This was our first full day in Paris. We had a nice breakfast in the hotel and headed off for Les Invalides, Napoleon's tomb and the French Army Museum. We took the metro again. It really is a great system, easy to use and fast.
 |
| We arrived at the opposite side from the tomb. Through those doors we bought our tickets to the museum then headed over to see the Great Man's final resting place. |
This is the day we left Normandy and headed to Paris for our last three days. We got up early because we wanted to see the sites of the island, mainly high tide and empty streets. Just like the hotels all share a single front desk, they provide breakfast at one of the local restaurants. We found ours and had a very nice buffet with both French and American style food.
 |
| This was all sand yesterday. |
Day five we transitioned from WW II battlefields to other stuff. Truth be told, we were all kind of tired of seeing WW II stuff so we were ready for the change. On this day we went to Mont St Michel.
We started by eating breakfast made up of bread, cheese, sausage and pate. We then had a 90 minute drive to the parking area at Mont St Michel. Since we were spending the night on the island, we had to take our backpacks so Dad and I took the bus, but Owyn wanted to walk.
 |
| Dad and I with the monastery behind us. It was very windy. |
Day four we were off to Utah Beach, and a new town for the night. Utah is the real point of the trip. It's where my grandad landed on D+3. He said he walked off the landing craft onto the beach and didn't even get his feet wet.
 |
| Walking up to the museum, cafe and beach entrance. |
Day three started out with a search for breakfast. We stopped in a patisserie and had coffee, bread and croissants. They had some really beautiful pastries and tarts on display.
 |
| We did not buy these, but we wanted to. |
Day 2 of the trip we visited Caen, Pegasus Bridge, Merville sur Mer and the Longues-sur-Mer Battery, then back to Bayeux for dinner.
Owyn wanted to see a castle and the one in Caen is in pretty good shape.
 |
| The castle from the parking garage. |
This year Owyn graduated from high school. We were considering an overseas trip to celebrate and decided to invite my father along, and the three of us would go to Normandy. My Grandad landed at Utah beach on D+3. My father and I had planned to take a trip to Normandy with him, but he died before we got around to it. Now my father is 73 and we felt like it was time to make the voyage.
 |
| Owyn is in there, I promise. |
Wednesday was a down day for Rhys, but not for the rest of us. Rhys needed to stay in and nest for a day. We left him with strict instructions not to leave the boat. (Narrator - Rhys would leave the boat).
Tracy, Hannah and I walked down to the river taxi and took that back to Tower pier.
 |
| A picture standing on the roadway after visiting the engine rooms. |
This was our first full day in London. It was a busy one.
 |
| The Tower Bridge has never looked better. |
The 18th was a travel day, Nottingham to London. The train didn't leave until 1130 so we had time to lay in a bit and get breakfast. We took a taxi from Kings Cross to the Limehouse Marina.
 |
| Limehouse Marina. |
The morning of the 17th we woke up at a reasonable time, grabbed some coffee and bacon baps and got on a train for Nottingham. It was a five hour ride south to the city of lead. This is the part of the trip that Rhys was most looking forward to. More than anything he wanted to go to Warhammer World.
Saturday the 16th was my first day of vacation, finally able to join the family enjoying some time off. Today we were headed up to Edinburgh, along with several of my co-workers and their families. We all had one last train ride together before we split off to do our own things.
 |
| Edinburgh Castle |
The 15th was Friday and was the first full day after Tracy, Rhys and Hannah arrived, along with the husband and son of one of my co-workers.
While went to work, the two families, along with my boss' wife, went into York, followed by high tea at Betty's.
Tracy, Rhys and Hannah left Denver on Wednesday night, right before Parker got slammed with 30 inches of snow. Great timing by Team Hunt on that one. My attempt to upgrade them mostly failed, Hannah got an upgrade but Tracy and Rhys did not.
 |
| DIA. No sign of snow yet. |
We haven't been a big vacation for several years. This year we're doing both the UK (Tracy, Rhys, Hannah and I) and Spain (Owyn).
I came out for work a week before everyone else, then we're spending the week after here in the UK. Meanwhile, Owyn is on a school trip to Spain with his Spanish class.
On Sunday the 10th, my co-workers and I visited Fountains Abbey. This is one of Tracy and my favorites from when we lived here twenty two years ago.
 |
| The first view of the ruins is always enough to make us stop and stare. |
