grindelwald, switzerland

the morning after our dday tour, we hit the patisserie one last time, piled into big bessey and hit the road. hundreds of dollars later {literally} due to pricey gas and heavy tolls, we found ourselves in switzerland. 

our first stop was bern to see the lds temple there. a sweet missionary couple spending a quiet, warm sunday evening on the front steps of the temple helped me avoid catastrophe by letting me use the bathroom in a vacant missionary apartment. after some relaxing time on the grass and a few snapshots, we continued on to grindelwald. 

just before we arrived, it started to pour - and i mean POUR - down rain. we expected much colder weather in switzerland and were relatively prepared but as we neared our quaint mountain destination, the rain cleared, the sun shone and a gorgeous rainbow appeared. an hour later, after getting lost and receiving directions from multiple friendly onlookers who only spoke swiss/german, we finally found our hotel. 

grindelwald is, quite honestly, straight out of a storybook. our hotel was clear up a tiny dirt road {remember our not-so-tiny van and the muddy roads!} with an awe inspiring view. 

i could not believe my eyes. 

our entire stay, we wandered through some of god's most beautiful creations as we listened to cowbells chiming on the hillsides. we spent an incredibly relaxing day meandering through flowers and fields, immaculately manicured cemeteries, quaint shops {that close for 2 hours at lunchtime} and - most importantly - patisseries and chocolate shops. the food in general wasn't as mouth watering as france, but the chocolate and pastries were equals. yum. yum. yum.

tuesday we took a train to jungfraujoch in the alps. i haven't seen snow like that since i lived in utah and it was actually kind of exciting {new hampshire here we come!}. the one thing i neglected to pack were my gloves. i thought for sure i could find a cheap throw-away pair for purchase at a grocery store or somewhere in town, but i never did. so, i settled for a pair of my socks instead. so, so glad i did. these picture taking fingers sure thanked me. 

we saw incredible views and an ice palace built into the mountainside. we even fed some birds right from our hands. lindsey seemed to be the bird-whisperer as they kept coming back to her and stayed put.

we headed back down the mountain, hit up the chocolate and pastry shops one more time - obviously - and made our way back to the hotel to pack for our final destination...

france: awards and outtakes

the award for best sign goes to:

and the ugliest picture is awarded to maren AND lindsey:

BEST of france:

attraction:dday tour {ed and ryan}, eiffel tower {lindsey}, musee d'orsay {maren}

food: ravioli {maren and lindsey}, prawns {ryan}, pork {ed}

travel: chunnel {lindsey and ryan}, being close to the metro in paris {maren}, bessey the mini bus {ryan}

desserts/sweets: green vanilla eclaire {ryan}, fruit tart {maren}, crem brulee {ed}, crepes {lindsey}

incident or experience: paul woodage tour {lindsey}, deciphering french menus {maren}, picnic on champs elysees {ryan}, lindsey & maren making ugly faces on the eiffel tower {ed}

WORST of france:

attraction: dirty, hot, crowded louvre {everyone}

food: mcdonals in cae {ryan}, sour cream pizza {lindsey}, nothing {maren}, gobs of butter on the baguette ham and cheese sandwich {ed}

travel: stairs on the metro {maren}, metro {lindsey}, waiting for a train for an hour to get to the airport {ed}, car rental delay {ryan}

dessert/sweet: wine gums {lindsey, ryan and maren}, nothing {ed}

incident/NOT funny: hotel staff in paris {lindsey}, paying to go to the bathroom in paris {maren}, public toilet - the free one - and feminine product on ground near the eiffel tower {ryan}, squatting at the public toilet - the free one - near the eiffel tower {ed}

 

and now for some outtakes...

normandy and bayeux

i have to admit, ever since i was a little girl, i have been fascinated by all things world war ii. music. clothes. journalism. even the war. i always joke that i was born in the wrong decade. while i can only imagine that it wasn't a glorious time to be alive and horrible things were happening every day to which no person was immune, i love what it represents. 

i loved learning about this era in high school. one of my favorite books is the greatest generation {and only partly because i have a not-so-secret crush on tom brokaw}. and my most listened to station on the car radio is kcea - big band hits of the 30s, 40s and 50s. i'm not kidding. 

