Wednesday Afternoon and Thursday Morning

 On Wednesday afternoon, we visited Le Verger de Giverny, a local family's orchard in Vernon. This is our program director trying to start this truck. No keys!

This is one of the owners. (He is co-owner with his sister.) He is giving us an explanation on how apple juice and apple cider are made.

We got to sample both, along with apple pie. Here I am waiting in the courtyard for the rest of the group.

 This is an interesting roof on one of the buildings at the orchard.

While cruising Thursday morning, the Captain slowed down for us to view La Roche Guyon. These openings in the limestone are homes the locals have built.

 Also in this area is Rommel's headquarters during the time when D-Day took place.

These are two of the many swans we have seen while cruising the Seine.

Tuesday Night in Rouen and Wednesday in Vernon

There is a laser light show, projected onto the cathedral, every night. Wayne was determined to go even though it doesn't take place until 11 pm. (I didn't last past 10 pm!)

This is the first of 6 locks we will be going through on the river.

We stopped in the town of Les Andelys where the Chateau Gaillard is located. This fortress was built by Richard the Lionhearted.

Yes, we climbed to the top. Wayne took the long path while I took the short path. However, both ways were extremely steep!

This is the view of the town from the fortress.

The river and town behind us.

 We next visited Giverny where Claude Monet lived for 43 years. We visited his home and gardens which are fantastic!

 Another shot of the gardens. There were rows and rows like this.

There was also a huge water garden with surrounding paths.

 Across the river from where we are docked is this building that appears to be built on old bridge pilings. Someone in the group said they think it's a grist mill.

 This is in the same area. No one knows what it is, but it's definitely worth a picture!

Walking back across the bridge to our boat. Our's is the one closest to the dock. If you are on one of the other boats, you have to cross through our boat to get to shore!

Monday in Rouen

The boat along the pier is our boat; The Bizet. We are leaving for a 2 hour walking tour of the city.

There is some kind of light show every night by this Cathedral. However, it doesn't start until 11 o'clock! Hopefully,we can stay awake until then.

This is a famous clock. Every visitor searches to find it.

This church was recently built to honor Joan of Arc. The stained glass windows are from the original church. During WWII, they were removed and stored for protection from the bombing of the city. 

 This is the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. It is right outside the church.

This is today's dessert at lunch! 

Sunday in Etretat and Fecamp

Beautiful cliffs of the Normandy Coast at the town of Etretat.

Look at the church on top of the cliff. Some of our group walked to the top; we passed!

The beach is composed of rocks, not sand! Talk about hard to walk on!

Etretat has some unique buildings, as do all cities in France.

This is in the town of Fecamp. The building is the Benedictine Order Castle where a famous Benedictine liqueur is made (made from 27 herbs and spices). Yes, we got to taste!

This is one of the lower levels where kegs are kept to age.

 This is our guide in a kind of museum room.

This is Wayne's dinner; fried eggplant, (Linda, not nearly as good as yours!)

Friday night and Saturday

92 year old Andre related his stories from WWII. He was a member of the French Resistance.

On Saturday, we visited several beaches along the Normandy coast. This is Longues Battery. After D-Day, the guns in this area were left. The locals wanted them to be reminders.

It's amazing what good shape these bunkers are still in!

This is part of a prefab floating harbor, made in England, that was towed over to the area called Gold Beach.

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I'm in a shop in the town of Arromanches, at Gold Beach, writing post cards.

We visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. There are 9,387 Americans buried here.

 We participated in a ceremony which concluded with an honor to those veterans traveling with us,

Our tour director brought roses for us to put on graves. I walked through the graves until I found someone from Louisiana. His name is Lawrence Payton.

This is a memorial on Omaha Beach.

Our last stop on Saturday was Pointe du Hoc which is between Utah and Omaha Beaches. These are hunks of cement which are scattered all over this area, probably from bombing by Americans.

This is a bunker we were able to climb down into. It is still in good shape.

This is still the Pointe du Hoc area. The scattered craters have been left untouched.

Thursday and Friday, from St Malo to Honfleur

  

The bus brought us to the Peace Memorial Museum in Caen. The museum covers the events of WWII including D-Day.

This is one of three entrances to a restored bunker which was the headquarters of General Richter who was in charge of the German defenses. It was opened this year for the 70th anniversary of D-Day.

We boarded our boat in Honfleur for our river cruise. We spent the day in the town. This building contains part of the last standing entrance of what used to be the walled city.
 

This is the old port which was used for delivering and loading goods. It is now used by the locals for their pleasure boats.

This is the Church of St. Catherine. It was built entirely of wood in the 15th century and is the largest surviving wooden church in France built in that century. The bell tower is in a separate building in the left side of the picture. 

This is the inside of St Catherine. I think our guide told us that the flags were hung in honor of the holiday and will be removed.

We would probably call this a shotgun house. They are using every space in the small yard for a garden.

This is one of two remaining 'laundromats'. The women would bring their dirty laundry here to wash in the real olden days. Wayne wanted to get me a washboard to wash our clothes here!

Meat at a market sitting in the sun. This is how the shops in Germany displayed their meat 30 years ago when I lived there!

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I added this picture to show you the various types of building materials on the exterior of these houses. Brick, slate, wood and some type of stucco-like material.

This is our tour guide, Christoff, pointing out an old jail.