day 240: This Sunday was the first Sunday of the month which means that most of the museums in Paris were free. Ben and I took advantage of the free-ness and headed to the Rodin museum and the Musee d’Orsay all in one day. We’ve been to the Musee d’Orsay many times but I still love it!

day 239: Well after a week in France we’re finally in PARIS! Paris is one of my all-time favorite cities, the city Ben and I called home for 6 months, and the city we got engaged in. I clearly have a thing for Paris 🙂 I was sooo excited to get in to town this afternoon and just go for one of the long rambling walks that makes this city so amazing. I couldn’t decide which photo I liked best so I put up two. Any votes for a favorite?

day 238: On our last day in Normandy we decided to take a little tour of the region we were staying in (the Pays d’Auge) and check out some of the gardens, cider orchards, and cheese farms. It was all pretty low key and I think it may have been a tad on the slow side for Sam, who made up games with Tai and Jon to entertain himself on one of our garden tours. I don’t think they encourage hedge jumping here but check out the height 🙂

day 237: On Thursday we drove out to the coast to the town of Etretat. The town is situated on the one flat stretch of beach between two massive cliffs. You can walk up either side to various lookout points. It was a bit of an overcast day but the views were still breathtaking.

day 236: On Wednesday we drove to the town of Honfleur and spent the day wandering and looking in little shops. One of the highlights of the day was our stop in the Maison Satie which has to be one of the coolest museums I’ve ever been in. The super awesome motion sensor audioguides combined with the great music and crazy installations made it really unique experience.

day 235: On Tuesday we had the good fortune to have an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide of all of the d-day beaches and important locations in Normandy. It was such an intense day and we learned and saw so many important places (that of course I have photos of), but I have to post this photo… along with a little explanation. One of our last stops were bunkers at Omaha beach. We were there right as the sun was beginning to set (photography’s “magic hour”) and everything was perfectly aligned (gorgeous clouds, warm light, awesome breeze) to make amazing glowing photos. I went completely camera crazy and must have shot about a hundred photos just in that 15 minutes. I can’t resist the magic light.

day 234: On Monday we got up nice and early to head out to Mont St. Michel for the day. They abbey is built on a rock which during the daytime seems to be in a field, but by around 6pm the massive tidal changes transform it into an island. It’s a pretty amazing location and I had a hard time choosing a photo but this may be my favorite. I’m realizing I’m going to have to make a slideshow (once we get home of course) to show some more photos… there are just way too many to pick from!

day 233: Our first day in France we arrived at the airport and rented a car to drive straight from Paris to Normandy. By the time we arrived at our house it was near dinner time and we really didn’t have much energy to speak of. The evening consisted mainly of cards, wine, and conversation. All in preparation for the major sightseeing to come.

day 232: We finally have a day with a little bit of free time so I thought I’d post a couple of quick photos. I haven’t thoroughly looked through all of them so these aren’t necessarily going to be the best ones… just some I thought were fun. On Saturday we were finally off to France (via Cincinnati). It was a very long day, entirely composed of flying and sleeping. I didn’t take many photos, but got the obligatory over the wing shot on the way out.

day 231: We were supposed to leave for France this morning but Air France is having a strike and our flight was canceled. We’re rescheduled to take a different airline tomorrow and we’re crossing our fingers that it works out. So we’re really leaving. Soon. And I’ll have photos when we return.