that being said, i never knew much about dday and what happened on the shores of normandy. so, when it was suggested that we cut a day off our paris stay to tour the dday beaches and sites, i was definitely on board. 

since it was our only activity for the day, we decided to act upon the suggestion of a friend familiar with the area and hire a personal tour guide. that was the best decision we made the entire trip. and was more than well worth the extra money. paul woodage, an english native, who has dedicated his life to studying dday as well as wwii in general, was our guide for the day. i highly recommend him. 

we didn't step foot into one museum, which was fine by me. because we got personal stories and pictures and information we could never have received by visiting an exhibit. we stood in the places those soldiers stood. we crouched behind bunkers they crouched behind. we saw the rugged yet breathtaking landscape. the tide. the fog. we peered over the 300 foot cliffs that soldiers scaled in five minutes flat with no assistance. we found ourselves in the hedgerows that served as natural hideouts for both friend and foe. we stood on american soil at the american cemetery and also visited british commonwealth graves and the german cemetery where we learned that america earned white crosses for winning - germans had to settle for black. 

it was amazing to hear stories from all perspectives but especially those recorded by the soldiers in the action. to understand all that went right and all that went wrong. to see the scales tip back and forth throughout that fateful june 6th and the days following and eventually settle in our favor. 

it was humbling to hear accounts of soldiers who did make it, but felt guilt and remorse their entire lives as a result.

overall, it was a heart warming and heart wrenching day. i left with a greater understanding - and therefore an even greater respect - for what transpired that day.  

"history is not a black and white page. 
it's about feeling it, touching it. 
it becomes part of you."

-paul woodage

we stayed in a stunning french town called bayeux and again ate some delicious food and pastries and celebrated ed and lindsey's 7th wedding anniversary. they're getting itchy!

feel free to stop reading here. the following are just stories i don't want to forget:

• last minute changes or additions made that weren't tested - like new jackets that filled with water, life jackets on hips that tipped the soldiers when inflated. 
• the easterly moving tide moved the soldiers  200-800 yards down the beach, landing them in areas they were completely untrained for. 
• 70-90% of the leaders were killed right from the beginning because they landed in the wrong spots. 
• FUSAG - first u.s. army group was actually fake! actors recorded radio broadcasts and canvas tanks were set up for aerial pictures. 
• when tourists come to normandy, they take pictures of the war sites. when veterans come to normandy, they take pictures of the kids playing on the beach - it represents what they fought for in the first place. 
• jimmy monteith - not a soldier you would peg for a hero - was able to get two tanks of people {about 40 men} up and around to the backside of the hills taking out a german spot. greatly reduced the death toll. he was killed 30 minutes before reinforcements arrived.
• an afghanistan veteran on one of paul's previous tours was silent all day except for saying one thing: "history has taught us two things. first, the negative - sadly we repeat some mistakes. but luckily, when things go wrong, a "jimmy monteith" will always emerge."
• paul: "they are called the greatest generation because time put them to the test. i believe any generation would do the same, if tested."
• they still find 10-20 german soldiers a year {because they were retreating, no one cared to stay behind and make sure everyone made it.}
• lt. john spalding led a group of men up the bluffs by crawling on their bellies by the cemetery. that bluff was a mine field and 30 men were killed shortly after by walking up it. scientific theory is that crawling spread out their weight so the mines weren't set off. lt. spalding said, "the lord was with us and we had an angel on each shoulder on that trip." he only lost one of his 32 men. 
• placing a rock on the jewish graves means, "i have been." - i came to see you. 
• harley reynolds was the "first through the wire." he just ran right through the wire to the top and started firing. soldiers could see the smoke from his gun and it boosted morale. 
• czech soldier richard lehniger served as "dick leonard." he, and many other soldiers, changed the way he spoke, lived, worshiped and more to serve with the allies. 
• there were 500 germans living underground in barracks blocks at point du hoc - dentists, brothels, etc.
• soldiers who scaled the bluffs trained on 300 ft cliffs in wet weather at night with their arms tied behind their backs. 
• the signals at point du hoc didn't work so the reinforcements went to omaha beach instead. they didn't arrive at point du hoc until 48 hours later. 200 soldiers were left to hold off 1000+ germans. only 65 were left on june 8th. 
• sgt. william "l rod" petty nearly wasn't able to fight because he had no teeth and wouldn't have passed the health examination. he said, "i don't want to bite the germans, i want to kill them!"
• the bunkers at point du hoc were under construction when the allies landed. 1942 bunkers had wood plank lines in the cement. 1944 bunkers are built with cement blocks because they couldn't get any wood delivered to the area.
• paul has only ever let one person who didn't pay tag along to his tour. it was matt damon. 

