everything is illuminated

I've been meaning to write this post for a while:

A Collection of Stained Glass Windows from Cathedrals in Europe.

Downham, England

York Minister, York, England and the town hall of Dundee, Scotland

Les Jacobins Monastery, Toulouse, France

St. Maire Eglise, Normandy, France

Amboise, France

St. Etienne Cathedral, Toulouse, France

The crown jewel of all stained glass windows, in my opinion: St. Chapelle. 

It's a tiny cathedral not far from Notre Dame in Paris. You walk upstairs and into the chapel, and it's like being inside of a kaleidoscope. Every wall in the entire cathedral looks like the photo, telling a ton of Old Testament stories, panel by panel, and then something about the relics of the chapel (?).  It is awe inspiring. So beautiful!

a day in which we GI Jane (and GI Joe) it up

In the middle of our sejour in Paris, we took a little trip to Normandy to see the American D-Day sights. These included St. Maire Eglise (church in city where paratroopers landed), Utah Beach, Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and the American cemetery. Our French guide, Bertrand, took us all over the Norman coast in his little Peugeot. It was awesome!

Best part: crawling on our stomachs to climb inside a real life WWII tank and adjust the gun.