First Stop: Normandy

Alright, everybody.  I've seen so much in the last few days that this next post is going to be a doozy.  Brace yourselves.

Day Two:
Monday, May 6th

Our bus left Monday morning bright and early at 8 am.  This was a little painful with the 8 hour time change, but I survived.  Our first stop was Bayeux, Normandy, France.  When we got there, we went to the Musee de la Tapisserie de Bayeux to see a huge tapestry depicting the events of the Battle of Hastings in the Norman conquest of England.  A big piece of cloth might not seem very interesting, but it was actually very cool to see!  The tapestry is over a thousand years old and is about 230 feet long...I feel bad for whoever decided to sew that thing.  There was also a beautiful cathedral in the town that I loved.  Check it out!  

 Oh, and that's me in a confession box.  Preach it.  I'm going to heaven. 

After that, we headed to the Omaha Beach in Normandy.  It was very cool and also very sad to think about what happened there.  To cheer myself up, I bought some Nutella ice cream.  Naturally. 

After that, we headed to the Normandy American Cemetery.  This was incredible.  I walked there and saw the 9,387 white crosses stretching out before and started to tear up against my will.  I felt gratitude to the young American men and women who had died in this country.  I also felt a strong sense of peace.  It was very powerful for me.  I had no idea before this trip, but that cemetery is American soil.  The French gave it to the United States in honor of what we did for them.  I was blown away by that.  God bless America!

THIS EMBATTLED SHORE, PORTAL OF FREEDOM,

IS FOREVER HALLOWED BY THE IDEALS, THE VALOR AND THE SACRIFICES OF OUR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN

Just one name among thousands...

Our final destination was Pointe du Hoc.  This 100 foot cliff is what was scaled by the 2nd Ranger Battalion.  These men seized the guns and defended the area against the Germans at high cost to themselves in order to aid the beach invasion.  The area is still scattered with fortifications and bomb craters.  In fact, here's me sitting in one.  Voila!

I was feeling pretty patriotic for my country until we pulled into our hotel.  The only restaurants within miles were McDonald's and Buffalo Grill.  We all chose the latter and spent a few hours eating barbecue chicken and fries.  However, they did serve us chocolate mousse and herbal tea after the meal, which felt more French to me.  So, I'm satisfied.  One more thing about Buffalo Grill that I thought was hilarious was this sign they had by our table:

If you look closely, it says "Parmi les Mormons," which means "among the Mormons" in French.  

Day Three:
Tuesday, May 7th

The next day we were up and running again on our way to Mont-Saint Michel.  This was a little medieval village on a tidal island with a castle/abbey at top!  So beautiful!  

I was way excited about this place and it looks like the castle straight out of Tangled!  My life is a fairytale!  

After spending a few hours there, we headed to my absolute favorite place I've seen so far:  Saint Malo.   This is a port city in Brittany surrounded by ancient ramparts.  It is absolutely amazing!  There are tons of little shops all throughout the city and outside the walls, there is a fabulous beach!  If I were to live in France, this would be the place I'd choose!!!

Here's me in the French ocean: 

What's more, the people were all so nice and actually wanted to talk to us!  We got stopped in an antiquity shop by the owner.  He was the cutest old man and he just wanted to talk to us about America.  We also got stopped by a crazy lady on the beach who spoke very fast French.  I didn't understand a word she was saying.  We also talked to a group of 14 year old kids who were very excited that we were American.  The boys tried to get us to go to a "Night Box" (They didn't know how to say night club in English), but we decided at that point to say Au Revoir as they were a tad bit too young for us.  That night, we ate dinner at a legit creperie!  I got a salmon crepe.  It was different, but super yummy! Bon appetit!  

Some of the girls and I finished the night by wandering around the town.  We talked to some boys we met for a few hours and it was really fun to learn about the differences between myself and kids my age in France!  We finished the night by jumping on the back of their scooters and asking them to drive us around the town in the rain.  It was so freaking fun and like something straight out of a movie!  (PS:  Mom, if you're reading this, I'm sorry that I got on the back of a bike with a stranger....but all's well that ends well?)

Day Four: 

Wednesday, May 8th

We woke up and drove to this little town called Dinan.  It was so adorable, but we only stayed for about 45 minutes!  Here's a few pictures though!  It was gorgeous!

Then, we returned to Paris and we all got to meet our host families!  I have the cutest couple hosting me in the most beautiful place ever!  It's a suburb of Paris called Croissy-sur-Seine.  I didn't get the chance to take any pictures, but I'm in love with the place.  I'll be staying there for 6 weeks and I'm so excited.  The couple whose home I'm staying in are wonderful.  I'm a little intimidated by them because I have to speak 100% French, but they are very kind at helping me learn.

That's all for now!  A toute a l'heure!