Driving, Normandy, and more driving

Yesterday (Thursday) was a very long day. I guess I take a long time with the blog. Dave says I was at it for 90 minutes. It didn't feel that long. I really wish the iPad had a crusor. It would make things go MUCH faster. Anyway, after my daily blogging (which I think about during the day and plan what I want to say), we headed for Normandy. It was about a 3 hour drive. It rained on and off. (Clothes update - I did get to wear my new sweater yesterday. Sunday it's suppose to be in the 80's so I should be able to finally wear a sun dress!)

We arrived in Normandy (a region) about 2:30. Because we were on the English Channel, the wind was very strong and therefore very cold. We stopped in a small town where the Canadian forces landed on D-Day. There was a 360 theater there which showed actual footage of the soldiers landing on the beaches. It was very moving. We stood on a very high cliff and looked at the beaches where the troops landed. That's about all there was to see in that town. We had a map of all the "sights" in the region but decided not to spend anymore time there.

We got back into the car and headed to Calais - almost 4 hours away. Flo gave us a bit of trouble. She had the wrong highway number - which confused us for awhile. Once we figured it out, we were okay. There are tolls everywhere here. I'll bet we've spent over $100 (US) so far just in tolls. At some toll gates, the only payment accepted is credit cards. The first time we hit one of these, we didn't know what to do which resulted in people honking horns behind us - which helps no one. An attendant came and told us what to do. Not being able to speak French is frustrating but we're making out just fine. It's amazing how much my French classes in grade 7 & 8 are paying off!

We almost ran out of gas. The gas gauge went into the reserve zone and began to flash. Dave was getting really nervous (a very rare thing for this thrill seeker). The off ramps on the freeways in that part of France are few and far between. I had the owner's manual out (in Dutch) trying to find out how many liters we have left. I was "reading" the Dutch owner's manual, watching road signs in French, and reassuring Dave we'd be fine. (the reassuring role is generally Dave's) We saw a gas station but Flo wanted us to turn onto an exit ramp. Fearful of making a mistake and adding yet more time to a long trip, Dave took the ramp, briefly. For more on this, see "new experience" below. :)

After filling up, and yet more junk food to serve as a meal (far too much of this!) we were on our way again. The landscape/countryside in northwestern France is spectacular. Beautiful rolling hills in many shades of greens and yellows (the grain crops are ripe and some are being harvested). Huge fields (40 acres and more) with cows grazing all over the expansive hills and valleys. You can see for miles. The sun was out so everything was breaktakingly beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen such beautiful farmland. The highways here don't have any shoulders so there wasn't any place to safely stop to take a picture. :(

We arrived in Calais about 10 pm completely tuckered out. We got a room in an old hotel. It had a lot of character. We paid extra to have our own bathroom. An expense I'll gladly pay. The bed was hard and the pillows were harder. We had an early start in the morning - had to catch the ferry. We had to be up by 5:30 - which we did.

The people of Europe - Except for a couple of people, eveyone here is very friendly and do what they can to help you. No one walks around with coffee cups nor pop. It's refreshing to see. As I mentioned earlier, they will walk around with a beer but only in certain areas with lots of shops/restaurants. People are quite fit. We haven't seen one obese person yet (and we've seen a lot of people!) I think this is because they walk/bike a lot and the meal portions are much smaller than we're used to. Increasingly we're seeing North America as a land of excess - in many ways.

I'm missing you kids a lot. It would be so great if you were here with us. Maybe someday.... So hugs and kisses to you and to the grandkids.

One thing I learned today - At the grocery store, you have to weigh your produce and get a bar code sticker before you get to the checkout. (This is were we ran into one of the unfriendly people - the cashier who was obviously annoyed we didn't speak French and we didn't know how to buy bananas.)

One new thing I experienced today - driving backwards down an on-ramp. Scary stuff but if we didn't want to run out of gas - and with 20 miles or more between off ramps, you don't want to run our of gas! - we had to do it.

Most powerful moment of the day - Watching a soldier (in the film we saw in the theater) put one foot on the beach of Normandy and fall to the groud after being shot. I was overwhelmed that someone would do that so we could be free. Almost too much to comprehend.

One pleasurable experience - seeing a small poodle with googles on. It was very cute, funny, and unbelievable!