Day 3 Part 2 Etretat

 After leaving Monet's House, we made our way to Etretat.  I underestimated the time it would take to get there and by the time we arrived, it was dinner time leaving no time to see the lovely gardens we had intended to visit. I had seen images somewhere on social media and had been captivated for over 4 years, but sadly when I looked at what time the gardens would open the following day the opening time of 10:00 a.m. would then make us lose if not a half day, but possibly a full day at Omaha Beach and the American cemetery.  My heart was torn.  In the end, we passed on the gardens.  Though, I will post images taken from the internet to show you what captivated me. 

         

 These images are not mine; therefore, I give full credit to the photographer who took them.

 I believe the artist on the first image is Eric Schiegg and the second one I am not sure, but could be Richard   Bloom.  

After not being able to find a grocery store, we decided on getting pizza at a beachside restaurant.  The pizza wasn't that great, but the kids enjoyed it so that is all that matters. The view was well worth the stop.  The town was quaint and charming.  It felt like we were stepping back in time.  

After dinner, we made our way to our Air B & B where our hostess Judith was lovely.  She was actually a German who met and married a French man.  Her little cottage was perfect for our family.

I can't believe it is already the first of July.  This week I am going to try my best to get caught up on my blog post as I am several weeks behind.  We really have taken relaxing to a new art form.  It is after 11:00 a.m. and the girls are still sleeping.  We stayed up late last night watching the Spain against Georgia game.  Our days have been filled with visiting friends, relaxing, and reading,  and we are planning some new adventures this upcoming week.  We also have the task of decluttering the apartment as I believe we are going to close our chapter in renting an apartment in Germany sometime this upcoming year.  The apartment has been a blessing and we are so grateful that we could afford to hold on to it, but our hearts are pulling us in another direction of adventures that makes it impossible to hold on to the apartment. I am not saying we won't come back this way ever, but it will certainly be much easier to just stay at a hotel when it is just the two of us.  The kids are growing up and while they enjoy visiting Germany they long to have summers at home, hanging with their friends and we totally understand.   Well, I better get dressed.  I need to get busy folding some laundry and I need to go tot he store our refrigerator is bare.  Have a great week and stay tuned for the rest of our visit to the coast of Normandy.