We're back after a week's drive through France...via car, not train...all 1960 miles!
This is a model train (HO scale) from the Dortrecht Steam Festival we attended back in May and is a welcome back from traveling...and my way to also say it's my turn again at Vision and Verb.
My job is now cut out for me...to go through my 1,000 photos and pare them down to half that number and then get them into collages. It was such an incredible experience to see France apart from Paris. It's like seeing Holland apart from Amsterdam. Seeing the real countryside and how the smaller villages look. I can tell you this: there's a huge difference between France and The Netherlands by landscape alone. I didn't expect, for instance, so much stone in the architecture of normal houses. Or so many hills and valleys. You'll see.
What maybe surprised me more than anything, however, is the proximity of France to Holland!
It was 50 km (31 mi) from our house south to the Belgium border, another 154 km (96 mi) through Belgium to the French border, and another 220 km (137 mi) to Paris. Pinch me: that's 424 km (263 mi) or 5.5 hours from our house to Paris! I'm still in shock. It's nothing for people here to drive to Paris for a long weekend! One day...maybe when you come to visit us.
Speaking of driving, that Granny Towanda sure knows what she's doing. Next trip I'll make a point of highlighting her a bit more. She deserves all the attention she can get!
(Top) our first B&B, in Thenioux. (Middle) at a small cemetery. (Bottom) at another cemetery.
(NO. That is not an omen. She is not ready to give up the ghost!)
Just a taste of a few activities in which Astrid is showcased. We saw more sunflowers than you can shake a stick at...raised for it's oil more than for its seeds. Our Dutch friends have their own spring-fed swimming hole, good for skinny-dipping. Yup. The Normandy coast was a must, in honor of those who came before us. And Mont St. Michel....
[Click on any collage and then on an individual image to enlarge.]
This was what we wanted to see more than anything else...and this is the first picture I took from several kilometers away. We arrived at 6:30 p.m., late in the day because we intended to stay till dark for time-lapsed images.
This was the last photo of Mont St. Michel, 11:15 p.m. In between photos, we walked all the way to the Abbey on top.
What maybe surprised me more than anything, however, is the proximity of France to Holland!
It was 50 km (31 mi) from our house south to the Belgium border, another 154 km (96 mi) through Belgium to the French border, and another 220 km (137 mi) to Paris. Pinch me: that's 424 km (263 mi) or 5.5 hours from our house to Paris! I'm still in shock. It's nothing for people here to drive to Paris for a long weekend! One day...maybe when you come to visit us.
Speaking of driving, that Granny Towanda sure knows what she's doing. Next trip I'll make a point of highlighting her a bit more. She deserves all the attention she can get!
(Top) our first B&B, in Thenioux. (Middle) at a small cemetery. (Bottom) at another cemetery.
(NO. That is not an omen. She is not ready to give up the ghost!)
Just a taste of a few activities in which Astrid is showcased. We saw more sunflowers than you can shake a stick at...raised for it's oil more than for its seeds. Our Dutch friends have their own spring-fed swimming hole, good for skinny-dipping. Yup. The Normandy coast was a must, in honor of those who came before us. And Mont St. Michel....
[Click on any collage and then on an individual image to enlarge.]
This was what we wanted to see more than anything else...and this is the first picture I took from several kilometers away. We arrived at 6:30 p.m., late in the day because we intended to stay till dark for time-lapsed images.
This was the last photo of Mont St. Michel, 11:15 p.m. In between photos, we walked all the way to the Abbey on top.
Next post I'll start being more specific about the entire experience. For now, this is the appetizer. The taste to whet your appetite. Or maybe to whet mine and get me in gear to tackle all my photos this week. I will love it.
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It's summer vacation for school but I am allowed to still go to the Learning Center as long as it's open this coming week...followed by 3 weeks when the school is totally closed, and then another 3 weeks of Learning Center before school is back to full operation at the end of August. It's a 3-day schedule instead of the typical 4 days, but at least it will keep me up on things. I'm committed to maintaining my momentum.
A reminder again that it's my turn at Vision and Verb today.
