Catching Up

Due to inadequate internet and a blogspot mobile app that doesn't always work, I am way behind in reporting on our trip.  We have been traveling!!  Here are the highlights, then I will try to post pictures from my phone separately.

Granville, France

Granville is a small beach town on the northern coast of France.  We went to Granville to meet our Swedish friends who were vacationing there.  It was a fun few days of visiting, eating and drinking.  We were sad to say goodbye again...  On our last day there, we all went to Mont St. Michel, a famous old monastery built on the beach, which is surrounded by water at high tide and sand at low tide.  It was quite beautiful.  We were enjoying it, spent longer than expected there and were able to enjoy it at sunset! 

On our way to Granville, we toured some of the D-Day beaches and museums.  It was amazing the amount of work that went into the planning of the invasion.

After driving from Paris to Granville, then onto Cherbourgh, I have greater respect for the Amazing Race teams.  Navigating through France was challenging, as the roads aren't always marked with numbers, just destinations (which are the end point, and not always the city you are heading toward). 

On to England

In Cherbourgh, France, we turned in the rental car and boarded a ferry to Portsmouth, England.  It was an evening ferry and we arrived in Portsmouth late at night.  We had a brief moment of panic, when after we were dropped off at our hotel at midnight and found the hotel door to be locked and it dark inside!  But, there was a call box, and we were able to get in and go to the second level lobby!  (Kiana had warned me that the hotel might be closed when we arrived - smart girl!  Smart mom should have checked for sure!)

We had just a few hours to visit in Portsmouth before boarding a train to Brighton, England.

Brighton, England

Mike's grandparents spent three months in Brighton in the 1980s when they traded houses with someone there.  We spent a relaxing week there.  Kiana was sick and we were all tired of cities and traveling, so we took advantage of our satellite TV and couches to watch the first week of the Olympics.  BBC has great coverage.  On satellite, we could watch any event that was happening live!  There is great Olympic spirit in Great Britain, they are very proud of hosting the Olympics. 

London

We made it!  And we all agree that London is the best city we have visited on this trip!  Our hunch was right...they report that it is less crowded than other summers.  What we appreciate is that everyone is very happy!  All of the bus and underground stations have volunteers posted to help tourists find their way.  There are extra signs to direct people to the Olympic venues (not that we needed those!).  It is just a fun place to be during the Olympics. 

There is so much to see here, that it is impossible to come close to seeing it in one week.  We have managed to do quite a bit..  Riding in a red double decker bus, seeing an Olympic event, visiting museums, walking some neighborhoods, visiting the Harry Potter movie sets, plus a whole lot more!

Tomorrow we take a night ferry from England back to Amsterdam.  A mini cruise ship for 10 hours.  Kevin and I arrive back in Canada on Sunday and Mike and Kiana arrive on Monday.  We will retrieve our car and head back toward Portland! 

Cheers!