If I Could Go Back

Often when I post about travel, it is my beloved England or Paris. But there are a few other spots I've been to which I'd greatly love to return. I've been thinking about those places a lot lately!

Even though I have been vaccinated, it will be a long time before I feel comfortable getting on a plane and going six or seven hours across the sea, I wouldn't mind if my itinerary included another visit to Amsterdam.

I love the canals, the markets and there are more than a few museums and gardens I missed. Spring, I think, would be rather perfect!

 

 

And as long as one was in The Netherlands, it would be nice to revisit Delft.

 

After all, there are more than a few pieces of Delft china and more that I left behind. I'd love a tour of one of the workshops, too.

The first trip I took with Rick was to Japan. It was true culture shock for me and I was pretty terrified of getting separated from him. All I knew to say was "Hello," "Goodbye," "Thank you," "Excuse me," and "I have a cat." These words will not help if you get lost!

But it was a fabulous and eye-opening trip, thanks especially to time we spent with friends from Rick's Japan-America Society and Sister Cities days. We spent time in Toyko, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kyoto and Otsu (some of those were day trips with our friends.) Kanako took us to Kyoto and I'd love to spend more time there. 

The temple at Miyajima was beautiful (and the deer so tame they even chased a man with a McDonald's bag, hoping for food!)

Kiyo and her family welcomed us to Hiroshima and we enjoyed meeting her friends.

 She took us to the Peace Museum, a somber and stunning place to visit and be reminded of the consequences of war. This installation of a thousand cranes made by schoolchildren touched my heart.

I write a lot about Paris but oh, how I would love to revisit Giverny.

Monet's home, with its fabulous kitchen and dining room, all the gardens and the small and charming town all are worth another visit.

St. Malo was another town I'd return to. It is a walled city and an old one. If you read "All the Light You Cannot See," it is set in this town which had quite a World War II history.

And good dog hygiene!

Oh, and the food was to die for! 

I'll never forget how moving the beaches of Normandy were.

Honfleur is another spot I enjoyed all too briefly -- just part of an afternoon and dinner. 

I didn't get to shop but I might have come home with one of these hats!

And when twilight came and the lights came on, it was downright magical! 

Speaking of French, should I want to speak French closer to home (or try), I would head immediately for Quebec City. The old walled city was my favorite part and there was much we didn't have time to explore in our few days here. 

Rick had cycled there from Michigan and his legs did the hills better than mine -- but oh, they were so worth it!

I enjoyed the art galleries and my birthday gift that year was a painting from one of my favorites. But it was hard to choose! 

One of the most magical places I ever visited was Martha's Vineyard and I'd go back in a heartbeat. (It's a shorter flight, too! I could even drive most of the way!)

 

 

When we visited in August 2017, we accidentally (and fortuitously) came during The Grand Illumination, where homes in the Oak Bluffs Campground, a collection of lovingly maintained Victorian homes, illuminate their porches with lanterns. 

That and the massive sing-along would have been enough.

But the towns are lovely, like Edgartown with its harbor... 

 ...and beautiful Oak Bluffs.

...and the beaches are fabulous!

There are  plenty more on the list, along with places I've never been. And I probably won't get to all these old favorites along with the new spots that intrigue me one more time. 

But I'll sure love the remembering!

Sharing with:       Let's Keep In Touch    /     Share Your Style     /     Timeless Thursdays     /    Pink Saturday     

Normandy: Sobering, Beautiful

One of the places I had longed to visit in France was Omaha Beach and the Norman countryside. And, I must admit, my reasons for doing so were both historical and personal.

Several years ago, WKAR produced two World War II documentaries, one of which focused on the European theatre. During the course of production, I edited transcripts of many veterans who had served and shared their experiences. (You can see them here if you're interested.)

Several spoke of D-Day and Normandy and the coastal towns they lived and fought in following the invasion. It had indeed become personal.

Our trip to Normandy began early on a Sunday morning, with a fairly long drive, punctuated by stops at town "foires" -- a combination of town flea market and fair with rides and food.

(More on these in another post on flea markets, but I had some fun finds!)

Our first destination was the Omaha Beach Museum. It was fairly small, but with lots of artifacts, clippings, photographs and life-size diarama scenes.

The pieces in the museum told the story --

...from the landing to the resistance.

The emphasis wasn't on the equipment used (although there were certainly examples of the various arms and mortars, uniforms and helmets),

... but of the people who fought so bravely.

From there we moved on to the American Cemetery. This is truly hallowed ground, and it is impossible not to be moved by the elegant symmetry and simplicity of this final resting place for so many American soldiers.

I was particularly touched by flowers, left behind. Long past their peak, they remain, memorials and testimonials to a given soldier from -- who knows? A family member? A friend? A comrade in arms?

The cemetery is set on a high bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. I'm not sure you can tell from the photo just how far and how high that bluff is, but to be arriving on a boat in wretched weather, knowing the enemy was waiting for you on that bluff had to be frightening indeed.

Think of running up sand dunes -- it isn't easy. Add full fighting gear. It must have been a daunting task.

Now there are steps going down to the beach. Lots of them. Many of the pilgrims to the cemetery went down, as did I. Simply touching the sand, feeling that ground that had touched the feet of soldiers 65 years ago, was a sobering and moving experience.

And for some reason, the only family having a picnic here had a young girl in the family, who delighted in the broad expanse of beach. To me, she represented the purity, the future. After all, isn't it family we fight for most of all?

After leaving Omaha Beach and a stop at a German stronghold, we passed by this old church, named (as so many churches are in France) "Notre Dame."

It had been damaged in the war, and soldiers restored it.

I was rather capitvated by its stone work...

...and the heavy wooden door.

Then it was off to the beach at Arromanches, where some old German boat hulls, rusted and covered with algae, still rest in the waters at the shoreline.

One could easily visualize the soldiers in combat in these treacherous waters.

Our dinner destination was the town of Honfleur, about two hours away, perhaps. It's a port town, with LeHarve on the other side.

We expected it to be the quietly bustling town Jerry remembered. But they were in the middle of a music festival and it was more than a bit manic!

Finally, after 11 p.m., we found an outdoor restaurant on the water.

A look at the menu yielded promising options!

And of course, I had to sample the escargot! I'd been dying to try snails since long before my trip began, inspired by a commentary in Peter Mayle's book "French Lessons."

And oh, he was so very right! Succulent, delicious. Garlic and herbs with that bit of snail. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Things I Learned Today:

Snails. Yum.

The writing "s/" means "sur" or "on the" -- "Sur La Mer" might be written s/Mer. Lots of the towns here were on the sea.

There are several women (nurses) buried in the American Cemetery.

I really never expected to be so moved as I was by a place such as this.

The best raspberries I've ever eaten were found at a foire en route to Normandy. I wish I had more!