Be right back--gone to London...

A couple of weeks ago I scurried off to London and unbeknownst to me the Queen’s Jubilee festivities were in full swing! I had seen the ins and outs of London a few years ago with my mom (my mom loves London) so I was there for one reason and one reason only: to meet up with a close girlfriend from California just before she embarked on her first ever Eurotrip! Despite only having 30 hours to soak up laughs with Amanda before heading back to Amsterdam, we still managed to squeeze in plenty of Pimm’s, Abbey Road, Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station and caught Hamlet at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater. Oddly enough, Hamlet was in Lithuanian as part of The Globe’s ‘Globe to Globe’ campaign—throughout the summer, the theater is putting on plays in a variety of languages, I think it’s a great idea! And they had English translations available on screens too for those who didn't have stellar Lithuanian skills ;).

Here’s a few snippets from my iPhone from my quicky weekend in London!

This weekend will be a mellow one in Holland--hope yours is a good one ;).

{I saw this vintage travel add for Normandy in the metro station--love it!}

 {Hamlet at The Globe!}

{Dodging cars on Abbey Road}

Lots of Colors in Northern France

Confession: the beauty of Normandy took me by surprise—no wonder it was Christian’s dad’s fourth time here.  As if paying our respects at the D-Day beaches and American cemetery wasn’t humbling enough, the quaint villages of Northern France were a feast for the eyes--blue skies, green landscapes, yellow fields of flowers and multi-colored skies were the norm. Having been around the South of France a few years ago, I was in love with the cute villages by the Mediterranean but I had absolutely no idea the countryside in Normandy was so pretty and colorful, too. 

Thanks to the coziness of towns like Arromanches-les-Bains (also the village by the sea where we stayed! The owners at Le Chanteclair B&B not only had fresh breakfast for us every morning and were insanely friendly, but they also sent us off with 2 bottle of local cider too), Sainte-Mère-Église, Saint-Lô and Bayeux, my full-fledged city preference is now developing into a huge appreciation for those cute towns in the countryside. I’ll let the pictures do the talking this time :).

Arromanches-les-Bains

Sainte-Mère-Église

Caen

Bayeux

Arromanches-les-Bains...one last photo op!

Castle in Caen en route to Paris!

It's European Cup time!!

Happy Friday everyone! Today is the day--Day 1 of the European Cup! Christian, some friends and I are going to escape to some Dutch bars in Maastricht this weekend to take part in football mania as the first matches start tonight. Tomorrow we'll grab a beer, yell 'ORANJE! ORANJE! ORANJE!' and 'HUP HOLLAND HUP!' as much as we can and cheer on the Dutch team as they play Denmark. 

FYI you can now follow us on Twitter and me on Instagram (username: rachy_van_amsterdam)!

Have a great weekend!!

Remembering Heroes at the D-Day Beaches, Normandy

*In the highest remembrance of our fallen heroes!*

Today, 68 years ago was one of the most heroic days in history, the infamous D-Day invasion in Normandy. On June 6, 1944, Allied troops planned an attack to regain Nazi-occupied France. This invasion was one of the biggest turning points during WW2 and resulted in the loss of an estimated 10,000 Allied soldiers.

If you've seen the D-Day invasion scene in Saving Private Ryan, it's unimaginable to think what it was really like on D-Day. The task of invading bullet-ridden Northern France seemed like almost certain death. I'm sure a Hollywood movie can't even fully capture the terror that soldiers faced on D-Day. It wasn't just the Germans that soldiers had to fear, but the weight of heavy gear meant that in some cases soldiers drowned before they reached the beaches. And once they reached the beaches, the sand was riddled with bodies, metal traps and barriers, barbed wire, almost nowhere to hide and the enemy shooting right at them. Some soldiers were so young, with their whole lives ahead of them, both forced and volunteered to face unthinkable circumstances worlds away from their families and safety of their hometowns.

My parents (especially my mom) have been itching to see Normandy for years and I'm so happy I had the opportunity--and honor--to visit Normandy with them a few weeks ago. During the days that we visited Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Longues-sur-Mer battery and machine guns and the infamous American Cemetery, my mom (originally from a small town in South Dakota) recounted research she had done on plenty of WW2 veterans who fought so bravely. My mom tracked down several soldiers from her hometown in Beresford, South Dakota, and found their graves at the American Cemetery in Normandy to pay her respects (one of them was killed by a German sniper)--I know this is why she's fascinated with WW2.

It was pretty amazing when she told me that both my great uncle (fought in the heart of Normandy) and my step-grandfather (an air bomber) fought in Normandy. Both of them would never talk about their experiences during WW2--ever, she said. Some museums we visited in Normandy had real-life accounts of grown men who were brought to tears instantly when remembering their days in the war and recalled their comrades who died fighting right next to them while they were just plain lucky to make it out alive.

It was emotional and incredible to visit the D-Day beaches of Normandy. I am forever grateful to those paid the ultimate price (and still do!) to make sure we have the freedoms we have today.

Your sacrifices will never be forgotten.