Highlights of France and Belgium

Honfleur
Considered to be one of the birth places of Impressionism, we loved this small Norman fishing village. This harbor is right in the center of town. There is also a wonderful park that pays tribute to all of the artists and patrons of the arts who worked in Honfleur. They have even created a water garden right next to the bust of Monet.

We also met a wonderful artist named Julien Schuster, whom we purchased a painting from. He has a website you can check out: http://www.julienschuster.com/


The American Cemetery
As a history teacher, I was especially interested in seeing the beaches of Normandy. We visited the American cemetery with over 9,000 graves. It was incredibly powerful. The cemetery is immaculately kept up and is an apt resting place for the fallen. The French are palpably grateful for the American, Canadian, and British sacrifices.

We also visited the German cemetary which is home to 22,000 (and that is not the only one in France) fallen German soldiers.
After visiting the Caen Memorial Museum and these two cemeteries, you are hit with the immense loss of human life and have to wonder why we still can't find better ways to solve our differences.


Mont-St-Michel
Mont-St-Michel is an immense church located on a small rocky island off the coast of Norman France. This picture doesn't do it justice, as it only shows a small chapel at the foot of the island. During low tide, you can walk around the mud flats that surround the island. During high tide, the water reaches the steps of the chapel and Erik (in the picture) would be in well over his head! Believe it or not, there is also quicksand in the mud flats and Erik was doing his best to find some.

Nowadays, they have built a causeway out to the island to bring in the tourists. While it was an incredible sight, it is indeed a tourist trap!


Chateau de Chenonceau
Probably one of the most picturesque chateaus in France. It was orginially built as a castle and then continually expanded until they eventually built it to span the river. Only a tower exists from the original castle, but it is quite spectacular. Chenonceau is also unique in that it was mainly run and developed by women! Catherine de Medici was one of its most famous female owners.
The Medici family basically funded the renaissance in Italy, or at least the start of it. They made their millions from banking, but got into a little trouble when they were caught loaning money to both France and England during the 100 years war.
History aside, the chateau was beautiful. We rented a row boat and took a lovely little boat trip on the river and admired the gardens, wine cellar, and historic farm site. They also had a fantastic audio guide via a rented i-pod! Check their website for more info: http://www.chenonceau.com/media/gb/index_gb.php


Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium
We were always a bit rushed in Brussels, so by the time we finally found this museum we couldn't help but wish for more time. It is actually a collection of museums, ancient, modern, and a few others. The building itself is also very unique. We felt lost in it half the time, but it somehow worked and added to the experience. More importantly was the art. The impressive modern collection was home to this Dali (picture), a great Magritte collection, and a host of others. The museum also housed "The Death of Marat," by Jacques-Louis David.
This museum was a great way to end our trip and we can't wait to get back at some point!

http://www.fine-arts-museum.be/