by Rob Hall | Ambassador Clients Since 2000
The best time to go to Europe is after the Europeans
come home from their holidays (less crowded) so July
and August are usually a no-no. However, we timed it
to take a river cruise for the first of a three week France/
Netherlands odyssey during the last week of August.
We’ve done 17 big ship cruises but we wanted something
more intimate and cozy. We were passionate
about visiting our brave soldiers who gave their lives
for us on “D” Day, June 6 1944. That meant Omaha
Beach in Normandy, France and the American Cemetery.
After much research, Gary recommended (and we
booked) a river cruise with Avalon Waterways from
Paris to the Normandy beaches. It was more than
marvelous. 140 passengers, great food and great service.
Avalon’s tour guides are the best.
The first couple of days were spent touring Paris, and
included sightseeing trips to Notre Dame, The Louvre,
Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, The Palace at Versailles,
then dinner and show at Le Moulin Rouge. Very
“Ooh-La-la!”
Day 3 was in Conflans, but the cruising on the River
Seine was a highlight - passing under numerous low
bridges and going through a total of 6 locks. We visited
Napoleon’s and Josephine’s
hideaway “Chateau Malmaison”
– gorgeously restored!
Day 4 in Vernon we visited
Giverny, the site of Claude
Monet’s house and gorgeous
gardens. Spectacular
scenery everywhere and more weeping willow trees
than I have ever seen – stunning!
Days 5 & 6 included Rouen, where Joan of Arc was
burned at the stake and Julia Child was first motivated
to become a chef. The excursion to the American Cemetery
though, was the highlight. We had someone to
visit (that is a lovely but too long story for this piece). We
met with the cemetery director and he took us right to the
grave site of William F. Kelleher, Pvt U.S. Army, 358th
Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. Died July 13,
1944. There were thousands
of bright white
marble crosses for headstones
with names engraved
on each, but not
very clearly visible because
they were white on
white. We laid a French
flag and an American
flag at the grave together with 2 long-stem roses and
the director had brought with him a bucket of damp sand
from Omaha Beach which he used to carefully rub into
the engraving, making it clearly visible. We paid our respects
- emotional!
Day 7 – Les Andelys and the Château Gaillard – built by
Richard the Lion Heart in 1196. Love history!
We left the cruise in Paris on day 8, spending the next
two and a half weeks traveling through Paris, the Bourgogne
Valley back roads, and then the Thalys highspeed
train to Amsterdam for 5 days in my birth country.
But that’s another story…
