Announcements

**CaperMike** · #1 2 May 2014

April 17
After saying our goodbyes to Eric and Rosita, we headed for Normandy for our WWII history experience.Our first stop was Dieppe, the site of an allied attack on the port by Canadian troops.History tells us that this invasion attempt was an attempt to figure out what would work best for the planned D-day invasion in WWII.The methods in Dieppe were unsuccessful and thousands of Canadians were slaughtered. It was an expensive information gathering project. Dieppe was also the home port for William the Conqueror.
Later that day we drove to Dives-Sur-Mer which is the Northern beginning of the Normandy WWII historical area. We stayed at the Ibis hotel, drove a short way into town where we walked around, had dinner, and visited the casino. We went to the famous Grand Hotel, a throwback to the travelling of the rich and famous. The host there thought the men’s bathroom was the highlight of the attached casino and wanted Beverly to go see it -- which she did and took a picture.
April 18
In the morning, we visited the town again to walk the beach, then we drove to Arromanches to see the main D-Day museum.The museum recalls the whole D-Day operation and how the Allies built a port in Arromanches, near Omaha Beach, to bring in supplies for the European campaign.Pieces of the port still remain. We stayed at the la Marine hotel overlooking the beach.
Pictures:
1. Mike at Dieppe port
2. Beverly enjoying the afternoon sun in Dieppe
3. Mike at the casino in the Grand Hotel in Dives Su Mer
4. The Men's toilet at the casino
5. Beverly at Normandy Beach
6. Normandy Beach map
7. Mike outside Grand Hotel
8. Port mock up from museum

**CaperMike** · #2 3 May 2014

We left the La Marine hotel and headed to the D-day museum.Gulliam, our guide, told the stories of some of the lives of those who were killed.Including Turner Turnbull who was American Indian.He always wanted to be a pilot.Though he never became the pilot he always wanted to be, he became a parachutist with the 82nd airborne and during a paratrooper maneuver, he was shot.After being mended in the hospital, he was told he could return home.He chose to stay and fight for his country.He later was killed in action.

We walked down to the beach.On this beach, the bunkers of the German machine guns remain.On June 6 1944, the bombers of allied force D-day operation called Operation Overlord, were supposed to take out the machine guns but the weather was bad and there was a cloud cover causing their strike to be inaccurate.The bombs dropped behind the line leaving the troops landing on the beach exposed.The German’s eventually did surrender when they ran out of ammunition.
We went to the Canadian cemetery and found the registry thatLauchie Demas Beaton was buried there.6th Armd. Regt. 1st Hussars, R.C.A.C.11 June1944 Age 26.Son of John and Annie Laura Beaton, of Skye Glen, Inverness Co., Nova Scotia.Grave Reference:VII G. 1.Possibly a relative of Mike?

Turner Turnbull grave
Guilliam, our guide, and Mike
Mike at the Normandy D-day landing
Beverly at the Normandy D-day landing
A Beaton grave at the Canadian cemetery
Gravestones at the Canadian cemetery

**CaperMike** · #3 3 May 2014

Three days until we pick up the bike.
After Normandy, we decided that Versailles would be our next destination since we had both been to Paris.We stayed at the Cheval Rouge, 1 block from the market.We walked to the palace of King Louis XIV.
King Louis XIV became king when he was 5 years old and he ruled for 72 years.Many refer to him as the most successful of all European Kings – the Grand Monarque from 1643 - 1715His palace is representative of the excesses of his rule.The splendor of the palace, with its gardens, fountains and parks were admired by the world.Other Kings in Europe would try to imitate him by building their own Versailles – with the taxes that could be collected from his subjects.People began to desire the elaborate and luxurious.The arts flourished.People wore powdered wigs and silk.And the people watched Louis most of all – knowing what they were paying for with their taxes.A clear example of the haves and the have-nots.
After the Palace walk, we went out to dinner and ordered chicken skewers and caprese salad. Instead, we got ½ a chicken and something with bacon and greens.We could have been stressed about it but we took a deep breath and dug into our meal.It was good.It is not an uncommonexperience for us to not get what we think we are orderingbut this time it wasn’t even a language barrier because Mike speaks French.We laughed about the adventure of it.A good meal it was.

