Welcome to the final installment of what we’ve dubbed “The Tag-Team Trip.”

As a quick recap, over the last two weeks Howard and I (Whitney) have shared a few details and images from our most recent program to Bruges and Amsterdam.  This week, we’re covering the last leg of the trip (i.e. the BEST because I was there of course) to Paris on Bastille Day + a 7-night cruise along the Seine River reaching the beaches of Normandy and back.

Here is a map of the ground (river) we covered with our ship, the lovely AmaLegro:

Day 1 – Paris on Bastille Day

The morning after the Amsterdam meeting came to an end, about half of the group hopped on a train to Paris in order to experience Bastille Day in the City of Light!  The first stop was Montmartre to spend some time before everyone’s rooms were ready at the Hotel Baltimore.  Once the time came to head to the hotel, the group checked in, rested up a bit, then headed out again to board a dinner cruise boat.  On board, we enjoyed a lovely meal while cruising around the city.  When the time came for the main event, we parked right in front of the Eiffel Tower for an unobstructed view of the fireworks show!

 Here is a time lapse Howard took.  About 30 minutes of fireworks in about 30 seconds!

DAY 2 – Paris & AmaLegro Embarkation

The day of embarkation, the group checked out of the Hotel Baltimore and toured around Paris before heading to the AmaLegro.

DAY 3 – Vernon & Monet’s Garden

Our first stop on our journey down the Seine was in Vernon.  Lucky for us, it was market day!  We browsed around the vendors, strolled to the medieval castle and admired half-timbered homes miraculously untouched by the bombs of WWII.

Our excursion of the day was to Monet’s famous home, lily pond and garden in the town of Giverny.  It looked just as beautiful as it does in Monet’s paintings… with a few extra hundred people in the background.

 

The main street running through Giverny was lined with cute cafes and art galleries.  We also made a fluffy friend along the way!  Only in France will you find the fanciest of chickens.

DAY 4 – Caudebec-en-Caux & Honfleur Excursion

The charming little town of Caudebec-en-Caux.  Not very much to browse (we walked the whole town in about 15 minutes) however the architecture, most notably the Gothic cathedral, was stunning.  The name comes from Scandinavian origin meaning “cold steam” which refers to the small brook running through the center of the town.

HONFLEUR EXCURSION

Definitely one of my favorite excursions of the trip!  So much so that I didn’t take that many pictures… I was too busy oogling over the cute shops and cafes.  The downside during our visit was that it was as holiday weekend after Bastille Day so everyone and their extended families was in town. I would definitely come back here and stay a few days rather than just visit on a day trip.  There was so much to see and do (and eat)!  Being a port town, they are know for their seafood, specifically mussels and oysters.  Normandy as whole is known for their apple liqueurs and cheese (particularly Camembert) which we had plenty of, believe me.   (the cheese, not the booze…)

 

DAY 5 – Caudebec & Normandy D-Day Beach Excursion

This was by far the most anticipated day for the group.  It was a long day… we started with a 3 hour motor coach ride to Utah Beach, where most of the tour groups do not visit because of the distance.  We basically had the beach to ourselves, which was a nice surprise after running into four Princess cruise tour buses all trying to use the bathroom at the same time during our half-way “comfort” stop.

From Utah, we visited the town of Sainte-Mère-Église – known as the initial drop site for some of the early paratrooper landings on D-Day.  If you’ve seen the movie The Longest Day, you know the story… in a nutshell, the paratroopers planned to drop in unnoticed, however a house caught on fire that night and blew their cover as they came down.  There was so much commotion, the Germans were awake and the skies were lit up… it basically turned into a slaughter.  One of the soldiers, John Steele, got caught on the spire of the town church as he came down and hung there for 2 hours pretending to be dead.  He ended up being taken as a POW and survived the ordeal.  There is currently a memorial on the steeple to commemorate his story.

From Sainte-Mère-Église, we visited Pointe du Hoc where the Germans positioned their long range guns.  Then, we briefly visited Omaha Beach to see the memorial statues commemorating the battle.

Our last, and in my opinion most profound stop of the day was to the American Cemetery, housing the graves of 9,387 soldiers, most of whom lost their lives during D-Day and the ensuing battles.

Each day there are 3 scheduled ceremonies for the massive flocks of tour groups to honor the fallen.  Since this was our last stop and it was getting close to the end of the day, all the ceremonies were finished… so, of course, we had our very own private ceremony.  The president of our group and his wife started by leading the group in our national anthem, followed by a very moving speech.  We had 3 veterans among us, and we honored them by asking them to come forward and place a wreath at the base of the memorial statue.  People said a few words of remembrance, then we concluded with America the Beautiful.  It was an beautiful and very emotional moment that not many groups get to experience!

All in all – it was a very poignant day that I believe everyone will cherish and remember.

Hopefully they forget the 2.5 hour motor coach ride on the way back!

DAY 6 – Rouen

The next day we docked in the large city of Rouen – the capital city of the Normandy region – known for the Notre Dame Cathedral that was a favorite subject of Monet as well as the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

It quite different from the small villages that we had docked at for most of the cruise.  The group went out on a city walking tour and then had the rest of the day to explore and shop on their own.

One of the top experiences of the trip was the Illuminations Show on the Notre Dame Cathedral later that night.  The city projected and amazing graphic light show against the facade that covered everything from viking and medieval times to impressionist paintings and modern house music.  Very entertaining!

 

DAY 7 – Les Andelys and Chateau Gaillard

This charming river town is most famous for Richard the Lionheart’s humble hilltop abode – Chateau Gaillard.  Our guides Barbara and Marie took us to the top and performed a hilarious rendition of the story of this “impenetrable” fortress.

 

After our tour, we strolled back down hill into the town of Petite Andelys we perused the many local storefronts. Fun fact about France – every corner you turn there is another patisserie.  You will never find a shortage of bread and pastries in this country!

DAY 8 – Conflans & back to Paris

Our last day on the AmaLegro was a quiet one.  We had a brief stop in Conflans where the group split up and visited either Napoleon and Josephine Bonaparte’s Chateau de Malmaison or the artists’ town of Auvers-sur-oise – the last home of Vincent Van Gogh.  We had a lovely 6 hour cruise back to the city of Paris where everyone relaxed and enjoyed the scenery.  We also got a behind-the-scenes look at what the captain does in the navigation room all day (notice the army figurines)!

We lucked out and happened to book our group on a scheduled “art cruise.”  An artist was on board for the entire journey and taught 3 painting classes along the way featuring sites we had visited on the cruise.  Here is some of our group getting creative with the onboard art lessons and the artist’s paintings up for auction!

DAY 9 – Departure day

Always a bittersweet day – everyone is excited to return home but so sad to leave.  Here is a photo of Howard and I with our wonderful AmaLegro team – Talida the Hotel Manager, Captain Erno and Helene the Cruise Director.

 

Au revoir for now!