Remember this
After being in Paris for a few weeks I was inspired to see the countryside of France. Once I abandoned the ambitious travel plan on the first day, an enchanting journey unfolded. Arriving at Mont-Saint-Michel in the rain and watching nightfall descend on the island was like experiencing reality descend into fantasy. This phantasmic state would characterize the entire journey. A day spent walking the beaches of Saint Malo in the mists, circling the outer walls of the castle looking out into the sea where rock islands and forts drifted in and out of vision. The pouring rain cleared on the last day of exploration and spreading my freedom wings I made an impromptu decision to visit the D-Day beaches of Normandy. Forsaking the GPS, and wishing I had done this earlier in the trip, I traveled the rustic road up the coast line. The skies opened and the tides receded revealing a beautiful landscape that was sobering and striking in its magnificence. I spent the day in resounding silence, awestruck by the physical vastness and beauty of the places and stunned by the significance of the human experience that had transpired here.
This is forever carved in the marble of my memory. I am changed at depth.