Marie-Claire Hatfield Articles
Les Trois Mousquetaires go to France, Italy and maybe a few other places #7Day 6: Wednesday, June 7 – Normandy – Beyond Saving Private Ryan
I am ashamed to admit it but I did not get really interested in World War II until I saw the movie. I had seen The Longest Day, Ike, A Bridge Too Far and many other war movies but to me, they were historic [...]
Day 7: Thursday, June 8 – Caen
It is a fun drive from Falaise to Caen, more cute villages nestled around their church and town’s square.
Churches’ towers and steeples, I think that is what I miss the most from my birth country. As you go through France, each village and little town follows pretty much [...]
Les Trois Mousquetaires go to France, Italy and maybe a few other places #8Day 6: Wednesday, June 7 – Afternoon
As we drive through Normandy, I can’t believe how profoundly rural France is, and Normandy in particular. Lots of wheat fields for all these wonderful pains, pâtisseries and crêpes the girls have already fallen in love with and from which I am desperately trying to stay away, not always [...]
Day 4: Monday, June 5 – Paris
The day is still overcast and it’s even a bit chilly. Our first step is The Gap on the Champs-Elysées that the girls spotted yesterday. They each buy a jacket and a long sleeve shirt. They didn’t believe me back in Dallas when I told them that summer could [...]
Day 3: Sunday, June 4
I can’t get over how small the city of Paris really is. Small and so compact. One can literally walk from one end to the other in just a few hours (not including the suburbs, of course). All the monuments and interesting places are all so close to one another; it [...]
Day 2: Saturday, June 3
Today will probably go down as one of my favorite days. One of those days when you feel like saying, That is what living is all about. A day filled with sights and sounds that can never be forgotten (except maybe by teenagers). We logged in 14 miles today – all [...]
Day 1: Thursday, June 1
We leave for Paris today. The girls are getting really excited. I would be, too, except that I have to work until almost the minute I leave. We get to the airport to learn that the flight is overbooked and that several volunteers are needed to give up their seats. At [...]
And how do you pay for everything?
In the summer of 2000 the dollar is very strong against the French Franc. Ten years ago, I got 4.6 francs for every dollar. This year: between 6.8 and 7.2 francs! That means that our average hotel room (450FF) cost us $64 instead of $88! A big [...]
France and the Internet
Except at large, very modern hotels (exceptions will be duly noted in our travelogues), do not expect to be able to connect to the Internet at most ma and pa Bed & Breakfast or small hotels. At least, not from your room. In many smaller places, the phones are wired in [...]
My family and friends (and my older girl herself) think I am out of my mind to want to travel with my two teenage girls (13½ and almost 12). It’s not just a teenage thing, “Mom, it’s going to be so booorriiing,” or “Mom, what do you mean we are going to walk a lot [...]
