THE RAMEY'S INVADE EUROPE!

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So far we have been blitzing around various parts of Switzerland, France, Germany and Spain. London, England to follow

I will start from the beginning

The motley crew settling in for the 12 hour flight from SFO to Zurich

Here are our good friends Fritz and Amanda showing us around Switzerland. This is a cheese factory that makes Emmentall cheese better known to us in the states as Swiss Cheese

Our first castle or Schloss not far from Bern

The first of many many steps to come on our climb around Europe

Why can't we have these at home?

We were allowed to climb to the top of the magnificent Basel Munster. Lots of steps

And the view was breathtaking...in more ways than one!

The Ramey family enjoying another fine dining experience in Switzerland. $51 for a McDonalds lunch!!!

We played in a stream in the black forest outside of Freiburg, Germany

Bern, the capital of Switzerland

Uh oh, the girls found a WiFi connection

Hugo Mathys, one of our best customers, was kind enough to invite us along in his beautiful 1943 DC-3 to the South of France and then Spain.

Traveling in style thanks to Hugo and Katharina

Riding in comfort aboard a 1943 Douglas DC-3 that was beautifully appointed

The South of France specifically St Tropez

The flight took us to Cannes, France where we dropped off Hugo's wife Katharina, her God son and his girl friend. Next was a stop in Bezier, France where we stayed over night in a wonderful little village called Pezenas. 

Syd and I go exploring

This is the hotel we stayed in which was a distillery in a previous life

Interesting creatures in the hotel!

Then we stayed in the beautiful village of Cadaques, Spain

Kelley enjoying the view from the hotel

Syd took these shots of that view

This is the beach that we all snorkeled at. That sounds funny doesn't it?

Speaking of funny;the twins...

Here are Jurg and Syd blending in with the natives

From a distance Cadaques appears to be untouched my the modern world. It is quite popular with the tourists and the Ramey's

Syd and I snorkeled around the bay on the left

We returned to Switzerland to drop off  Hugo's wife Katharina

The Alps 

1.75 Swiss Francs per liter for fuel works out to be $6.61 per gallon for regular gas.

The next day we boarded the DC-3 and flew off to France

 Hugo was kind enough to book all of us in a hotel on the Beech in France...Omaha Beech!

We visited many museums and historical places in Normandy. This is Point du Hoc where the US Army Rangers were tasked with climbing the cliffs to  take out the German guns.

The bomb craters are still visible from the intense bombing the point received from the Army Air Force

Maggie and Sydney picked up trash left in the bunkers by other visitors and packed it out. Gotta love our girls!

We were off to St. Mere Eglise and had lunch in the C-47 Cafe

The Airborne Museum and its CG-4A troop glider

The church where John Steel was hung up in his parachute in the early morning hours of June 6th, 1944. They have a dummy in his place on the left side

Hey girls look at the cool and real rare Martin B-26! Just kidding they were very interested...or so they said...

Maggie and I went exploring the German bunkers near our hotel and we had a great time. Maggie, Queen of the bunker! This one was particularly fierce to the landing troops and it had them pinned down until a Sherman tank took it out at 7:10am on June 6th. Inside you can see clear 75mm round holes and blast damage in the roof

Another battle scar

We boarded the DC-3 for a flight over the Normandy beaches for a special perspective

The one thing that was a real eye opener to me was the size of the landing beaches. In my mind it was a lot smaller that it really is. There are over 15 miles of beach used during the invasion. This shot is from the astern end

What an honor to be able to fly a C-47 over the Normandy Beaches. Thanks Hugo for that incredible opportunity.

The concrete portable harbors called Mulberry's that were brought over for the invasion are still there

A view of the hotel where we stayed which was right next to...

The American Cemetery where over 9000 US soldiers are buried

That's a lot of Beach to cross under heavy fire

An aerial view of Point du Hoc where you can see the bomb craters and the German bunkers

Syds photo

St Mere Eglise from the air at about the same height that the paratroopers jumped from except it was in the dark early hours of the morning

The church in St. Mere Eglise

Maggie wanted to see Le Mont St. Michel since before we began this trip and Hugo wanted her to see it from the air

Magnifique!

