More from McDonald's

Sadly, the internet is still out at our place, but we've been told that it should be back up soon. I'm not holding my breath.


Here's an update:


Monday
It was another splendid day of touring in the La Manche region of France. We woke up rather late, decided to take a hike, but ended up doing some other fascinating things instead. We drove through a number of small seaside towns, visited a couple of different beaches and walked for a long time on one (we’re planning to go back to it because there weren’t many people and the water was surprisingly warm). During the drive, we found a bird sanctuary so we thought about explore it; however, it turned out to be an example of France’s bureaucracy in action because the only birds we saw were seagulls, the “sanctuary” had 4-wheeling tracks running through the middle of it and the “path” we walked on was a service road. (No, I’m not exaggerating; it really was that bad.)



We made dinner for ourselves and are going to call it an early night. Tomorrow we’re heading to Bayeux to see the tapestry and hopefully find some good food. Maybe our taste-buds have drastically changed after ten months in China, but we’ve been sorely disappointed by the food here for a number of reasons (yes, the bread is good, but we can make almost the same stuff at home). First, we can’t find any open restaurants when we want to eat. Second, some of the cheese we’ve bought at farmers’ markets hasn’t been very good. Third, we like variety (Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, etc) in our food and we haven’t been able to find much of it. Third, the quality of some food has been poor and simply hasn’t tasted great to us.


Tuesday
The weather was horribly rainy, so we decided to postpone the Bayeux trip until the weather got better. Instead, we drove to Cherbourg to visit La Cité de la Mer which hosts a French nuclear submarine and an aquarium. My patience was almost used up by the time we entered the exhibits because it took an hour of waiting in line to purchase tickets; I don't know why it took so long, but the ticket-takers could have benefitted from a course in efficiency. (When I get frustrated by the French, which happens a little more than I would care to admit, I have to remind myself that I'm in a different country and I'm experiencing culture shock again. Though I'm in a western country, I'm still not home.)


The submarine was fun to visit, even though it was packed. We had a guided audio tour that explained many of the essential parts of the ship and we shuffled along the deck with a long line of other tourists.


After the submarine, we wandered around the aquarium and various other exhibits. I enjoyed it, but I think that aquariums I've visited in the States and Canada have been a little more interesting. You honestly can't beat Seattle's Aquarium. 


Wednesday
The weather cleared up enough so we could make the trip to Bayeux and enjoy walking around the streets of the old city. (Bayeux is special because it was one of the few cities in Normandy that was spared from the WWII bombings.) We ate a genuine French lunch at a small restaurant before heading to the tapestry. (Sadly the Petit Norman was closed.) Of all the places I've visited, I'd have to say that the tapestry was probably the most exciting. It was stupendous to see a thousand-year old object that we could understand; as Jean-Jacques pointed out, it shows a lot about human nature that we could look at something so old, but be able to identify with it. 


We had audio guides for the visit and it explained the tapestry's story. There were tons of people, but they didn't detract from the viewing. The anatomically correct horses were probably the most hilarious part of the experience. 


Thursday
We were both exhausted, so we took a rest day even though it was Bastille Day. There were a few outdoor parties we could have attended, but we didn't have the energy or desire to participate, so we stayed home and watched the Tour de France instead. 


Friday
When we woke up this morning, we were both happy about our decision to take a day off yesterday. We're feeling much refreshed and ready to tackle France again. Right now we're sitting in McDonald's, catching up on emails and blogs. (I'm able to receive emails on my Kindle, but it takes forever for me to respond to them because the Kindle is meant to be a reading device, not a computer.)


We're not sure what the plan is for today, but we'll figure it out soon. I'm sure we'll do something fun.


We're getting itchy to return home; we're enjoying our time here, but we'll be happy to be back on our native soil. Plus, we miss everyone bunches!


Hugs to all!