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OT: My summer vacation

HuskyNan

HuskyNan

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Some of you guys might remember my asking about visiting Normandy. I just got back from my London-Normandy-Paris trip and thought I'd share a couple thoughts.

1. Americans are NOT the most obnoxious tourists abroad and it's not even close. Yes, we may be a little louder than the Parisians like but we are, by and large, pretty respectful of others. I heard a lot of Americans attempting to speak French and the French were most kind about it, smiling in return. The folks in Normandy still love and appreciate Americans, the British, and Canadians even after 80 years.
2. We thought it might be a quiet period abroad after the Olympics and high tourist season but, boy, were we wrong. It was packed everywhere.
3. As much as Americans love European clothes and culture, the Europeans love American clothes and culture. I got a chuckle out of the wild popularity of The Golden Bachelorette in England.
4. The bread in France is awesome. No sticky, gummy Wonder Bread for the French and the bakeries are fabulous.

So, a couple pictures.

Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye (the Ferris wheel on the Thames)

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Normandy. I was horrified to see souvenir stores selling "D-Day" t-shirts like it was some kind of rock concert. Fortunately, they were the exception and not the rule as most of the area near the beaches is somber and respectful. For the first picture of Omaha Beach, I stood near the water and took the picture toward the hills our troops needed to scale. Note how broad the beach is and how difficult it must have been to storm across such an open area.

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A delightful cafe in Normandy. People don't sit scrolling on their phones, they have a glass of wine or other beverage and converse with their companion and the other people around them. A warm and welcoming environment and oh so relaxing.

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Paris - the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

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More Louvre which is, in my humble opinion, a work of art all by itself. The building takes up and entire city block and is three stories high. Every time you turn around there's a famous painting or piece of sculpture. It's hard not to be awed by the magnificence of the Louvre.

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The Palace of Versailles. It's undoubtably beautiful but they let waaaay too many people in at the same time. The palace is a series of small rooms and you end up shuffling along like a chain gang through hot, stuffy rooms. We couldn't wait to get out of the palace, to be honest. The grounds around the palace are exquisite. People that have difficulty walking would not find a visit to Versailles enjoyable, though.

One of many small rooms with paintings. A lot, if not most, of the smaller rooms are just like this but in varying colors.

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The Hall of Mirrors, which is quite beautiful, but way too crowded to enjoy.

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Anywho, I got home just in time for Hurricane Helene. The west coast and so called Big Bend area of Florida were hit hard but Orlando got next to nothing with just some stiff breezes and off and on rain. A typical Florida tropical downpour, quite common here, has more rain than Helene gave central Florida.

Only a month and a bit until basketball season. I can't wait.

Where did you guys go this summer?
 
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Hope to go to Scotland next year, probably won’t include England but nothing is decided yet. Route so far is to arrive in Glasgow and go clockwise with last stop & departure from Edinburgh. Have about 3 weeks and current plan is for 7 stops of 3 nights each (Glasgow, Tobermory, Callander, Ballater, St. Andrews, Melrose, and Edinburgh). Can always take a day from one stop and add it elsewhere for longer stay there. Also need to decide between spring or fall- the days are longer in spring, but the weather may be better in the fall. Not going to Skye, already this is a good sampling of Scotland, and Mull is supposed to be delightful. History, castles and gardens, coastal villages, nice walks, whisky, golf- can’t wait!
 
HuskyNan said:
Some of you guys might remember my asking about visiting Normandy. I just got back from my London-Normandy-Paris trip and thought I'd share a couple thoughts.

1. Americans are NOT the most obnoxious tourists abroad and it's not even close. Yes, we may be a little louder than the Parisians like but we are, by and large, pretty respectful of others. I heard a lot of Americans attempting to speak French and the French were most kind about it, in my experience. The folks in Normandy still love and appreciate Americans, British, and Canadians even after 80 years.
2. We thought it might be a quiet period abroad after the Olympics and high tourist season but, boy, were we wrong. It was packed everywhere.
3. As much as Americans love European clothes and culture, the Europeans love American clothes and culture. I got a chuckle out of the wild popularity of The Golden Bachelorette in England.
4. The bread in France is awesome. No sticky, gummy stuff Wonder Bread for the French and the bakeries are fabulous.

So, a couple pictures.

Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye (the Ferris wheel on the Thames)

View attachment 103795

View attachment 103797
Expand ...

HuskyNan said:
Some of you guys might remember my asking about visiting Normandy. I just got back from my London-Normandy-Paris trip and thought I'd share a couple thoughts.

