Chateau Flottemanville

... ha.
Our wonderful friends took us to Angouleme for the afternoon, a stunning old medieval city. My camera was very busy trying to capture absolutely everything we saw!

Tue. 14th Jul. Viville.
A very lazy day and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
After dinner we watched Bastille Day celebrations. More than 20 minutes of fireworks at a little village called Jarnac. A warm still night ...

... best advice and information on our trip and she also always had small tidbits of advice, The best piece of advice being "we can only use the toilet on the bus while in movement." Something that I will always keep in mind when I take any bus tour. And our other guide, Alison (with one L). She consistently had us participating in spelling bees while we traveled to keep us entertained......."No, it is one L, one, just one!"

Tomorrow, travel day to London.

Thursday 18 December English Channel (noon) N 50° 15.1' W 00° 21.4' We turned ENE during the night and everything became calm, save for the ubiquitous vibrations. For some reason the air conditioning is off, so opening my window is necessary and for a change it works in improving the air. I checked our position before breakfast. "An excellent place: Great Britain ...

In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance the author, Robert Pirsig, makes a point for the cause of Quality. This "text message" version of his five hundred and some odd page book is how we must take care and have pride in whatever we are doing. I saw that today. I walked around Cherbourg and ended up at the cemetery. There, we have buried the dead from the various wars. In one section we have hundreds of white crosses from those who died in ...

... some that were unknown to me but have been noted in their own countries. Just a coincidence? I think NOT! I arrive in Poole at 11h20. The ferry leaves at 12h30. The ferry ride is 4 hours and I was planning on staying in Cherbourg, so not much riding once I get off the ferry, and so I bring a change of clothes with me when I go buy my ticket. No cycling gear on this ferry ride. I get to the line-up and I'm the only motorcyclist this time ...

... D971 going west towards the town, then go right (North) on Purple Heart Lane (D913) towards Saint-Come-du-Mont. You'll go over the Four Bridges and it'll be right ahead at the Y-intersection. The museum's web site is here - http://www.paratrooper-museum.org. The museum houses some great displays and a lot of historical information about the local battle. The house served as von der Heydte's HQ and as an aid station before being captured by American ...

What can I say about this tour? We followed the points and places where the 506 E company were in Normandy. It was so wonderful to see these places after reading about them and seeing the Band of Brothers HBO miniseries. The tour was amazing and our tour guide knew so much information making the tour and stops have that much more impact. He was able to show us how the movie varied in ...

... it out. He is out of ammo. His loader, Heim jumps up, crosses the road under fire to go to the other bazooka position to get some ammo from them only to find they are gone. They fled since they were scared. Anyway, he grabs some ammo and dashes again across the roadway, reloads the bazooka and they fire away, knocking out the last German tank, which is destroyed. Note: the tanks were actually French made tanks and the Germans were using these captured ...

... crops from wind and after a couple of centuries and by the time the war took place these had become impenetrable walls. The problem this gave to the allied forces was that as they moved through the fields they were left completely exposed in the lanes and open to German gunfire. The Germans had the advantage that they had occupied the territory for 4 years and knew the soft spots and had those well covered. This meant that many of the allied troops met their ...

... were plentiful - chirping merrily away. The cemetery sits on top of the hillside overlooking Omaha Beach. It is possible to walk from the cemetery to the beach - which we did. Someone had left a letter and wreath in the dunes. This was probably left by someone who was there for the 60th year anniversary of the landings earlier in the month. The letter was titled: "The Price of Freedom". The photo. is of medics tending to soldier on the ...