Normandy Beaches & The American Cemetery

{Omaha Beach, Normandy, France}

I thought it appropriate to share our two days at Omaha Beach in Normandy in honor of Veteran's Day this weekend. We added a few days to our Loire Valley vacation to head all the way up to the landing beaches of D-Day and to visit the American Cemetery there.

{Omaha Beach, Normandy, France}

Every American who died in France during World War II had the right to be buried there. The cemetery land is considered American soil, given to us by the French government as a thank you and a eternal tribute and resting place for the 9,387 American soldiers who died in France during the length of the war. It is a beautiful place, perfectly kept and laid out with huge pine trees and the beach tumbling and crashing below the cliffs.

{American Cemetery, Normandy, France}

{American Cemetery Normandy, France}

{Reflecting Pool and Chapel}

The museum there is a rich testament to those who lost their lives and to the incredible plans and war strategy that led to the liberation of France.

{American Museum, My Family and Two Flags}

A film featuring some of the soldiers buried there, their letters and stories told in their own words and through family members who lost them in the ultimate sacrifice brings the personal stories to life. One of the women, a sister I think, said the most touching thing, something like, 'we could have buried him at home, back here in the United States, but in the end we felt he earned his place there in France'.

{these markers help to locate individual graves}

That feeling pervades the museum and cemetery and the respect and honor given the 9,387 who are buried there is palpable. As you walk through a granite hallway from the museum to the grounds, a voice reads every name of every soldier who is buried there, in continuum. A lone rifle with a helmet hanging from it stands in a glass case.

There are cases filled with the packs of food and kit provided to the troops. Also, a silk parachute and flight boots, a medical kit of bandages, sutures, and a vial of morphine, maps and hand grenades, and talismans, all under glass, there for us to see.

{Littlest, in awe}

Walking around the cemetery grounds we looked at the names, ranks, places of birth and dates of death etched into the white crosses and Stars of David. There are 9,238 crosses and 149 Stars of David. Ma Fille was struck by one who died on Christmas Day, 1944. The war was all but over, he'd almost made it, but that wasn't what made her sad about that particular day. Her childhood innocence only considered the day, Christmas, and how it is for presents and family and love and not for dying.

{Monument at American Cemetery}

It was moving beyond what I can describe here.

{Cemetery Beach}

We also visited the German bunker at Pointe du Hoc, placed between the two American landing points of Utah and Omaha beach. The craters from Allied pre-landing bombings sit empty and caved in. There was a group of French high school students there on a field trip and they ran around, taking notes in their cahiers, screaming into the wind and giggling, learning how their history and ours intersected in such a world-altering way.

{plaque at Pointe du Hoc}

{German bunker, French students filling in their notebooks}

{bomb craters}

{the beach below and cliffs that American troops scaled while under fire}

On our way there in the car we listened to this podcast by Bill Moyers, imagining the life-threatening danger and unimaginable courage that took place along the roads we were driving. It happened to feature Texans, by some strange coincidence, and we all listened, tears pricking our eyes, the Middlest saying, 'Do they mean it was right there by that tree or bush or dirt road?!' History came alive. 


We are protected by so much. We have so much.
Thank you to all of you who put your personal lives and liberty at risk for the rest of us. We owe you all a never-ending debt of gratitude and respect for the sacrifices you and your families have made and continue to make.

Chateaux Meatballs

We've just spent a wonderful week and some in the Loire Valley. In case you're wondering why my kids haven't been in school for the past two! weeks, well, it's the yearly All Saints or Toussaint holiday, of course. The school days are long and the year lasts into July, and here's why. We get three staggered two-week breaks during the school year. If you're a mother of three you'd better hope you've got some fun stuff planned. And that your husband doesn't leave on business for the better part of the second week. (hint, hint) I'm not bitter. Really, I'm not.

{rooftop of Chateau Chambord, Chambord, France aka the big one}

We visited seven, count 'em, seven chateaux and the kids were great...actually much better than we could have ever hoped. The French excel at creating interest in art and history and making it accessible to children. Every chateau had something for kids, either a child-friendly audio guide (pronounced geede for just so much holiday fun) and usually a book of games, kind of like a treasure hunt for the kids to fill out as they toured the castle before turning in the 'mystery word' at the gift shop for a prize at the end of the visit. These prizes were thinks like posters and magnets, sometimes a pencil.

{lessons in architecture, Chateau Blois}

We would get them settled with their history hunting paraphernalia and then shuffle around taking in the history and splendor of double helix staircases, mismatched roof turrets, fresh flowers, upholstered walls, painted ceiling rafters and so many salamanders. We'd finish off every morning with a pique-nique lunch of ham and omelet sandwiches at the thoughtfully provided picnic tables on the grounds of whatever day's chateau. 

{Bridge over the Loire in Blois, France}

P-Daddy did some real good research beforehand and found us an apartment in a chateau in Blois. It was on the ground floor of a real live chateau (albeit dating from the early 19th century) and the living room used to be the original dining room. The marble floors and wainscoted ceilings and walls were still there in all their glory. It was the perfect spot from which to see the bulk of the chateaux and the owner was perfectly lovely, perfectly coiffed and perfectly refined.

