How do you spell FUN?

The last few weeks have just been amazing. Allow me to fill you in...

First of all, some friends of ours gave us some money to rent a car and said "get out of town." How wonderful is that?!? France celebrates a number of religious holidays that America does not, and so we had an unexpected 4 day weekend from the 13th to the 16th of May for Ascension so we decided to use the break to go see Normandie.

Can I just say WOW!!!! It was a fabulous 3 days of seeing the countryside of France, the beaches of Normandie where our troops landed during the 2nd World War, and visiting Caen, Deauville and Etretat. Can I just say again, WOW!!!!!

So, what does it look like to go on vacation when you live in Paris without a car? Allow me to show you. It first began like so...


I think it's hilarious how comfortable Todd looks in this photo. And, the poster behind him always makes me smile. It is a school advertising their program to learn English. Everything about this photos looks "typical" to me.

Then, there's this. Dragging suitcases through the metro stations. This is the 3rd station of 4 we went through.


And, of course, lots and lots of stairs. Not so fun with suitcases.


Here we are on the train headed towards the airport.


Riding the airport shuttle to the right terminal for car rentals.


Ah...finally at Hertz! We rented from Hertz because we could make the reservation online and pay in US dollars. We thought this would save us some money, but we're not sure that it really did after buying train tickets for the whole family. We'll be researching the cost of renting cars closer to our home for the next trip. (Note: we are waiting for "Large Family Discount Cards" from the government which would make train tickets cheaper for our family. When they come, we might just use trains to see other places in France. For now, the car was a better deal.)

We arrived just before a huge line formed!


I had to take a photo of their luggage carts. They are free to use in the airports here. You can get as many as you want and it is really wonderful. In retrospect, though, it makes me smile because it's a big tease! You almost think that France is going to be full of every kind of convenience. But, the truth is, once you leave the airport doors, all conveniences are GONE! You now get to carry your luggage up and down hoards of stairs, in and out of trains, up and down hills, and over miles of cobblestone walkways. Ha! Enjoy the free carts while they last! :-)


Finally, we're on the open road! It was a blast to drive again. The fields were full of colza in full yellowing floral bloom - just gorgeous!


I'll just include one or two photos from each place we went, and give you a link to more photos on my Facebook page if you wish to see more. This is Caen, and we got to see the Chateau that was built by William the Conqueror in 1060. It was incredible! Ryan was in heaven and got truly re-inspired to play with his Playmobile Castle after visiting this place!

They even had dry moats! We got to walk in them, too.

William the Conqueror also built this Men's Abbey. He also built a Women's Abbey, but we didn't go to see it. This place was really amazing, too. William the Conqueror's tomb is in the cathedral.


Then, we went to the American Cemetery on the Beaches of Normandie. It was an incredibly moving thing to see. I would HIGHLY recommend that every American see this place once in their lifetime, if at all possible. We left with a new appreciation for the high cost that was paid for freedom for so many. It's impossible not to be very proud America after seeing this place.


We got to see all sorts of monuments with French and American flags flown together.


..and crawl in and around old German bunkers that have been left along the beaches.


And, of course, the beach! It was a bit chilly, but it was still fun to stick your feet in the English Channel and collect shells.

Then we went to Deauville. It's a gorgeous town on the coast of the English Channel.


Here's the town hall building. This is the "typical" Normandie style buildings.


Finally, we drove further up the coast to the quaint little city of Etretat where there are pebble beaches and truly breathtaking cliffs.




What an incredible 3 days! Here are the links to the rest of the photos if you want to see more of these amazing places:

Chateau of Caen
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64093&id=1250351786&l=5aa31eb579

Men's Abbey
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64096&id=1250351786&l=ef9d0ccb5a

American Cemetery & Beaches of Normandie
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64089&id=1250351786&l=06a2ce3252

Deauville
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64097&id=1250351786&l=c4e2f17994

Etretat
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1344691&l=6ea96af166&id=1250351786

In the days since our little get-away, so much has happened. Mark and Carissa have been having cafe discussions on Wednesday nights. It has been great! They are really getting to know this small group of singles well and having great conversations week after week.

And, we've started an English conversation group with people from our neighborhood along with our teammates. The first night 4 people came, and the second we are looking for 7 to be coming! It has been really fabulous to gather people together and offer a place to practice speaking English, all while building relationships with the people we've been meeting over the last many months.

Mark's brother, David, has come for a short visit before he goes on to Slovakia for an internship this summer. (He's in college right now.) It's great to have family here! Here's a photo of the brothers together:


We took David to one of our neighborhood parks, and one of Ryan's friends from school was there with his Dad. Mark had the chance to visit with the Dad for a long time. As we were walking out the park, I talked with this man and had a successful conversation in French! Yeah! Even better, I didn't embarrass my family at all, and when we were falling asleep last night, Mark said, "Jill, you are doing really great with French. I am super proud of you." I feel like I am riding on a cloud high in the sky! Yeah God for helping me learn! I still have a long way to go, but as Mark says, "I'm really in the game finally."

This coming Thursday I have my last test of the year, and then I finish classes on June 18th. I am really excited to get out into the parks, just like last night, and practice, practice, practice! It might take me 5 years, but I am going to learn French one day. :-)

Today, Lena is at two birthday parties, and tomorrow Ryan goes to a friend's house for lunch and then he'll go with them to an Airplane Museum in the north of Paris. It's just wonderful to see how God is answering prayers and giving us more and more connections to people in our community. We are really starting to feel like we belong here as people are welcoming us more and more into their lives. We praise God for all of this! He is good!

Finally, I just have to share a random photo. If you have every moved, you will understand what it feels like to be in a totally new place, but suddenly something reminds you of a person - often a very random person - back home. For instance, I was walking on the street yesterday, and I passed a man who looked exactly like Mark Muska. I chuckled. Mr. Muska is not a personal friend of mine. In fact, I never had him as a professor when I was at Northwestern, but wouldn't you know it, I saw his twin yesterday! It's funny how things like this happen when you move to a completely new place.

It happened to me twice. The second time was in the metro. I saw this new advertisement on the wall. Who did it immediately make me think of? Did you guess? Lily Lindquist. I wish it was a better picture, but I had to take it through the window of the train. This sweet little blond girl is "decked-out" in jewelry, lipstick and puckering her lips. The sign says, "250 ideas for Mom starting at 8 euros." Just like a true princess! I love it!


And so, I take these little reminders as promptings to pray for people. I prayed for Mark Muska and for little miss Lily yesterday with big smiles on my face, too.

I'll end the way I end many a blog entry, with flowers. Paris is ablaze with roses right now. It is just incredible! Here are the roses by my school:


I walk and pray in Luxembourg gardens each morning before class. Here are a couple of photos from there.



Now, I think that's enough. I really do have to go and prepare for our English conversation group and my tests this week. It's been good to "chat!" Have a fabulous day!