Saturday, July 20th, 2019
Today we actually leave Paris and meet up with our Band of Brothers Tour! We had a 7:20 AM pick up to take us back to the airport to meet our tour guide, Catelyn. It was a quick ride to the airport, 40 minutes because traffic was light. We will be sitting here in the arrivals terminal until close to noon when the bus and our guide will be here.
We met Catelyn and our bus driver Gabe. Our luggage was loaded but 2 of our passengers were delayed so we will be waiting 1/2 hour more per the company agreements which isn’t a problem for us! The bus is air conditioned and the seats are comfortable. Waiting for us on the bus seats was a Beyond the Band of Brothers canvas bag filled with useful information and a paperback book filled with military information.
Our drive to Normandy is a little under 3 hours. The highway signs were unique to us because they included a picture that coincided with the town. We enjoyed seeing the different pictures for the signs!
We stopped at a rest area for a break and lunch. All 27 of us were back on the bus in time! Catelyn, our guide, was happy!
When we arrived at our hotel in Bayeux, we checked in.
We organized our suitcases and walked into town to explore the town of Bayeux, France. It is a quaint medieval town and the first town to be liberated in 1944! As you walk around town you can see 17th and 18th century mansions and townhouses.
We were back for our 7:00 PM social with our group. The company provided a free drink. We all introduced ourselves and then had dinner together. It was after 9:00 when dinner was finished. We enjoyed getting to members of our group.
A nice feature of this tour is that all meals are inclusive and 1 beer/wine/mixed drink is included with lunch and the same is true at dinner!
Today was only 8,776 steps, 3.67 miles and 5 flights. We have certainly decreased since we are not exploring Paris. Having a bus to take us to sights will lessen our walking.
We were in line by 8:37 which was perfect because we were 10th in line. As soon as we went through security we went directly to see the Mona Lisa! No line! Yea! It was perfect.
After grabbing some water and resting for a short while, we walked to a French restaurant that offered gluten free items. The restaurant was called Le Saotico. We used the app Find Me Gluten Free to locate this place. The food was delicious and one of the owners served us and she has Celiacs also! Her name was Anna.
We landed in Paris around 7:16 AM Paris time. By the time we went through customs, retrieved out luggage it was 8:15. Our driver was waiting to take us from the airport to our hotel for the next 3 days, the Melia. It is a nice boutique hotel and the location is perfect for us. When we finally arrived at the hotel is was after 10:00. 
We stored our luggage with the hotel and off we went exploring. The Paris Opera House isn’t far from our hotel, so we walked there to catch our hop on/hop off bus. These tour buses give a good overview of the highlights of the city.
When we returned to the stop where we started, we got off and grabbed some lunch/dinner and then walked back to our hotel to “officially” check in. It was nice to finally get a shower after 26 hours! We rested for about 40 minutes then walked to the Eiffel Tower. On our way to the Eiffel Tower we passed the Place de la Concorde. The city was still cleaning up after their big military parade on Bastille Day, July 14th, 2 days ago. We wanted to be at the Eiffel Tower by the time the lights came on! We enjoyed our time waiting for the lights! It was beautiful! We have to say it was also great people watching!
