All stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

So, I am sitting in my room a week before I will be heading back to the states, gathering all my post cards, wading through the piles of papers I accumulated, and thought it was time to send another message, particularly since I just spent a weekend in Normandy - you know you'll miss these vacation break-downs :) Here it is:

NORMANDY!
We (Joselyne and I) left on Friday at around 13h30 and got into Avranches (a town about 40km away from Mont St Michel) at about 18h00, where we were welcomed by Celine's parents (who happily agreed to let us stay at their house during our visit - Celine rented my room in Joselyne's house about ten years ago and they've stayed close friends.) That night we talked, cooked, ate, talked, and slept. Very nice :)

Saturday: Woke up at 7am (to Celine's father waking us up military style - the trumpets, you know? He had to serve as alarm clock for everyone and jokingly said he would hum that tune...and he did. lol) We then headed out at around 8h30 for Ste Mère Église, which is known for the parachutists that came and landed there to liberate the city (the first city in France that was liberated during WWII) Why were we there, you ask? My Pop-pop was in the 82nd Airborne and landed in a WACO glider just west of Ste Mère Église. We visited the church, which had some beautiful stained glass windows dedicated to the 82nd/101st Airborne, and then went to the Airborne museum, where there was an actual WACO glider like the one my Pop-pop landed in, which was incredible to see in person after the stories I've heard. After the museum, we got lunch at an incredible boulangeree beside the church AND I saw a deux chevaux - I was SO excited (For those who don't know what that is, it's a really crappy old French car. It's notorious, actually. This one was in really good shape, actually, and had music patterns on the car seats.) Then we headed out to Utah Beach, and it was really windy, so we didn't stay very long. We picnicked on a random table we found in the country side and then headed to Point Hoc (pointe hoc - is it the same in english? I'm not sure.) It was a very strategic point in the war because it was high up and incredible difficult to take - there were crators everywhere from the bombs that had destroyed the landscape during the war. It was quite impressive to see along side all the bulwarks the Germans built as protection; we went down in one and it was not very pleasant (dark and deserted). After Point Hoc we went to Omaha Beach and then the American Cemetary, which was immaculately kept and quite peacful. I thought it was perfect that it was right by the coast of Omaha Beach. After that, we made the drive back to Avranches, which took about an hour and a half, which for any American is nothing at all. For the French, it is TERRIBLE. I love how the thought of driving an hour anywhere horrifies them. It was, however, very nice that they went all the way for my sake - I could have never see all that in one day without their help!!!

Sunday: Today, we woke up a bit later, and Celine was quite tired, so we got a bit of a late start - 10am, but we went with Celine's father, who knows the region and Mont St Michel very well, so it was so much more enriching. We were able to take small country roads that gave a beautiful view of Mont St Michel on the way there. When we got there we went directly up so I could go to mass at 11h30. Even though I couldn't see anything, it was a monastic mass, and the chanting was beautiful. None of the others were particularly religious, and I was expecting them to explore while I was in mass, but they ended up coming along (and, consequently, got in for free). You're technically not supposed to tour the abbey after the mass, but the father collected our stickers that labeled us as mass participants (and hid them in his hat)and had us leave a little early so we wouldn't have to pay. lol I was a guest - what could I do? I did save about 5 euro, although I felt a little funny about it. Oh well. Afterwards, we toured the abbey and ate a leisurely lunch at a restaurant with a view of the ocean (it was low tide, so all we could see was beach, really). Since it was low tide, we went down and walked around the outside of the island after lunch, which was incredible. You get to see the undeveloped side of the island, although if you venture out much further into the bay you have to be very careful (i.e. have a guide) - people die there every year; not just dumb tourists, but locals, too! Afterwards, the dad drove us along the diggs that surround the bay (which were built to ensure that during the HUGE high tides there isn't massive flooding of farm land), so we got to see a lot of beautiful countryside. He even stopped by a restored mill on the way back to the house, where we stopped for about a half an hour before taking the train back to Angers at 18h43; we got home around 23h30. Whew - and I had an exam the next day!

The exam ended up going very well, as did the other two orals I had on Tuesday. I am now done with classes, with everything, and everyone is starting to slowly leave one by one. I have a lovely weekend in Paris to look forward to, some last hang outs, lots of creative packing and last minute shopping, and then I will be in the US again after an incredible semester. I am so blessed to have been able to have this experience. I just wanted to fill you all in again before I leave - I'll be sure to post one more blog entry right before I leave so you all know the specifics of my flight home, etc.

Captions: me and the WACO Glider, Joselyne and I at Omaha Beach, and Celine and I in front of Mont St Michel