Day 9--Traveling

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Willkommen!  Today is the 9th day of the 31 Days of Vision Series, I'm glad you could join me today. We are going to Europe! Not literally, but I'm pulling out pictures from one of our trips to share with you our trials and trivial problems while traveling. Most of them trivial... 
My son is not so much a fan of traveling... he would, like most young boys, be playing outside or on video games.. So when we went overseas, I tried to do things he would enjoy. Castles, beaches, hills to climb... we had a variety interests to choose from, but no video games, thank God!
One of our trips we decided to take the ferry across from Dover to Calais. The sea was calm, thank goodness, and we boarded the ship with no problems. The ship we crossed on has some braille signs, but like most places, they are not everywhere. If you are visually impaired, the company requests that you check in with them and to travel with a sighted person... Well... That isn't very helpful, is it? They ask that you be seated and to stay in on section... I didn't have to,  I found that the signs were large enough that I didn't have a problem finding the way around, and the staff were everywhere just in case. We sat forward  so we could watch the ocean and the numerous seagulls that accompanied our ship.
We wandered around the ship, had refreshments and exchanged some money, I've never been good at figuring rates of money, I try to get it into my head that this amount is close to that amount in American currency... and figure everything around that number!

We got to Calais without any problems. I rented a car at the port. I'm not even going to explain how difficult that was. I hadn't used French for many, many years... They don't really ask you anything about if you have a valid license . Heck, I don't even remember if I had to show her mine... I gave her my passport and my credit card... I found out when we returned back to the States that my license had expired months and months before... sigh... That's another story as well...
The car rented and luggage hauled  we set off, only to find that the car, which was standard transmission, was very touchy, I was not used to a standard, and the streets were laid out oddly. Those three things don't mix well, at least not with me. 
I had such a hard time trying to find signs. I had an even harder time reading them, translating to English what they said and trying to get my bearing enough to drive.. and that clutch... aw, it was horrible. 
Long story short... and I know I am leaving out really good parts... but we got stopped by the police... and escorted out of town. OK, so it isn't as bad as it seems... the nicest gendarm asked politely what I thought I was doing while I was turned the wrong way in the bus lane... don't ask... it is not going to be a short answer....
He told me to follow him and he would help me! 
Now, that sounds easy, right? but that darned clutch....
Anyway, we made it to Dunkerque with enough time to find a hotel and eat dinner.

Beach in Belgium

Now, you might wonder about me driving... well, this was the time in-between having the last cataract/lasik surgery and the first of the surgeries for the scar tissue, and the retina detaching... so at this point, I was seeing farsighted and could drive... but I couldn't see to read. Really, the time was short that I had, not long after we returned to the US did I have to give up driving... so, this was that golden opportunity to travel. Though tomorrow, I'll go into some of the not so trivial problems... and how our trip nearly ended way too soon.

WWI Cemetery at Etaples

St Eloi, Dunquerque

I wanted to visit as many places as I could in a short amount of time to be able to have fun and make memories.  I love old buildings, my son loves the beach... I love cemeteries, my son loves cars and ships and planes...So, we went to the beach in Belgium, we went to the St. Eloi in Dunkirk, We walked the waterfront and visited ships, we went to the beach in Normandy, we went to the WWI Cemetery in Étaples-sur-Mer, the WWII cemetery and museum in Normandy, we walked through the bunkers and craters and marveled at the large gun at Point du Hoc, and we went to market in Insigney sur mer. Everywhere we traveled we enjoyed the scenery, the museums, the cafes, the food, the smells and sounds... Caen was majestic, Pont de Normandie bridge and the Millau Viaduct were both  breath taking.
All in all, we had a wonderful time. All those memories... and my son's favorite is one of the little hotels that we stayed... for one night... and it is his favorite story... it was one of those kind that you stay only for one night!  We were tired and needed a place and didn't care that it was a tiny, tiny place. The bathroom was a tiny closet that you could use the toilet,  brush your teeth in the sink and wash your feet in the shower... all at the same time... like a motor home bathroom, maybe even tinier... but it worked for us!!!

'German Bunker at Point du Hoc