Joie de vivre!

We arrived in Paris a little later than expected, which means we didn't have an opportunity to see much of the city of lights. After grabbing a quick bite to eat, we made our way to the Champ du Mars to see the 1:00 a.m. show at the Eiffel Tower. (sorry it's sideways, I couldn't figure out how to change that!)

The next morning, we grabbed a train to Caen to see the beaches of Normandy. Our tour guide quickly became our favorite Frenchman because Francois said he loved Texas... compared to the other people we met in France-- he's heads above the rest!

Even though I have seen Saving Private Ryan, I never really grasped the disadvantage of American troops when they stormed Omaha beach until we visited Normandy. Francois told us that the tide situation that day was similar to what the Americans would have encountered on D-Day-- about halfway in.

Being among those tombstones in the cemetery was really humbling. I felt even prouder to be an American. Parisians should learn to be a lot nicer to Americans... if it wasn't for us, they'd all be speaking German!

We got back to Paris long enough to see the Notre Dame quickly before catching our next train to London.... at long last, English speaking Europe!!!