Arriving to Ireland

Phil flew back to the States today, but I am remaining in Europe, but slowly moving back to the central time zone, i.e., losing an hour by flying to Ireland.

My classmate Jenny (totally brilliant woman) from our graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania met me here today to spend some time among the Irish. This has to be the friendliest nation on Earth. And, they make Guinness beer here, so to support the local economy, we felt obliged to have a few at O'Donohues Pub. Very nice. Very refreshing. Very Irish.

Looking forward to a few days in Ireland followed by the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh....

Good News

My brother is home, resting and becoming restless (which is a good sign, because it means he is bored and wants to do more). We are chatting every day and he sounds great. Once again, I have to say Cancer Sucks. Although the recent turmoil and brain surgery in his life was not caused by tumor re-growth, his body has been through so much that it certainly did not help the situation.... Doug is getting stronger and continues to fight. Keep it up, bro - keep it up.

Peace

After a couple of sobering days in Normandy, we traveled back to Paris (again, with me driving, which is always an interesting adventure) and I saw this shirt in a store window in Saint Germain de Pris. Interesting, thought-provoking, timely and powerful....

A Powerful Remembrance

We drove the winding road from Bayeux to Omaha Beach to see the site of the D-Day battles and the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial (where 9,500 American soldiers were laid to rest). The site and experience was both powerful and sobering. To see the beaches left us speechless. The beaches are vast and the cliffs are high - the American, British and Canadian soldiers who arrived by boat were easy targets for the Germans and by all accounts it is amazing that we won the battles there. The topography leaves you stunned at the sheer bravery of the soldiers who arrived and fought to overcome the enemy. The photos are emotion-provoking, but visiting in person makes one understand better the sacrifice involved for these young, brave men (as there were no women in combat at that time). Having served in the U.S. Army (although never in combat or a combat profession), I was in awe at the stories of these heroes - to whom France and the rest of the free world owe so much. The visitor books at the memorial were somber, as those who signed could also add a few words next to their names. Most just wrote, "Thank you for what you gave" and messages of a similar ilk....

Caen and Bayeux

To the northwest of Paris and Versailles is the French area known as Normandy. This coastal area is best known for the D-Day battles in 1944. We traveled the two hours from Versailles to Normandy to spend a couple of days in the northern country and visit the D-Day beaches and memorials.

We traveled by car to see both Caen and Bayeaux. Now, the only car to rent in Versailles was a standard transmission and Phil does not drive a standard. Thus, I was relegated to the driver's seat, which is rare as I'm not normally allowed to drive (lots of reasons for this, but I shouldn't admit them on a blog).... We arrived safely to two of the friendliest towns in all of France. And, both are very beautiful and were spared the ravages of the war. A peaceful visit to a wonderful coastal area....

Versailles Art

Versailles isn't all about Louis the XIV.... There are some great art galleries in the town, as well.

More Versailles

The place is just too beautiful not to share a few more photos....