1. Americans are NOT the most obnoxious tourists abroad and it's not even close. Yes, we may be a little louder than the Parisians like but we are, by and large, pretty respectful of others. I heard a lot of Americans attempting to speak French and the French were most kind about it, in my experience. The folks in Normandy still love and appreciate Americans, British, and Canadians even after 80 years.
2. We thought it might be a quiet period abroad after the Olympics and high tourist season but, boy, were we wrong. It was packed everywhere.
3. As much as Americans love European clothes and culture, the Europeans love American clothes and culture. I got a chuckle out of the wild popularity of The Golden Bachelorette in England.
4. The bread in France is awesome. No sticky, gummy stuff Wonder Bread for the French and the bakeries are fabulous.

So, a couple pictures.

Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye (the Ferris wheel on the Thames)

View attachment 103814
View attachment 103815
Expand ...
Good for you, Nan, and welcome home. I hope you got to watch the Olympics to prep you for your trip.

It's refreshing to read your take on the French, one I've held since my first trip there in 1985, right up through a 2016 visit. It also served as a reminder for me of how much I love traveling there, especially Paris. I'm so glad you had a wonderful experience.

Thanks for the photos, too. I get a kick out of the reality that those old phone booths are such tourist amusements. There used to be so many...
 
CTtoSanDiego said:
I also just got back from London and Paris. Did Normandy a few years ago. Added Provence on this trip. Your observations are spot on -- especially about the bread! Simple bread and butter in France is delish!View attachment 103812View attachment 103813
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And that wondrous bread doesn't even need butter... during my backpacking days, I made a habit of having a baguette a day, accompanied a variety of cheeses, to get my day started.

Compliments to your photographer, packaging you with one of the iconic photo booths and the backdrop of the parliament building.

Welcome home, CTtoSanDiego!
 
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Conndog said:
Hope to go to Scotland next year, probably won’t include England but nothing is decided yet. Route so far is to arrive in Glasgow and go clockwise with last stop & departure from Edinburgh. Have about 3 weeks and current plan is for 7 stops of 3 nights each (Glasgow, Tobermory, Callander, Ballater, St. Andrews, Melrose, and Edinburgh). Can always take a day from one stop and add it elsewhere for longer stay there. Also need to decide between spring or fall- the days are longer in spring, but the weather may be better in the fall. Not going to Skye, already this is a good sampling of Scotland, and Mull is supposed to be delightful. History, castles and gardens, coastal villages, nice walks, whisky, golf- can’t wait!
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Looks like a great plan, Conndog, and I'd recommend mid-September to early October for optimum weather.

My only suggestions would be to allow a few days for a drive north. So far, it seems you're not going to sample the Highlands in all their glory. See if you can work that out. It'd be worth your effort; also, give yourself extra time in Edinburgh. It's one of my favorite European cities.

Good luck!
 
Wonderful pics, Nan (and CTto).

We camped for a week in Acadia National Park, one of our two favorite places in the world, in July. It alternated between blazing hot (not expected on Mt Desert) and spitting/raining (expected). First vacation since retirement, and absolutely wonderful. Spent a week in the Adirondacks and northern Vermont a couple weeks ago.

Geez, we have a beautiful country (and world).
 
We focused on Frank Lloyd Wright houses across 3 vacation trips, visited sites in Buffalo, PA, Chicagoland, Springfield IL, Kansas City, Florence Alabama, etc. Also did 5 baseball games at 5 stadiums, 4 of which we also toured. Attended the season opener for the NFL in Kansas City. And much more, of course.

Great pictures from Nan, I was a couple weeks in Great Britain as a 12 year old, part of my father's WWII Bomb Group reunion. My wife and I have focused on the USA, there is so much to see, and - no matter how appealing other world sites are - it just seems like we can always find somewhere we want to go. Next up, ND, SD, Montana and Wyoming - 4 of the 5 states we have never seen.
 
HuskyNan said:
A tiny area of the American Cemetery. So many American tourists were teary-eyed - it was difficult to watch.

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One of four German batteries at Longues-sur-Mer

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Thanks for the pictures Nan, the wife (who is German) and I went in 78. She was very emotional when we went to the American cemetery. Unfortunately all of the photos that we took were lost in one of our moves back to the states along with some Hummel's and my silver pocket watch.
 
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Conndog said:
Hope to go to Scotland next year, probably won’t include England but nothing is decided yet. Route so far is to arrive in Glasgow and go clockwise with last stop & departure from Edinburgh. Have about 3 weeks and current plan is for 7 stops of 3 nights each (Glasgow, Tobermory, Callander, Ballater, St. Andrews, Melrose, and Edinburgh). Can always take a day from one stop and add it elsewhere for longer stay there. Also need to decide between spring or fall- the days are longer in spring, but the weather may be better in the fall. Not going to Skye, already this is a good sampling of Scotland, and Mull is supposed to be delightful. History, castles and gardens, coastal villages, nice walks, whisky, golf- can’t wait!
Expand ...
The deacon said:
Looks like a great plan, Conndog, and I'd recommend mid-September to early October for optimum weather.

