Normandy, France

I have never been so excited about museums or history before. We went to these WW2 museums and, unexpectedly, I thought they were fantastic. I was totally expecting to be bored to death with all this war stuff, but it really struck me, and was one of my favourite parts out of this whole trip. I'm not saying that I think war is awesome, because it was really tragic. I just find it interesting. We were staying really near the D-day beaches, so there was a lot of really cool stuff to see: cemeteries, old war machinery, video footage of the D-day landing, etc.

The place we are staying in is amidst a farm yard, and surrounded by old, stone, buildings that have smoke coming from the chimneys in the evening. The people who own the place we're staying at speak not a word of English, so our french has really been tested, and it has been interesting trying to communicate. Anyway, I have learned about the war, as well as myself. So it has been a good, and interesting time.

Random plane.

Juno Beach, one of the five D-day beaches.

The Canadian cemetery.

Loire Valley, France

Coming from a big city, being in the secluded countryside is an nice contrast. We're staying in a cottage beside the river, and are surrounded by fields and forest. We have now entered the land of castles, and have visited three. I'm going to make this post short because all we did here was hang out in the sun, walk along the river, and visit castles as well as wine caves. It has been nice to be back in peaceful nature, and small French villages.

I felt like the Downton Abbey theme song should have been playing while here.

Biking around the under construction castle.

Photo-bomb!

The feeding of the hounds, and if you were worrying, he isn't whipping the dogs.

Inside one of the castles.

San Sebastion, Spain

This place is a really huge city. I don't know if I really like the city very much; cars, people, exhaust, and tall buildings. But it isn't just those things, its the life that some people live every day. Our apartment was fine for the time we stayed there, but I can't imagine living there. The few windows that are there look out at the concrete jungle, which is eerily still and quiet, and it kind of smells like dish detergent, cigarettes, and something deep frying. But who am I to complain about anything? It was intriguing to see how some people live: In tiny apartments with florescent lighting, and it made me so happy for the home and life I have.

The city has some really pretty areas. So we rented bikes and biked amongst blossoming trees and old buildings. We also spent our time by window shopping and making fun of ridiculous clothes, and going to cafes, actually only one cafe. There was only one giant church, and one museum, which was actually an aquarium. So it was pretty good. Now that we've gone to Spain, we go back to France.

Hello?

Biking around the park...awesome.

This is the view from our window.

This is what we had at the cafe - YUMMO! (I'm not drinking coffee)

Arles, France

Well, after a month in Italy, here we are in France. We have spent our time here enjoying cute, overpriced shops (aria and dad didn't like this too much), going to a cafe, and exploring the city. Its been fun to do whatever you want. It is merely a question of do I want to go for a walk by the French countryside, or stroll through the city? It has been a very relaxing time of hanging with my family and being in lots of green space. Its incredible, they've actually got flat fields here! But of course, there is always something that is a billion years old. So we spent a day exploring what is left of a castle built in a giant rock, and the little medieval village beside it. Another ancient item we witnessed was a huge Roman aqueduct (used for transporting water), enough said. As odd as it may sound, we have also seen many flamingos, white horses, and black bulls. I don't think this is what we were expecting, but it was cool.

The Roman aqueduct.

Flamingos!

Its a little windy.

This is what we had at a little, modern cafe.

This is highly disgusting cheese at a crowded market.