Day Nine of a Tale of Two Cities

 Today we went to Versailles

Translated in English this says " To all of the glories of France".

This is one of the two buildings that was once used as stables.

One thing I noticed that Europe has that the United States doesn't have a lot of is, historical statues.

So pretty.

One of the fountains.

Back of Versailles. 

So that you wouldn't get lost in the maze there were different busts to help guide your way through the maze.

I thought this was so pretty, it is part of the gardens.

This is me at the gates of Versailles. 

One of the rooms.

This is a statue of Joan of Arc.

I love taking these pictures it just looks so pretty to me.

The Hall of Mirrors!! You can tell it was busy that day.

I took a picture of me in one of the mirrors in the Hall of Mirrors.

A crystal chandelier in the Hall of Mirrors.

One of the rooms at Versailles, don't you like how the furniture matches the wallpaper.

Recognize her? Yes, it is the Statue of Liberty.  

Day Eight of a Tale of Two Cities

After a sleepless night in cramped quarters on the ferry, we arrived in France. We started our day right away. After a fantastic breakfast we headed to a Caen-Normandy Memorial Centre for History and Peace.

Above is a one of the twelve memorial stones with a Dwight D. Eisenhower quote. The other eleven stones had peaceful quotes. All twelve stones represent the countries who fought in the D-Day invasion.

This statue symbolizes peace with the twisted barrel of the a gun.

Above are examples of the different kinds of stars that the Jewish people would have to wear. Below is part of the ground that is under the museum that has been framed off. Can you see why?  Yes, it is because there are gun shells. 

Some of the stuff found around the museum.

Below is a model of a bomb shelter.

Here are some of the pictures from the Pointe du Hoc. Below is a bomb crater.

Below are the remains of a building.

                                                                        A  bomb shelter.

This is a machine gun slot. I set my camera on the ledge and this is the view.

Now I backed away a step and that is how small it was.

This made my group and me feel special.

Then we went to the The American Cemetery where their are 9,387 soldiers buried.

The straight lines of the headstones.

                                                      President Theodore Roosevelt 's son.

Quentin Roosevelt son of President T. Roosevelt died in World War I. He is the only WWI victim in the whole cemetery. He was buried here because the family wanted him to be with is brother.

Above and below are the two brothers who inspired the movie "Saving Private Ryan".

A fellow Tennessean.

Instead of a cross all Jewish soldiers have the Star of David. Below is the saddest thing ever, the grave of an unknown soldier. There are 307 of these in the American Cemetery in Normandy.

Day Seven of a Tale of Two Cities

On our last day in England one of the things we did was go to Oxford University. This is the Radcliffe Camera at Oxford. It holds the Radcliffe Science Library.

This is the view of Oxford from our punting trip.

Here is a picture of Stonehege.

.Below is a picture of what historians think Stonehege used to look like. That night we went on an overnight ferry to France. 

Day Six of a Tale of Two Cities

 I took a picture of this bust because it is of Charles Dickens, the author of the book in which our trip is named after.

 Here is a picture of my ticket to The Roman Baths.

 Here is a picture of the Roman Baths.

 This is a picture of what is thought to be the Gorgon's head one of the symbols of their goddess Sulis Minerva.

 This is the head of the goddess Sulis Minerva, the goddess that was worshiped in the Roman Baths Temple.

 This was found near the Baths, it is a lead letter that was burned thought to have gone to their goddess.

 Here are some of the things that were found thought to be used as offerings.

 This is a mason's mark found on some of the stones. A mason's mark was a mason's stamp so you would know the stone came from him.

 This is one of the the gems from a signet ring that was found in the drain.

                                           The drain.

                                         The Baths.

Each of those rocks had a slab on them so they could work as massage tables.