santa cruz

we spent an evening on the beach in santa cruz with our ward for a little beach bonfire. everyone brought their own dinners and the plan was to just sit, relax and play. we did those things, but we did them with layers as the weather wasn't too cooperative. at the last second i grabbed a pretty warm jacket for leah, but of course ryan and i were in shorts and light sweaters. 

 

we had a great time with friends for a few hours before we all ditched the cold and went home. leah had a serious case of the giggles, which obviously made ryan contract them as well. 

shannon, {whose husband is modeling the delicious fire-baked apple for us - just roast it on a stick until the outside is black, then peel the skin off and dip it in cinnamon/sugar. yum!} said the sun came out and the weather warmed right up about a half hour after most everyone left. 

 

i guess we'll have to go back??

mont saint-michel

until about a month ago, i had never even heard of mont saint-michel. now, i don't think i'll ever forget it. it is an incredible rocky island off the coast of northern france, about four hours from paris. in the 6th and 7th centuries, it was a "strategic point holding fortifications" and in the 8th century became the home of the saint-michel monastery. we took a few hours to wander through the monastery, which reminded me of a way cooler version of this in san jose. mostly because you could tell the monastery was continually being added upon. each room, it seemed, was different than the last. from the walls to the ceilings and floors {which, incidentally, made for great feet shots}, every square inch of this place was so unique. the location lends itself to an entirely new concept of beauty. it was truly jaw dropping.

we drove to mont saint-michel from paris, in our newly rented mercedes-benz vito. the boys spent an entire morning traveling to the airport to pick up the rental and then driving it back to our paris hotel. while at the rental counter, the employee asked the boys if they would like an upgrade for free. the employee said "vito" but in her french accent, it sounded like v2. ryan looked up a v2 on his blackberry and it looked like a great size {about the size of a rav 4, he said}. but no, she said vito and a vito we got. an enormous van. seriously a mini bus. which turned out great to store our luggage and would have been great had we had four other friends joining us...but not so great for gas. we survived. barely. there are no lines to designate lanes in the roundabouts. crazy!  but we had a great time traveling across france, mad libs in tow. i've never seen lindsey laugh so hard.

paris: travel

paris travel can be summed up in one word: walking.  

so much walking. 

we did have the metro, which wasn't quite as nice as the london underground, but convenient nonetheless. 

once we figured out the french translation on the ticketing machines {with the help of a friendly employee}, we were good to go. 

love this picture ryan snapped of the cite stop on the metro. do you see me?

again, the walking was quite enjoyable. and perhaps necessary due to the amount of food we all consumed. the city is full of life and people are always moving. it was fun to see. and, as always, much more fun without luggage. 

paris: food

like i mentioned before, i've never considered myself a foodie. but i'm beginning to reconsider. french food was, in a word, amazing. from the pizzas to the rocket salads to the loaded banana nutella crepes and the pastries for dessert, it was all mouth watering. we knew there were things to see, but all we wanted to do was eat. 

we got pastries for breakfast and for dessert. 

snacks in between and delicious full meals at lunch and dinner. i even tried creme brulee for the very first time. i'm a fan.

and i also tried escargot. i was scared. but it was good. i just wish i didn't know what it was. 

no one was brave enough to try foie gras but everything else was free game. since i've been back you can see me with a baguette in one hand and mozzarella in the other. i'm never going back...all i can say is it's a good thing we did a lot of walking.