Kelley wanted to see the tapestry of Beyeux and it was beautiful. over 150 feet long and over 1000 years old

The Munster in Beyaux was also magnificent

A beautiful shot that Sydney took

Sydney preparing for England with some fish and chips, actually sea bass and pom fritz. Hugo taught her the proper way to filet a fish

Then we went to see the American Cemetery in Normandy

Thank you for your service and sacrifice. It was a beautiful place

One museum had artifacts removed from the waters off of Normandy. Here is a special Sherman tank which was amphibious and was launched at sea. They were launched too far out and the rough seas proved disastrous. Very few made it to shore. This is one that sank. One that made it took out the bunker mentioned above

Lots of hiking produced another casualty on the hills above Omaha Beach

On our way to Paris we went to see le Mont St. Michel where we found lots more stairs to climb but it was worth every one

Although I think she might not agree

They say it is the second most popular attraction in France next to the Eifel Tower. I can't imagine why

The master navigator hard at work making sure we didn't get lost. Your Grandpa would be proud Maggs!

We found a great apartment in Paris from the 17th century available from a wonderful woman named Betty. She was a sweetheart and here is the view from the balcony this evening. That's Notre Dame on the right and the river Sien below. The Louvre is a 10 minute walk to the left

Tomorrow we explore Paris! 

We checked in to a wonderful house that we found on airbnb.com which is a place that puts home owners and travelers in touch with each other. Instead of a hotel we stayed in beautiful homes in Paris and London.

Here is Sydney checking out her bed. Only Syd could get her head stuck in a bed!

After a good nights sleep we were off to explore Paris

The Louvre...

Is one big place!

Ms Lisa is quite the popular gal

Don't forget to look up or you might miss something

Maggs and Syd took some music lessons in Paris

Notre Dame

Our apartment is about in the middle of this shot

The only place with laundry out drying on the rail!

Long day for the poor children

I guess the girls weren't the only ones tired of a long day of walking and art appreciation

Okay maybe my feet were tired too

My favorite piece of art. Different stone used for the different parts. I thought she was draped in cloth at first. Most impressive

Maggs and Syd in line to check go to the top of Notre Dame. Can you spot them?

What a view from the top of Notre Dame. Our apartment is just past the second bridge

The girls need to be caged

Fun on the bus

Lots and lots of stairs. These take us to the top of the Arc de Triomphe

Another stunning view. The landscape was good to look at too

Syd took some cool photos 

And so did Maggs 

From the top of the Eifel tower to the catacombs under Paris

Wow 

Paris was wonderful. Two thumbs up from us. I have to say Paris is my favorite city

Then we took the train from Paris to London

The kids liked the beds in England in a cool 17th century house with many levels with creaky old wood floors.

After a good night sleep we went out to explore London.

The Tower of London

Taking the water bus to the London Eye

Kelley did get to see the Olympics. The Beach Volleyball venue is down there

We hit a lot of the usual tourist spots

The front seat of the upper level on the double-decker busses sure was fun 

The Rosetta stone

Syd wanted to see the Sherlock Holmes museum so off we went 

The Imperial War Museum downtown London

Then the train for a special tour of the Imperial War Museum in Duxford

Where we were lucky to get inside the the B-29 that My Father and I flew in across the Atlantic in 1980

The kids sat in the seat where Henry J Ramey Jr navigated Hawg Wild across the cold Atlantic

We were also fortunate to be able to get inside the B-17G Flying Fortress at the museum

And the war room where the air war of the Battle of Britain was directed

A memorial to the fallen airmen of the 8th Air Force. Each aircraft represents an actual aircraft shot down in WWII flying from Europe. The glass panels follow the path down the hill toward the front of the museum  

The girls went shopping for shoes. Nice purple combat boots

 Needless to say we had a wonderful trip.

And as a special bonus for making it all the way through the Ramey family's vacation photos here is a special collection of the many faces of Sydney Jane