{marble floors of our apartment, Blois, France}

The kitchen was fully equipped and I was able to make some pretty tasty dinners from the few bits I picked up at the grocery store on our first night in. You know how it is when you're away, especially with children, and you need to cook from a half-stocked kitchen. I have gotten good at keeping travel basics like olive oil, salt and pepper and flavor enhancing fresh stock gels. Our first night there we were exhausted from the traveling, recovering from the first coughs of the season and chilled from the cold. I figured only a soup of clear broth, meaty meatballs and greens would do and so set about making my version of Italian meatball soup.

We dipped the chewy baguette from the bakery just around the corner into the shimmering clear broth and grated on curls of Parmesan cheese. The meatballs were beef and the escarole and leeks gave it the hearty depth it needed. We slurped it until we were warm and toasty and then fell into strange beds while the radiators emitted their snug heat.

Chateaux Meatballs

500g ground beef or pork
2 leeks, white parts only diced
1/2 cup Parmesan cheeseone slice of white bread, no crust
one egg

1 carrot
1 bunch escarole or fresh spinach
6 cups very good chicken stock, homemade if you can

one more egg, beaten and added at the end for extra richness


Make your meatballs by mixing the leeks, finely chopped, 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan, crumbled up white bread slice and the egg beaten together. Make them small, about the diameter of a quarter or euro piece and set aside. You should get around 35.

Chop the carrot into fine dice and soften in olive oil in a big stock pot.
Add 6 cups of chicken stock when the carrot is soft and bring to a boil.
Drop your meatballs into the boiling broth and bring back to the boil. Then, lower the heat to a simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes.

Rough chop the escarole or spinach and add to the soup. Continue to cook until wilted but not for an age.
When you're ready to serve, stir the soup and while it is still swirling add in the beaten egg, continuing to stir afterwards until the egg is trailing along in the broth, cooked.

Grate in some more Parmesan now or grate it at the table and serve rich and golden in warmed bowls, the perfect balm for a travel weary crew.

{F for Francois I, ceiling tile of Chambord}

More chateaux to come and with more pictures than you can shake a stick at.

Lemons, Eiffel Tower & Bloggers, Oh My!

I have been remiss. That is, I haven't shared the details of what was the most fun Saturday I've had in quite some time. What with the Littlest and then P-Daddy and now the Middlest, and dare I confess it, yours truly, feeling a bit viral, well, I haven't had the chance.

Saturday the 13th, a fantastic and varied group of bloggers came together for lunch in Montpellier. There were 12 bloggers, two significant others and two ados (pre-ados, but still). We added some multi-cultural charm to Chez Boris on the Esplanade.

{this is KIRSTY'S photo of Chez Boris}

We were parleying the anglais like nobody's business.

The city was buzzing with pre-marathon activity and crawling with gendarmerie who were going on lunch break, bien sur, as Kirsty, Ma Fille and I walked from the tram station to the resto. They were sitting in their armored vans eating very sophisticated packed lunches on fold down trays, airplane style. Some of them were quite hunky. If you like that sort of thing.

Even Gary Dourdan, apparently of CSI aka, Les Experts here in France, was in town. Turns out he plays the guitar. The sweet waitress at the outdoor cafe Kirsty, Nicola and I went to for one last glass of the pink stuff tipped us off. Good thing too because we never would have known.
He was sitting at an outdoor cafe across from Virgin Megastore setting up for a sing along. It was heady stuff, I'm telling you.

Nicola from Growing Berries was there, having done a quick switch with her traveling husband for child duty and left her four little Berries behind in Paris to have lunch with us. She made me a pretty pillow (these people are talented) that is happily fluffed, cuddled and pined after by my three and Clementine. She really wants to sink her teeth into that floral Eiffel Tower. Thank you, Nicky!

{Pretty Eiffel Tower}

Jennifer from Gustia came with her husband and brought me these lemons all the way from Monaco, well really from her house in Menton. She didn't know this but lemon tart, lemon bars, lemon meringue, lemon drops, you get the idea, are a few of my favorite things. Plus, there's a really cool lemon festival in Menton in February that has always intrigued me. Now that I know Jennifer, I'll have to get over there for it. She also gave me some maple syrup, she's Canadian, and a handy foldable shopping bag with its own sleeve for socking it away at the bottom of your purse for any unexpected lemony purchases. Thank you, Jennifer!

{Menton lemons, chez moi}

Almost everyone has written a bit about it on their blogs and unlike me, they actually took some photos so have a look around if you'd like photographic evidence.Kirsty took some great ones of the restaurant and Karen got a cool one of the frighteningly professional cameras and talented sharpshooters in action.

These are some amazing women, people. Women that are doing fun things, following their hearts, raising their children, learning new languages and challenging themselves daily to find the silver lining in this life abroad.

All I can say is thank you everyone for coming and for making our third Blogapalooza or if you prefer, BlogFeast, a huge success.


Karen from Little Sweet Spots
Abby and Logan J’Adore Ma Vie
Jennifer American Mom in Bordeaux
Kirsty You Had Me at Bonjour
Heather Lost in Arles
Nicola at Growing Berries
Julie at The Provence Post
Colleen at Life 2.1
Jennifer Gustia
Sarah at St Bloggie de Riviere
Meredith Talking Story in Provence



P.S. I seem to have been nominated as a Top Expat Blog for France on Expats Blog. Maybe you'd like to head over and leave a comment and maybe even log a vote for me. The happy surprises I find in my inbox! You can tweet it if you'd like too.