5/26

Sorry for the delay... finding internet access has been close to impossible for the last few days because we have been traveling all over Northern France. Mont St. Michel was absolutely amazing, and Boobah had a pretty good time. We took our bags all the way up the very steep climb and got some very interesting and pitying looks from people. After paying 5 euro to go into the abbey (well... Sarah didn't but Erin did) we decided to make the most of it and spent about 3 hours just doing random stuff. We sat on a stone bench for awhile while random people stared at us, and then we went tanning on the entry way to the church which had an absolutely amazing view of the English Channel, and it felt like we were on some sort of a Disney land. The monks were really good singers, and we wanted to find their CD. The mont has a pretty interesting history, which Erin will definitely include in her presentation. We met a very nice woman, coincidentally also named Erin, who was backpacking across France after going to her friend's wedding. She didn't speak any French, which seemed extremely odd to us, but she gave us heads up on places we should and shouldn't go. She took the train back with us to Caen but she got off on an earlier stop to go to Paris.
The next day, after arriving back in Caen, Sarah decided that she really didn't want to go see the sights on the WW2 beaches, so Erin woke up very early in the morning and caught a train to Bayeux, which is considered by some to be the first liberated city of the invasion. While in Bayeux, Erin also saw the Bayeux tapestry, a 900 year old depiction of the battle of Hastings, which was amazingly well done, and she went to the cathedrale de Notre Dame de Bayeux or as Sarah would say... another church. She then met up with an American named Grant who was from Illinois and heading up to Ireland from Spain. They were joined by a body-builder from Hershey, PA studying in Germany, and another guy from Utah who was headed down to Spain, who recommended going to see Wicked in London... which Erin will look into. They all went to the American Cemetary which is right above Omaha beach. It was a really good visit that Erin is glad she made, although whenever she saw a gravestone with MN on it, she always wondered where they lived and what they did.
She went back to Caen and she and Sarah left for Lille through Paris... which almost kind of, sort of was on the way... but not really. They ended up at the wrong hostel, although a very nice guy from New Zealand working on the hostel, who also didn't speak French, helped them along the way. After getting to the hostel, they were given a room that didn't exist, and they barely fit in the elevator with their backpacks... although they DID get to watch Nouvelle Star, or American Idol only worse and in French.
The next morning they went to the musee des beaux-artes and we couldn't figure out how to pay even though we tried 3 times, but eventually we found our way upstairs to the Impressionist paintings that Erin loves. They then caught a VERY expensive train to London, where upon arrival, Erin gave the woman 17 euro, and got back 8 pounds... They thought this was bad, but then they gave them 100 US dollars, and got back 46 pound. They were not pleased at this moment... and then they tried to get on the Tube, which can be ridden for the small price of 4 pound apiece. They then decided mutually that it would be a BRILLIANT idea to just walk to the hostel because honestly how big can a city be. Then however, as they quickly realized, their hostel was so far away that it didn't even show up on their map. After 2 hours of walking with their 15 kilogram (33 pounds) backpacks, they arrived at the hostel, which was very nice, and when they informed the woman that they walked, she laughed at them, and said she wouldn't make that walk even without a backpack. She then overcharged them 7 pound each for their room.
They had 2 very nice roommates, Faye from Brazil (who considers herself Australian), and Kate from Australia, who encouraged them to go out and see the city instead of staying in the hostel. They met a lot of cool people... most of whom were Australian, and who tried to teach Erin and Sarah about cricket and rugby... and utterly failed.
Today, they head out to Bath... on a bus because they refuse to pay for any more overpriced train tickets. Hopefully there, they will have internet and get to see some interesting roman artifacts. Boobah is also enjoying himself as he watches Europe go by from his seat in Erin's backpack.