pulling away we saw the white cliffs of Dover. Up close these looked like just any other hill or rock pile, but as we pulled away we realized that from a distance the rock look all white. That is one of the many world renowned landmarks I want to see in my life. It was taller and stretched further than I thought it would, but there was more port facilities in the way than I would have liked to have been there.

Once in France we drove to the campsite without any of the hassles we thought we would experience. It goes without saying then, that we used our SatNav Sally. Neil setup his own tent and someone else’s in the time it took me to erect my tent and setup the sleeping arrangements. He has done a lot of growing up and learning since he joined Scouts.

Cadbury World

Nothing is cooler than a surfer dude made out of chocolate! Of course our whole day at Cadbury World was awesome. The awesomeness started as soon as we got out of the car. The air smelled of yummy chocolate. The smell was so strong you could almost taste the creamy chocolate. 

We had be trying to go to Cadbury World for almost two months, but they request you book your tickets in advance. We finally succeeded at securing tickets, so we made the hour and a half journey up to Birmingham to tour the factory. From my understanding it was a lot like Hershey World. You got to tour various parts of the factory while they continuously hand you chocolate bars or cups of melted chocolate. At one point we were able to take our cup of melted chocolate and add our choice of candy into it to make our own chocolate creation. We saw how they packaged the products, saw them going down the conveyer belt, and even saw them create some beautiful chocolate creations.

They even had a giant chocolate Easter egg which we were convinced Lexi would fit inside. We had a good five minute conversation about the pros and cons about being shoved in a chocolate egg. Finally we decided the mess was not worth the benefit for someone who had long hair, but for the boys it would be more ideal.

Overall the tour was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed it. There was a lot of movies to watch, but they made each one interesting in its own way. One movie had the seats would shake and another was holographic. Cadbury World certainly had a fun way of putting out a lot of information. They were set up to handle large groups, and it was crowded at times. For those touring during the summer you might consider walking the factory grounds which had various buildings to look at or go in. They also had a small playground, but it appeared they were expanding the playground and picnic section.

Of course the main attraction is the gift shop that sells factory discounted chocolate. For the most part it seemed the discount just took off the transportation costs of shipping the chocolates to stores. There was a small section with deep discounts that even had a factory seconds bags of random chocolate goodies. We got two bags of those :)

TGI Fridays - A Taste of Home

We decided to not go on any big adventure this weekend because we are trying to save up money to go to France for a week in April. However, with the kids being off from school for the week we decided we should try and go somewhere. We decided to take in a movie, and we decided on Gnomeo and Juliet. Well honestly we were going to make a day trip to Cadbury World and see a chocolate factory, but we learned the hard way you have to book that in advance if you want to get in. So to make sure we got into the movies we decided to order our tickets online. Interesting thing about going to the movies here, when you buy your tickets you actually have to pick which seat to sit in. If you want to sit in the middle then you have to buy VIP tickets, which cost a few dollars more. 

The directions said that the cinema was 8 miles away and should take 20 minutes to get to, but we left a half hour ahead of time to make sure we got there in time for the movie. We did not expect to sit in traffic for an hour, so we missed the beginning of the movie. Thankfully the manager was very nice and switched our tickets to the later showing, but we had to kill an hour and a half. We thought no problem, there was a bowling alley next door. We go up and they asked if we had a reservation, and were then informed that we could not bowl because they were booked up for the evening. We had an errand to run, so we went to the hardware store and managed to kill the right amount of time. 

As we go into the theater, there is a whole wall of mix and match candy and on the opposite side a Ben & Jerry's shop. We had a hard time deciding, but once we realized that our "scoop" of ice cream was more like a spoonful for £3 it seemed like a no brainer to get the candy. Of course if it were up to me we wouldn't get anything because I feel like movie theater concession stands are a big rip off, but I cannot deny Ray oh lover of movie theaters. 

The concession stand had pretty much the same types of foods that an American theater would have. The difference is there was more drink options, they really get into bottled drinks here, and there was no boxes of candy because they had the mix and match candy wall. Of course for those who do not wish to wait in the que (line) at the concession stand, they have a wheeled cart they bring to the screening room with snacks. 

On the way home we found a TGI Fridays, which is one of my more favs from back home aside from Joe's Crab Shack of course. Anyways, we go in and they have their menus posted so we see what they have. It seems that the UK version has a lot of American foods, which was a relief because British food is terrible. It was a 45 minute wait because they had two birthday parties going on. As we waited we realized these parties were for kids about 8 years old with probably 12 kids at each party. There was a limo outside for one of the girls party. Wow! Thats really all I have to say about that. 

