Last week we FINALLY got the heck out of Dodge...I mean Germany...and made our way across the border into France. We had a 5-day excursion to Normandy planned for Troy's 11th birthday. Gosh, just saying those words makes me feel incredibly old. Anyway, we loaded up the car early Wednesday morning and set out for a new adventure.

Let me just stop right here and give a super big THANK YOU to one of the greatest school teachers I've ever had, Mr. Lou Tiller. Mr. Tiller was my very larger-than-life French teacher for 4 years at Vidalia High School in south Georgia. He was one of my favorite teachers (and had I been chosen as Star student, I would have picked Mr. Tiller as Star teacher.....right after Mrs. Eidson). Anyway, Mr. Tiller did his job and did it very well. It's been 14 years since my last French class, and yet the language came back to me as if I'd studied it my whole life. I always thought I could "survive" in France, as I have always remembered the most vital questions like "Do you speak English?" and "Where is the bathroom?" But I did more than survive last weekend; I interacted. I held conversations. I bought souvenirs at the market in St. Lo. I asked for directions to a restaurant and then understood those directions. I navigated our way to Normandy by reading traffic and road signs. Now I'm not saying that I spoke perfect, fluent French (I'm sure I massacred quite a bit of their beautiful language), but after 8 months of feeling like a fish out of water in Germany, I was finally at peace traveling in a foreign country. For that I owe Mr. Tiller a world of gratitude.

Traveling through France was beautiful. The French countryside was exactly as I had always imagined it to be. Rolling hills, quaint little villages, huge fields full of beautiful flowers and other vegetation. It was hard to focus on driving when all I wanted to do was observe everything and soak it all in. We stopped at a rest area not far into France for Grace to use the bathroom. All I can say is GROSS! It was the nastiest potty I've ever seen. I had to hold her six inches above the toilet seat for fear that some vicious micro-organism would jump on to her rear end and cause the next Eboli outbreak. It was horrible. I decided to hold it, and hold it I did for the next 200 kilometers. Blake was amused because in the men's room there wasn't even a potty, but rather a couple of holes in the ground. In the poetic words of my husband, he just had to "aim and shoot." 'Nuff said.

Driving through France is seriously expensive. We had to buy gas on the economy. We're pretty fortunate in Germany to be able to use gas coupons that we buy through the base. This just means that we pay the average American price for gas, even when we're off base. You'd be amazed at the difference in cost. Europeans pay an average of $5.85 a gallon for gasoline. In some countries, like the Netherlands, it's even more expensive, topping out at almost 7 bucks a gallon (remember that the next time you're at the pump complaining). Outside of Germany, we have to pay what the Europeans pay, which means we bought gas at almost $6 a gallon while we traveled. Then there are the tolls you must pay for traveling French motorways. We spent almost 60 euro ONE WAY in tolls alone. And let's not forget that the dollar is almost worthless against the Euro. So......expensive gasoline + expensive tolls + worthless dollar = very broke Smith family. C'est la vie.

Driving through Paris was a whole other adventure, which I will write about in a separate blog. You just thought Atlanta was bad. We did manage to catch a quick view of the Eiffel Tower. Sweet. I can't wait to visit in the summer with Daniel and Amy (my brother and sis-in-law), so come on guys! Get packing and get ready to travel the world!