JerrysJourneys

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This is the final blog of the trip.  Three couples, who have known each other for over 25 years, decided to embark on an adventure in France.  It was a voyage of discovery.  The 6 of them drove almost 1500 miles throughout central France to the Normandy coastline, down to Brittany, and returned.  All the blocks were checked, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triompe, Seine River, Lafayette Galleries, the Louvre, Ste. Mere Eglise, Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Omaha Cemetery, St. Lo, Caen, Dinan, Champ-Elysees and Versailles. We lived together, ate together, traveled together and we are still speaking to each other. Harry and Jerry drove.  Linda navigated.  Dorothy fed us.  Amanda read us stories from Royal Scandals and Mickey rode all over France in the baggage compartment of our too small car and acted like it was exactly what he wanted to do. It has been a great adventure...  One we will talk about for a long time....until the next adventure...Until then...Au Revoir

After we toured the main Palace at Versailles, we went to Marie Antoinette's chateau.  Those of you who are students of French history know that Marie was married to Louis XVI.  Well, Louie wanted Marie out of his house, so he built her a chateau of her own.  About a 40 minute walk (or a 15 minute golf cart ride) from the main house.  Very nice.  He also had constructed a hamlet, consisting of 15 thatched roof house for the wait staff.  Unfortunately heads were rolling in this period of French history.  Louie lost his and less than a year later Marie faced the same fate.  Like father, like son.  The executioner that performed the execution of Marie was the son of the executioner who did Louis in. 

The rich live differently than us.  Gold, their standard.  You need to see this to appreciate the grandeur of  the palaces.  Pictures cannot do it justice.  We spent the day, along with the teeming masses, viewing a life that can only be imagined.  Never have so few spent so  much money while the majority suffered for their lavish life style. (Somewhat similar to what is going on in the US today.) After spending 5 hours here, we had a late lunch, then headed for the Charles de Gaulle airport.  Tomorrow we are headed home, this fantasy land is in pictures and we are headed to our various estates in Elmore, Autauga and Montgomery counties.  It will be good to get home. 

It was foggy this morning when we left.  We packed the car for the final time and headed for Versailles.  We got lost in the "round a bout" a few miles from the hotel and paid $14.00 ($7.00 each way) in tolls and drove across the Pont du Normandie bridge.  The GPS turned us around.  I was very excited to get to Versailles.  I turned the rental car into Hertz in one piece, no damage, and got my receipt.  Mickey was excited also,  I suspect on his next joint trip, he may want to be more involved in the car rental end of it. The luggage took up 2 passenger seats and the luggage compartment.  This meant that Mickey, Dorothy, Linda, and Amanda all shared the back seat. Dorothy had to sit in Mickey's lap each time that we changed hotels and had all the luggage with us.        I have never seen such a lavish display of wealth as you will find in Versailles. We had lunch... escargot, and French onion soup.  I think Mickey is doing better with the French language, Harry looks Fren...

After we left the market, we checked out of the hotel and headed to our next ancient city, Honfleur,  a seaside village right out of the middle ages.  It had a church that was struck by a bomb in WW2 that failed to explode.  The Germans sunk every boat in the harbor in 1944 as they were in full retreat from the allied forces.  The picture of the statue represents the "mussel women", gatherers of mussels, a backbreaking job. We stayed here on Thursday night.  Tomorrow we head for Versailles as the trip is rapidly winding to its conclusion. There was also a two story carousel in the city along with more narrow, cobblestone streets lined with shops, restaurants, hotels, and ancient buildings. Harry bought a French hat and now looks like a Frenchman...pictures to follow.

Today was spent in old town Dinan.  There was a market, French style.  While not quite as large as Santuck,  they had just about anything one would want.  Ducks with their heads still attached, pigs with feet still there, distilled spirits, assorted cheeses, paintings, clothing, toys, Calvados, hats, furniture, purses, jewelry, fish, mussels, langastinos and other items for the discerning consumer. Just imagine, shopping in a village, established 600 years ago, cobblestone streets, half timbered houses,  locals coming to the market with their bags and taking it all home.  There are so many houses from the medieval period, I believe we would run out of historical markers trying to identify them.

We spent last night and this morning touring Dinan and then went to St, Maolo and Mont St. Michel.  We had trouble getting out of the parking garage and also out of the parking lot at St. Michel.  These are paid lots and it helps to be able to read French or enlist the aid of a friendly French citizen to get out of parking.  It looked like we were in danger of spending the night in the St. Michel parking lot, until we were rescued.