Once we sit down they gave Lexi this awesome kids packet with a board game, a color changing crayon, and a big booklet with stickers to occupy her until the food came. Then they gave all the kids balloons. In the two hours we were there she still didn't finish all the puzzles in the activity book. Understand the two hours was not because the waiter was slow, but they just eat at a much more relaxed pace and do not rush people out at restaurants here. 

It was nice to experience so much that reminded us of home, but there is always little differences that remind us that we are in London.

Hampton Court Palace

Day Trip to Hampton Court Palace

£43 Family Admission to Palace, Gardens, and Maze

£25 Lunch at Cafe in Palace

£23 Tea Time Snack

------------------------------------------------

£91 GBP which is about $145

Here is a video overview of our trip. I will warn you towards the end the kids did a Blare Witch knock off through the hedge maze, so do not watch it if you are prone to motion sickness.

Here is what the family has to say about the experience.

The GE3K:

This place was a 15/30 of goodness. The food was already, but it wasn't the and it wasn't the worst. I got the bacon butty for lunch and a toffee pudding cake for a tea time snack.

As for my tour of the palace, it was awesome =)

Ray:

The day started with us entering the gates guarded by the Lion and the Unicorn -

the banner symbols of the king. Symbols which would not be lost on followers of C.S. Lewis Narina book series.

Though the gilded doors (that means golden) into an inspiring walkway towards a palace whose bricks are painted nearly pink by the still rising sun we stroll. We view what appears to be a fairly normal but well maintained grassy garden, but as we approach we notice street lamps which could be out of a fairy tale story in their unlit grandeur. As we approach the main gate we cross a brick bridge, guarded by white granite mythical creatures. Dragons, manticores, lions, unicorns, and more stand over a now drained moat area. The gates are open, the portcullis raised, we enter through the grand entrance and into the main courtyard.

This courtyard was designed by King Henry VIII's engineers to host a large contingent of Europe's kings and queens and all their entourage. It has a wishing well near the center. We all make wishes and toss two pence pieces (to ensure our dreams come true).

There were three courtyards total. The one after

the main courtyard was called the clock court. It had a large, incredibly ornate time/day/month/zodiac clock insert in one wall. Another wall was very Romanesque in its white marble columns.

The other courtyard was more of a normal medieval court palace yard. It was a simple fountain with four lamps and grass. Nothing exceptional, but both functional and elegant. It would have been peaceful but accommodating to those who would use it to move from place to place within the palace.

The palace is setup around these courtyards. Each apartment is for one person -- the King did not sleep in the same bed or even the same room as the Queen. And each apartment views a courtyard and a portion of the gardens, which surround the palace.

The king's apartment started with the guards armory. A large room, the armory is empty except for its decorations - daggers, drums, swords, pistols, rifles, and armor adorned in decorative patterns around the room.

From the armory we moved through to the poker room/personal eating area/office. It has a small four man table ready for a night of poker, another table for snacks, and another for the composing of letters.

The kings bath chamber was more of a passing affair, half hidden. A tub, a fireplace, and a vain glorious personal vanity were tucked in away from the other rooms. The king's bedroom and Anteroom were nothing compared to the Queen's drawing room, but such is to be expected from an egotist king and an adoring wife.

An incredibly well manicured garden surrounds three sides of the palace. One side is a hedge maze, another a couple of secluded ponds with sitting and thinking space, and the third is the backyard garden replete with marble statuaries, rose garden patens, and gilded fences overlooking the river Thames.

This palace was not at all as austere as I imagined a palace would be. Don't let me mislead you, thought, it was beautifully and very tastefully built, designed, and maintained. I would definitely have gotten an ego and acted like the kings of old did if I lived there.

Angie:

This was a fun adventure out and about. The best part of the palace was the fact there was something for everyone. Lexi enjoyed the kitchen areas, Neil and Ray loved the armory, everyone enjoyed different parts of the gardens. They even had a toddler play area. The palace was really set up as a family oriented attraction, with thought going into how to make the place attractive to all ages. At some point during the day, we all felt like royalty.

On the downside, with the palace and grounds being so enormous, it made it hard to make everyone happy at the same time. Of course we all loved the hedge maze, but to be honest I expected it to be more. The reviews I read said it was a world famous hedge maze, this maybe but only because it is so old. It didn't take more than five minutes to find our way out. Of course it was fun to play in it for awhile, but really I had expected it to take much more of our day.

Lexi:

Today we went to the Hampton Court palace. It was boring. The food was bad. For example, the yogurt with the kids meal tasted like citric when it was strawberry flavored. When I walked in I thought it would be cool but it wasn't, so here is a joke for you:

One night a prince and a princess went out on a boat ride.

The boat tipped and the prince and princess fell in.

Who was left on the boat?

The Knight