Day 4...on the move

Fortunately our day started a bit later and we were able to sleep until 7 this morning. Our hotel has a fabulous breakfast of croissants, breads, yogurt, fruits, cheese and meats to choose from. I started today with two chocolate croissants and several cups of good French coffee. Even though we slept later, I was still exhausted. Paris does that to a person. Our first destination for the day was Versailles castle and gardens. However today, Tuesday, happened to be a national day of protest and of protest and the yellow vesters were out protesting all across the country. It took our bus driver, Philipe from Belgium, 45 minutes to go 3 kilometers before arriving at the hotel. Needless to say we had no idea what we would find on the roads ahead of us. We were all on the bus and ready to head out by 9:45, ready for whatever adventure awaited us. Nothing. No protests, no blocked roads, nothing. We arrived at Versailles where we waited to see if the castle would even open today, again due to the protests. The lines started moving and we headed toward the entrance only to find out the gardens would be closed today. Part of our larger group toured the King's apartments of the castle while the El Paso group headed into town. We wandered around, stopped at a bakery for a nibblie, and then stumbled on an open air market. It was BEAUTIFUL! The French have a way of displaying food that makes it so appetizing. We also found a Monoprix, France's answer to Target. We bought some groceries and decided to do a little picnic instead of a restaurant lunch. At 2:00 we boarded the bus to head west to Normandy. Despite having 17 middle school boys on the bus, the drive was rather quiet. I imagine that 95% of us were sleeping for the first two hours of the journey, myself included. Once I di wake up, I enjoyed the green and rolling hills of the Normandy region. This area is known for dairy and apples. We passed around the city of Caen, where i lived and studied for a year of university. We will go back there tomorrow because they have an amazing peace museum. We arrived at Grandcomp, Massy, Normandy at 6 pm. Our hotel tonight is a vacation condo and we have a beautiful view of a marina and the English Channel. I can imagine that this quiet beachfront town is jammed packed with tourists in the summer. It is so charming. Pictures to follow tomorrow. Dinner was across the street,chicken and fries followed by chocolate mousse, I may have eaten two... Dinner was followed by a quick visit to the beach. The fishing boats were heading in with the day's catch, which I am hoping to eat tomorrow. We have a 7am breakfast time, but we are going to attempt to wake up early to stroll around town. This is the earliest night we have had so far, but much needed. I feel like a slacker today, we only managed 11,000 steps. Tomorrow will be a day of beach tours and World War Two history lessons. I am looking forward to visiting the places again to see how they have changed over the years.