Understanding Le Jour -J (D-Day)

Strutting his new crutches

On a trip that requires a ton of walking, the one thing you don’t want to happen is to hurt your leg. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened to me. While climbing around on some Roman ruins in Paris, I jumped down from a wall that turned out to be higher than I had previously thought, resulting in a bruised heel. After a few days of walking around (not a great idea), I visited a French hospital in Bayeux where I had an X-Ray. Luckily, nothing was broken. However, for the few days of the trip that remain, I must use crutches to walk to allow the heel to heal (no pun intended).--Charlie

Getting his crutches at the pharmacy

After spending nearly 2 weeks in Paris, it felt refreshing to escape the city ruckus by going to Normandy.  Although everyone was sad to leave our correspondents behind, we knew that there would be lots of fun ahead of us. The drive into Normandy was amazing because of the small towns, 

View from our hotel in Bayeux

quaint houses and green hills that surrounded us. During our first night in Normandy, we were given free time to explore the streets of Bayeux.  Although most of the shops were closed, it was really fun to get to walk around the town.  So far, Normandy has been wonderful, and I am now even more eager to experience more of this area of France.   

--Julian

After spending a week and a half in Paris, we departed for the more rural North.  Although we were sad to leave our host families and all the amazing experiences Paris had to offer, we were excited for the change of scenery and the welcome break from the overwhelming smells and noise of the busy city.  On our way up to Bayeux, we stopped to visit the idyllic home of the celebrated Impressionist painter, Claude Monet in Giverny.  The house itself was very colorful both on the interior and exterior and it was surrounded by a gorgeous garden.  There was also a small village near the house and the beautiful scenery combined with the cloudy skies made a very memorable visit.  After Monet’s garden, we arrived at Bayeux to view the famous thousand-year-old Bayeux tapestry and stayed at a quaint hotel in a medieval-style town.  We completed the day with a delicious three-course meal at the hotel.--Jadi

Colleville sur Mer-American Cemetery above Omaha Beach

Reflection of the memorial in pond at American Cemetery

Friday’s adventure carried us out of Bayeux and into many stops along the Normandy coast.  First up was a museum dedicated to the D-day invasions.  Most impressive was the huge, floating port that was built by the allied soldiers in 12 days, and we could still see ruins of it from the museum’s windows.  After our delicious lunch in a small portside town, we headed on to the massive American cemetery at Omaha beach, a sprawling mass of crosses, David’s stars, and memorials overlooking the ocean.  Arriving at the “ranger” landing a few minutes later, we looked at the huge cliffs that many men climbed up while using waterlogged ropes and being fired at: a huge feat, considering the sheer drop offs.  We had fun exploring the huge concrete bunkers and bomb craters.  The last stop of the day was a German cemetery, thought provoking for many of us because we come from German decent in some way or another.  The stark difference between the quiet, small plot of land for the Germans and the well kept and hugely visited American graves was incredible.

-Katie

Port Bassin- our lunch spot

 

Checking out the D-Day map at Arromanches

Wonder Woman pose on the Blockhaus!

In front of the artificial ports in Arromanches

In front of the Arromanches museum

At the top of a blockhaus in Longues sur Mer

Victoire!!

The beach below La Pointe du Hoc

Inside an bombed bunker in La Pointe du Hoc

Au Revoir aux familles et en route!

Kids get ready for La Chasse au Trésor

On the metro after la chasse

Spending a week and a half in Paris has exposed me to an entirely new world, especially in comparison to our lives within the Poly bubble.  I was especially fascinated by the integration of art into Parisian culture, as our group visited numerous museums and admired architecture from a wide spectrum of time periods.  I was most affected by a Sunday afternoon visit to the Centre Pompidou, or Beaubourg as the locals call it.  The facade of the Pompidou is adorned with eye-catching, colorful pipes that define the museum from the 

rest of Paris when looking out on the city.  The art within the museum discusses contemporary ideas through evocative murals, grouped collections of items, and a chalkboard room commemorated to the Hiroshima bombing.  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Paris, and will be sure to return again soon.---Sarah 

Planning our the treasure hunt

My time in Paris was a fun and transformative experience that I surely will not forget. I learned a lot about French/European culture and I really admire many aspects of it such as the level of independence that teenagers have and the more relaxed lifestyle. I was sad to leave Paris and my host family this morning, but now I am excited about our trip to Normandy.--- Jesse

Standing at the top of Montmartre

This trip was not my first time seeing many of the sights in Paris, but spending these last weeks with my host family has allowed me to closely observe Parisian culture and lifestyle.  Differences from our culture that immediately stood out to me include an increased independance for kids and more importance being placed on social aspects of life rather than academic or athletic.  On the day I visited their classes, it was rare to find a student paying attention, let alone facing the teacher, and there were hardly any public sport facilities available for use.  Club sport teams are the only option for kids as schools do not have their own teams. Their lunch breaks were also 2 hours long and they left campus to buy food.  It was very interesting learning about life in France and I had a great time with my host family. Having also bonded with many of my host’s close pals, I will now always have a group of people to call friends in France. --Peter

Dans le métro

Poly alum, Danae, met us at the end of the day

Shae and Danae catch up in front of DuRuy

At the farewell dinner

Leaving Paris this morning was tough because we were so sad to leave our correspondants. However, our trip to Monet’s Garden in Giverny lightened up our moods. Even though it was a little rainy and cloudy, we were amazed by the beauty of the gardens. We walked through the gardens listening to the chirping of birds and admired the beautiful flowers around us. Now we are heading to see the Bayeaux tapestry.  ---Kelly and Olive

Looking out of Monet's room at Giverny!

Chaperones get some inspirations from Monet's garden