**CaperMike** · #4 5 May 2014

LUXUMBOURG

Sunday April 20

In the morning, we walked the one block to the market and bought some pastries and candy (we’ve been so good so far and we finally broke down). We people-watched while we had breakfast. After packing up and saying goodbye to the Cheval Rouge hotel, we headed for Luxembourg.

Before we left, Mike got a hotel in Luxembourg on lastminute.com where you agree to pay for a certain amount for a certain level room without knowing which hotel it is. We said, what the hell, lets see what happens. We ended up going to the Sofitel, a 5 star luxury business hotel at ¼ - 1/3 the usual cost of a room. It sits amidst modern unnamed high rises. Definitely, not our agenda for this trip – but who’s complaining. We tried to extend our stay for an additional night but they wouldn’t extend the rate. So Mike just got back on the website and booked another unknown room. It turned out to be the same hotel. They didn’t make us move. We walked to town, had dinner in the square and walked back.

Monday April 21

We walked to town again and then walked the trails into the valley noticing the walls of city fortress. Siegfried of Luxembourg (922-998)built a fortress and a town grew up around the castle. Since the Second World War, Luxembourg has become one of the world's richest countries, buoyed by a booming financial services sector, political stability, and European integration. It currently has the highest per capita GDP in the world.

We walked in the sun to the Grund and had a

on the deck of a café – sitting in the sun. We took the elevator back to the top instead of walking up the hill. We didn’t get back to the hotel until after dinner. What a beautiful day.

1. Five star business class room at the Sofitel
2. Lobby
3. Out to dinner in Luxumbourg
4. Beverly in the square
5. Symphony Hall
6. Old town in the Valley – where the Grund is
7. Mike at the castle wall

**CaperMike** · #5 5 May 2014

Tuesday – Thursday April 22-24

April 22
Time to pick up our motorcycle and drop off the car. We left Luxembourg early for Heidelberg.We stopped at Knopf tours – where we keep our bikes. Stephen had them both out and all charged up. We had stayed at the B&B so many times, it seemed like old home. But this time we checked into the Heidelberg hotel where we previously stayed on April 11.We picked up the blue bike to take it to the shop for some work. We are using only the blue one for this trip. -- going two-up. Mike replaced the sprockets on a previous trip but didn’t have the tool to replace the chain. We took it to the Ducati shop for the work. They also replaced the Kouba lowering links (so I didn’t have to be on tip-toes) with the original ones for our two-up trip.We left the bike at the shop overnight.

We stopped by to have dinner at the train station where we had eaten several times but it was closed for remodeling for 2 months. We talked about the first time we arrived here several years ago; the layout of European towns was so unfamiliar to us that we didn’t even know we were in a town. Now we know our way around. We ended up having a fabulous dinner in the restaurant in our hotel. Hotel Heidelberg

WednesdayApril 23
We had to take the car to the shipping company in Frankfurt.We stopped by Knopf tours to pick up one of the bikes (the red one). Mike drove one of the bikes and Beverly drove the car. We both returned to Heidelberg two-up. We took the bike to the car wash so it would look nice for Drew who is coming from Denmark this weekend to pick it up.It was sold to him and we do have a little bit of seller’s remorse. We love these bikes.

We picked up the blue bike at the Ducati shop but not before we admired all the Ducati bikes and they served us some Italian Espresso. When we left the shop, we were on two bikes. It has been a while since Beverly has ridden and she liked getting back in the saddle. We ate outside at a nice Italian restaurant in the beautiful weather before driving back to our hotel.

Thursday April 24
Mike fixed the kick-stand switch on the Red Bike and he fixed up the communication systems.We took all the things we were not taking with us over to Stephan’s at Knopf Tours. We stopped and talked with Stephan and Ira for a while.They tempted us with an upcoming trip to South Africa.We packed and made sure everything would fit on the bike.

We have gotten a lot better at deciding the priority of what to take with us. For our almost 6 week trip we are packed in the panniers, a top box and a tank bag. Included is a SLR camera, monopod, and 2 computers. And we still have room to carry water, wine and food.