My only suggestions would be to allow a few days for a drive north. So far, it seems you're not going to sample the Highlands in all their glory. See if you can work that out. It'd be worth your effort; also, give yourself extra time in Edinburgh. It's one of my favorite European cities.

Good luck!
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Totally agree with The deacon. You must allow time to go further north into the Highlands. We’ve taken several Scotland trips and the Highlands are our favorite part. With 3 weeks and some revision in your itinerary you’ll definitely have time. I think you have time for Mull/Iona and Skye and both are well worth visiting. Skye has the more dramatic scenery. It’s definitely worth spending time in Edinburgh but unless you are a real city person I wouldn’t spend 3 days in Glasgow. We usually go mid- late May because my wife is a garden person and that’s when things are blooming (but too early for the heather). You might get some rain but we’ve never had really bad weather. By the end of May you’ll have daylight until at least 9:30.
Wherever you decide to go you‘ll have a good time.
 
MSGRET said:
Thanks for the pictures Nan, the wife (who is German) and I went in 78. She was very emotional when we went to the American cemetery. Unfortunately all of the photos that we took were lost in one of our moves back to the states along with some Hummel's and my silver pocket watch.
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Military movers. Lost all my personal stuff, but left my stereo. Took 90 albums, gave me nothing.
 
HuskyNan said:
Some of you guys might remember my asking about visiting Normandy. I just got back from my London-Normandy-Paris trip and thought I'd share a couple thoughts.

1. Americans are NOT the most obnoxious tourists abroad and it's not even close. Yes, we may be a little louder than the Parisians like but we are, by and large, pretty respectful of others. I heard a lot of Americans attempting to speak French and the French were most kind about it, in my experience. The folks in Normandy still love and appreciate Americans, British, and Canadians even after 80 years.
2. We thought it might be a quiet period abroad after the Olympics and high tourist season but, boy, were we wrong. It was packed everywhere.
3. As much as Americans love European clothes and culture, the Europeans love American clothes and culture. I got a chuckle out of the wild popularity of The Golden Bachelorette in England.
4. The bread in France is awesome. No sticky, gummy stuff Wonder Bread for the French and the bakeries are fabulous.

So, a couple pictures.

Parliament and Big Ben from the London Eye (the Ferris wheel on the Thames)

View attachment 103814
View attachment 103815
Expand ...
You're my favorite tourist, Nan. Thanks for the comments and all the wonderful photos.
 
uconnfan68 said:
Military movers. Lost all my personal stuff, but left my stereo. Took 90 albums, gave me nothing.
Expand ...
Almost every move we lost something, we always made sure that everything was noted on the inventory sheet, but they still five fingered some stuff. Was told by one of the customs supervisors that many times it wasn't the movers but the customs inspectors.
 
MSGRET said:
Almost every move we lost something, we always made sure that everything was noted on the inventory sheet, but they still five fingered some stuff. Was told by one of the customs supervisors that many times it wasn't the movers but the customs inspectors.
Expand ...
My move was just coast to coast. No customs.
 
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MSGRET said:
Thanks for the pictures Nan, the wife (who is German) and I went in 78. She was very emotional when we went to the American cemetery. Unfortunately all of the photos that we took were lost in one of our moves back to the states along with some Hummel's and my silver pocket watch.
Expand ...
Took the kids and grandkids to the World Trade Center. Inside the museum there were tourists from all over. Everyone was emotional. And respectful? As crowded as it was you could hear a pin drop.
 
More Normandy. There are American, British, and Canadian flags flying on homes there, some new for this year’s memorial but most have been there for ages. Individual soldiers are remembered. This from Arromanches-les-Bains, where remnants of the Mulberries are still visible

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It was suitably gloomy and grey near the beaches although the rest of Normandy had beautiful weather

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Hi Nan! Thank you for the pictures and the comments. It looks like a lovely vacation!

The only exciting place I went this summer was a wedding in Scotland in May. Made a vacation trip out of it with my partner.

This is me with the brides (I’m in the middle) at Stirling Castle:

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And here’s one of the many scenic photos I took while we stayed in Edinburgh:

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We also had a long layover in Dublin on the trip to Edinburgh so we did a small day trip through there. I saw the Bram Stoker house and the Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (author of Carmilla) house. Both writers of some of the most famous vampire works. No wonder these two were friends; they only lived a block apart!
 
Looks like it was a great trip, Nan. Our travels this year were limited to our yearly trip to the Outer Banks. We have been going there each summer with two other families for 25+ years at this point. The excitement this trip was watching a waterspout form just off the beach about 75 yards from our beach house.

Last year we did a two week trip to Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia - Herzegovina, including Mostar where you can still see evidence of the wars from the 1990's when Yugoslavia broke apart. Beautiful area that is still experiencing the effects of those wars of independence. The travel budget is being replenished in anticipation of our next trip, if we can ever decide where to go. So many choices...

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