AWCT trip to Normandy

The weekend of May 17-20, 2007 was the Ascension Day holiday - a 4-day weekend from school and work - and we decided to sign up for the Normandy bus trip with the American Women's Club of the Taunus. AWCT plans some wonderful trips and I've heard nothing but praise from anyone who's taken them, so we decided we'd try taking a trip that was pre-planned for us and didn't involve hours of driving for my dh. I'm so glad we did!

Two busloads of mostly American families headed out early on Thursday morning for France. We were on the bus for families of older kids, although we "traded" our middle daughter to the other bus, so she could sit with one of her friends. Her friend's brother, the same age as our dd#3, came to our bus and played cards with dds #1&3 the whole weekend. I really enjoyed talking with other American couples - which we don't get to do often - and getting to know families from the other international school in Frankfurt.

The trip was a lot of fun - for all of us. The D-Day battlefields, beaches and American cemetery were fascinating and awe-inspiring - I'm really glad we went. I found it heartening to see Americans regarded with thanks and pleasure, as I'm afraid we've grown quite used to the deragatory comments we hear often from Germans regarding George Bush and America's role in global politics. Here there were flowers recently placed on the graves of unknown American soldiers who landed in France more than 60 years ago, as well as a mother teaching her young children about the American's who died for them, to free France from the Nazis. I couldn't hold back a few tears. And we were all amazed by the battlefields along the beach, where craters were left behind from bombs hitting the ground.

We also saw the cathedral at Reims, the Bayeux tapestry, the Peace Museum in Caen, had a 2-hour walking tour of Rouen, visited Mont-St-Michel and the Giverny gardens. Everything was beautiful! It was quite a bit packed into a long weekend, but was easier to do since we weren't doing the driving & planning. Even dh enjoyed it, although his knee was a bit of a problem, since he injured it playing basketball the previous weekend, while I was on an AWCT shopping trip to Nove, Italy.

We got very excited about the types of trips available through the AWCT and are hoping to take one to Krakow & Auschwitz in September and more throughout the upcoming year. It's great to have things all arranged and ready for us, the prices are reasonable and I really enjoy traveling with other American families and an English-speaking tour guide. And even 4 days on a bus wasn't too tough. :)