So I have a lot to write about. The end of this weekend was very busy, and honestly I'm beat!
So I think the last time I wrote was on Saturday night after my birthday dinner, so I'll start on Sunday. So Sunday we were again in Caen, but we traveled to the D-Day museum and also the beaches that US troops stormed during WWII. That was quite a moving experience. The museum was cool and all, but the part that really choked me up was the American Cemetery where about 1/3 of the US soldiers who died were buried. There were about 9,000 graves there which means there were almost 27,000 dead soldiers on the beaches of Normandy after we stormed them. Wow. So anyway as I was walking through the cemetery I got really sad because I kept thinking about how much my grandfather would have loved to be where I was standing. I can't imagine the excitement he would have experienced just to hear that I had been to those beaches. I really wish that he was alive so I could tell him about the odd silence of the cemetery that was interrupted only by the waves of the beach where the former soldiers were killed. I wish he could have walked with me on the beach and told me one of his war stories. All in all that day put me in a really sad mood and I really just wanted to go home and be sad by myself. Anyway! After the cemetery we drove to Pont du Hoc which is where the American soldiers had to scale 100-foot cliffs to fight the German soldiers. We got to walk down into craters where shells had exploded and where planes had dropped bombs onto the soldiers. Wow, talk about an amazing thing to see. After the Pont du Hoc we drove to a cider farm where I realized that I had lost my cell phone. I didn't drink any cider or calvados because apple juice makes me sick and I wasn't going to risk drinking it. The whole group had to go back to the cemetery and get my phone after the tasting! After the tasting we headed home and I went out to dinner with Professor Romeiser, Gabriel, and a few other students. We had some really marvelous couscous with chicken and vegetables. SOOOO good. I think when I get back to Knoxville I'm going to try to establish a couscous scene. I love it so much.
Anyway, on Monday we went to Rouen and saw the place where Jeann d'Arc was burned at the stake. That was sad, but also really interesting. The neatest church I have ever seen rests right next to her grave, and we also managed to find a 5 euro lunch before we left the city.
Today was just like any other day in Paris. We went to class this morning, but before that I bought several french fashion magazines and one french philosophy magazine. After that a small group of us found a cheap restaurant where, for 10 euro you could get a 3-course meal. I had onion soup for my "entree", an omelet with ham and cheese for my "plat principale" and chocolate cake for my dessert. It was all fabulous, and super cheap. After lunch we walked to the Notre Dame and actually went inside to see the fantastic architecture, sculptures, and rose windows. We did a fast tour of the Notre Dame and then headed to meet the rest of the group at Les Invalides, which is the building that houses the tomb of Napoleon. That was pretty rad. I didn't stay there for long because honestly after I saw Napoleon's tomb I was ready to go. I've been so military-d out after this weekend that I was ready to see some more art. Jama and I headed to the Rodin museum to look at a lot of sculptures and paintings by him. We also did a super fast tour of that and now I am home. I'm so tired. It's actually warm today so my allergies are acting up and the heat is not helping. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when I get home to 100-degree Knoxville weather. EW. Anyway, I'll try to update tomorrow! Bonne nuit!
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