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FRANCE 2010
During the summer of 2010 I traveled to France with my uncle. We spent some time in Paris, and then rented a car to drive through Normandy and see many of the WWII battle sites. It was an intensely powerful and somber learning experience.
 At the Louvre |  Jeanne d'Arc |  Notre Dame from the back. I don't know why I didn't take a picture of the front... |
|---|---|---|
 I love stained glass |  More beautiful stained glass |  Marsyas from the Louvre |
 Venus de Milo from the Louvre |  Nike of Samothrace from the Louvre |  Oedipus and the Sphinx from the Louvre |
 Napoleon crowns Josephine from the Louvre |  Approaching the circus |  Arc de Triomphe |
 Driving around the Arc de Triomphe is a crazy experience |  Ile de la Cite in the Seine |  I was lucky to meet up with two friends in Paris. They just happened to be traveling at the same time I was! |
 Mont St Michel, a fortified village/cathedral that rests on a small island which is inaccessible at high tide |  Mont St Michel |  The walls of Mont St Michel |
 St. Michael |  While driving through Normandy one night, we stopped in a small village for dinner. There was only one bar in town, and the family who owned it spoke no English. We spoke little French. But friends are made over food, and this family was friendly and ready to feed us! |  My uncle and I with the owner of the bar |
 With my uncle |  Rest in Peace, heroes |  A solemn evening |
 These men came from every state. Normandy is their final resting place |  From my home state |  The grave of an unknown soldier |
 |  Thank you for your service |  Rest in Peace |
 Side by side graves such as these are for tank crews who died together |  A British cemetery |  This young man died at age 18. Rest in Peace |
 The anonymous dead |  From the tip of Pointe du Hoc |  A Crater at Pointe du Hoc |
 The cratered ground of Pointe du Hoc |  American and Soviet soldiers embrace in Berlin |  A simple yet very powerful quote |
 Next day news |  In 1944, an American paratrooper was caught atop the cathedral in St. Mere Eglise and played opossum. He lived, and today a replica still hangs |  The American Cemetery at Normandy |
 Even the stained class in St. Mere Eglise's Cathedral depicts a US paratrooper |  The French countryside |  A ruined German bunker |
 A relatively intact bunker with a gun left in place |  German 88 millimeter, one of the war's premier weapons |
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