Bonjour!

Salutation, from Bayeux, Normandy, one-time home of William the Bastard (i.e., the Conqueror). It's a tiny medieval town highly reminiscent of that opening scene from Beauty and the Beast. What's more, it's positively bursting with historical significance; Bayeux was the first town to be liberated from the Nazis by the Allied forces that landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6th, 1944 (Katie, being the history major she is, had to remind of the date). It emerged from two world wars virtually unscathed. As I type this, I can hear cathedral bells pealing in the background.

Katie and I caught the Eurostar from London to Paris last Thursday the 2nd. As you've probably surmised, we barely made it. Our hostel, the Montclair Montarte, is situated in the 18th arrondissiment (district) of the city, just a short, steep climb away from the steps of Sacre Couer, highest point in France. Largely populated by Slovenians and histrionic, west-coast Americans, it's charming nonetheless.

After getting roughly four hours of sleep (between the two of us, mind you), we woke up relatively early on the 3rd, hopped aboard the metro, and hit the Louvre, where we ogled such masterpieces as Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Delacriox's Liberty Leading the People (the one from the cover of the latest Coldplay album), and (of course) the Mona Lisa. I attempted the smile, and got nothing but an embarassing photo to show for it.

Later that evening, we took a bike tour of the city. The Tour de France it was not; I laid waste to most of the city's traffic cones and incurred the wrath of many a Parisian motorist. We chased the sunset all the way to the Seine, where we hopped aboard a riverboat and made the mistake of not refusing the tour guide's offer to wine (we had to get back on the bikes afterward...you do the math). Still, we made some friends and got a truly capital view of much of the city's superfluous (yet stunning) statuary. Later that night, we watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle.

Then, on the morning of the 4th, we decided to celebrate that precious, Franco-American ideal liberté by visiting the D-Day museum here in Bayeux. Unfortunately, in an ill-starred attempt at spontanaity, we neglected to buy our return tickets to Gai Paris and, after looking at a 70m long tapestry, munching on croissants, and banging the tambril with the denizens of Bayeux, we returned to the little train station to find it...closed.

But hey, despite the dirty clothes and puffy faces, getting stranded in a town that looks like a Van Gogh painting ain't so bad. Speaking of which, we are off to Musee d'Orsay. Thanks again...au revoir!

-- S & K