Bonsoir à tous! Mom and I have said our goodbyes. She was visiting France this past week, mainly in the Paris area, but also with one day at "les plages du débarquement" in Normandie.
First, we started at the museum in Caen, http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portail/index.php. Then, we saw Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_American_Cemetery_and_Memorial, and several of the other beaches.
There is this still palpable sense of history always alive here. It is eerie. I recall when I first arrived in France during late last January and early February and meeting people who after learning I was American would start talking about WWII and express their appreciation. Likewise, the woman I live with (who is American, although she has lived in France for the past 28 years) has described how an elderly French lady at her Church gives her little gifts of gratitude like a clock, because for this French lady she symbolizes "America."
Tomorrow mom will fly home to America. Tomorrow I will travel to Nantes mainly to explore the area and see if it would be livable were I to return to teach, after I complete my J.D., in spring 2010. Thus, my "Les vacances: Part II" blog entry can be expected once I return from Nantes...probably around Wednesday. The third installment will come about a week from now when I return from another mini-excursion to Strasbourg. I figure, train rates are affordable, and I should explore as much of France as possible in my remaining time here. The reality is that time is rapidly running. Before I know it I will be back in America myself!
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