Normandy and Holland

Last Saturday we drove to the Normandy area in France and stayed in a Eurocamp trailer for four nights. We had booked five but decided to leave a day earlier and get to Holland earlier. We decided not to drive out to Mont St Michel. We were not excited enough about it to drive 1.5 hrs to get there and another 1.5 back. The trailer beds were not very comfy but it's much better than camping in a tent. I would have preferred three bedrooms but we managed with two. Lidia slept on the sleeper sofa and the boys in the second bedroom which had three bunks. It's way cheaper than any hotel though and there was a playground and a pool. I was surprised that everything closed even earlier there than here. Even the grocery stores close by eight and even earlier on weekends. Here the grocery store is open till ten. Very few 24 hr places in the UK. Luckily we had a bit of food with us in the car or we would have had to starve until the next day because we arrived after eight. We had stopped in Rouen on the way and eaten a bit there too. Rouen had a cool medieval town center and we saw where Joan of Arc was killed. We also saw a plague cemetery and walked past the LDS church which is very near the Notre Dame. The first night we were cold in our thin walled trailer even with a heater running but after that it warmed up and it was so nice and sunny all week. It's supposed to be nice all of this next week too.

The next day we drove out to Omaha beach and the American cemetery. It's a nice beach. The kids love playing on the sand dunes there. We also drove out to Utah beach and Pointe du hoc. It was humbling to hear the stories and see the graves and war sites. So many good men gave their lives so that others may enjoy freedom. I got a bit teary eyed a few times.

Monday we drove to Bayeux to see the old tapestry. It's 70 meters long and the end is missing but is neat and a great idea to keep history alive before most people could read and write. It tells about the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England. We had lunch at a nearby cafe and looked around town and the old church a bit and then headed back to camp so the kids could swim and play.

Tuesday we went to Juno beach to hang out and play. That is where the Canadian's landed on D Day. It was low tide so the sea was way out there. It was a beautiful day though and I got a bit sunburned. After the beach we went to the nearby park and had lunch and played on the playground a bit and then the bouncy castle place next to it opened up and we took the kids there. For seven euros you can spend as much time as you like playing on all of their inflatables. They loved it but were worn out after an hour or so. All the jumping and climbing wears you out.

Wednesday we drove to our hotel in Antwerp Belgium. On the way we stopped at the Flanders Field WWI American cemetery. They were closing up as we were leaving and the American guy that runs it was chatting with Cory and talking about how horrible the drivers are in Belgium. It's true. Worse than I have experienced anywhere. Everyone cuts you off constantly and you have to slam on your brakes so you don't hit them, even semi trucks. There is tons of traffic there too. I was a nervous wreck. I'm done with all this driving. ;) We got there just before dinner time. It was a big suite with three bedrooms and a living room and kitchen. The kids loved watching tv again even if it was just BBC. We were also happy to have more room and real beds to sleep in and more water pressure in the shower. lol We cooked the rest of the food we had with us for dinner and even had feral for breakfast the next morning. Cory bought a carton of milk from the hotel.

Thursday we drove to Holland and drove around the flower fields first thing. There were some tulip fields in bloom but lots of hyacinths in bloom. You could smell them everywhere. Really cool. Some tulip fields looked like they would be blooming in the next week. We checked into our Eurocamp trailer at Duinrell after lunch and we had time to go ride some of the rides before the park closed. Duinrell has it's own indoor waterpark and outdoor amusement park included. You don't need to leave camp at all except to go see the flower fields. There were a couple of restaurants but they were pricey. The grocery store is a bit marked up but we decided just to shop there anyway because it was convenient and it was just two nights we were there anyway.

Friday we got up and were at the water park when it opened at ten. We stayed our two hours and then ate lunch and rode lots of rides and then at 4:30 headed over to Keukenhof to enjoy all of the lovely flowers. We were there the last few hours they were open and it was great because all of the tour buses were gone. We had a late dinner by the time we got back but that's ok. It was a good busy day.

Saturday we drove all the way home. Eurotunnel was having extra security that day. They were swiping the inside of every car with their bomb detector tool. The sign said there had been an incident earlier in the day that was causing a one hour delay. I don't know what it was but we wanted to stop inside and have lunch first anyway so it worked out. We stopped about an hour from home to eat dinner at Wagamama's which we all like and there isn't one where we live. It's nice to see the kids want to eat something healthier than fast food. We got home around 7 and I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit my bed. We were all so happy to sleep in our house again. Less than 8 weeks left in England! The kids are starting to realize how much they will miss their friends.