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FOUR-Tbe Heppner CtieUTime. floppier, Oregon, Thursday, August 25, 1983
Local travelers recount European
(Editor's note: The follow-j'' .tv
inf? article is the sixth in )j J
series to appear in Jhe -Ji 'I .
Gazette-Times concerning a,
recent trip to Europe madebj' :t -l .- ,V
several Heppner High School -'h:)
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OMinial) SiuucoiS, una vwKT '
er. one student's mother and a , V'
school counselor.) , --
We're off again,, heading
north toward Brittany ,'and! v ii'. '--
Normandy. After this many'
days of hotel living we've got A
our baggage down to a syatn.
-we load it on the elevator, v ;
send it down and meet It at
ground level. So far we
haven't lost a suitcase! -,
It's a long drive from Tourt
to Mont-St. Michel and W '
were all ready to stretch oar -legs
for lunch. You had to be
adventuresome for this meal: "
pork pate, shrimp with legs
and eyes intact, escargot,
peas, beans, roast beef, pota
toes and ice cream. We may
walk 10 miles most days, but
the weight certainly doesn't
come off with meals like this!
Our first glimpse of M ont-St.
Michel was unbelievable. This
freak of nature (of volcanic
origin) rises abruptly between
' the salt marshes and an im
mense sandy bay of 100 square
miles one of the natural
wonders of the world. It's
almost perfectly circular at its
base, rising in four levels on
one side but sheer on the outer
curve. In the year 709, the first
place of worship was built on
the top, a tiny chapel ; then in
the 12th century the church
and monastic buildings of the
Benedictine order (Monks)
were begun. These we reached
by walking along the Grande
Rue, 300 steps plus miles of
cobblestone sloped walkway
bordered by many little shops
and cafes. When we reached
the summit, the view was
magnificent. Our guide dearly
loved her job and made it all
come to life for us. After tht
French Revolution, the monks
were dispersed, the buildings
looted, and Napoleon turned "
the mount into a prison;' u S
remained so until a century
ago. We all want to return to V .
watch the moon rise or the sun
set over the huge bay and to
view the tide come sweeping .
in at 65 yards a minute, rising
49 feet when the moon is full!
On to Bayeux, population
14.000. In spite of being close
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ROBEO fun
After seeing you at the SnaVk Shack we'll see you atthe Elks.
OUTDOOR
BARBECUE
SATAUG.27
RIB STEAK OR
TOP SIRLOW.
4;
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Mont-Si. Michel from a distance
to the 1944 invasion, it largely
escaped damage. First a Vi
king settlement to which the
Dukes of Normandy sent their
sons for education, it has
existed for 2.000 years! We
were able to view the famous
Bayeux Tapestry with 58 em
broidered scenes of the Nor
man Conquest of 1066. Multi
language commentaries were
transmitted to explain the
history of this 230 foot
tapestry.
Twisting streets with quaint
French cottages and beautiful
flowers brought us to the
Pacary Bayeux Hotel where
Eisenhower, Carter and
Nancy Reagan have stayed. It
was here that we dined and
visited with some 50 to 70 men
representing 34 countries:
Colombia. Peru, Ivory Coast,
Kenya. Pakistan, Switzerland,
Sweden. Holland just to name
a few. These men were at
tending a war college in Paris
and had come to Bayeaux to
torn Normandy Beach. It was
at this time that we realized
how much we represented our
country because when we
answered their questions we
had t consider that they
might take this as the opinion
of all Americans, Most visit
ing was lighthearted, tome of
the heavier questions were:
"If Franca was To" go to war
again would the USA fight on
their soil?" What did we think
about Viet Nam Why do
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American women work? They
are much too aggressive and
liberated. How do prices in
New York compare with Paris
(this they ask someone from
Heppner!) For most of them,
their dream is to visit the
United States of America.
This was a most interesting
and educational evening,
which made us realize how
important it is to visit other
countries in order to build
better understanding among
men, who whether they know
it or not are really very much
alike! It was frightening,
however, to learn that peace
was not necessarily foremost
in everyone's mind, to some of
their problems, they felt war
was the only answer.
Our trip to Normandy Beach
(Arromanches-les-Bains) the
next day put peace foremost in
our minds! It was a very
touching experience, es
pecially to those of us who
were "w ar babies" or had lost
relatives there. The Norman
dy American Cemetery and
Memorial is located on top of a
cliff overlooking Omaha
Beach, the scene of the June 6,
1944 invasion. Covering 172
acres, there are 9.386 Ameri
can War Dead buried here.
The headstones, set in 10
plots, are all of white Italian
marble: a star of David for
those of Jewish faith and a
Latin Cross for all others. The
remains of approximately
14.000 men were shipped back
"
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visit
to the states. The dead came
from every state in the Union
and the District of Columbia, a
few from England, Scotland
and Canada. There is buried
here, side by side, a father and
his son. and in 33 cases
brothers rest sidey side. We
will never forget it.
We picnicked by the
museum, where 4,000 ships
and 1.000 small crafts partici
pated in the invasion 39 years
ago. The remains of the Mul
berry floating harbour are
still in position. We shared our
bread, cheese, fruit and cider,
and boarded our bus for our
return trip to Paris.
The last two days in Paris
we crammed in all we could)
Visited the Left Bank, the
Impressionist Museum of the
Louvre where Monet and
Renoir are exhibited: walked
down the Avenue des Champs
Elysees with its shops and
sidewalk cafes where one can
devour crepes and watch the
world go by. We didn't have to
work too hard at spending our
last francs, in fact some of us
had long ago spent them. Our
hotel was in walking distance
of the Eiffel Tower, only a few
blocks away, and from some
of the hotel rooms we could
see the top. Memorable to us
will always be our last dinner
together in the restaurant;
toasts were given all around,
the can can was performed by
some, and later parties were
had by many. Some of us took
Normandy American Memoriol
; Effective Sept. 1, 1983
j Counter checks drawn
Ion the Bank of Eastern
Oregon will no longer
be available.
Thanks for your cooperation.
The Bank of Eastern Oregon.
A closer look ot Mont-St. Michel
a last walk to the Eiffel Tower
at midnight when its beauty is
most notable, before going to
bed.
June 30. our last breakfast
in bed: warm croissants. Jam,
cocoa or cafe au lait; then
downstairs for hugs and fare
well goodbyes to "West Vir
ginia." "Georgia" and "Ohio"
who had to leave for London
ahead of us. There were quick
promises of getting together
again, writing letters, much
laughter about things that
happened, some tears and lots
of cameras!
Three hours later we were
thrilled to find "Ohio" on our
London-ChicaRO flight along
with teen idol Matt DiIlion,who
tave a few autographs. Our
arrival in Chicago via Green
land. Canada. Hudson Bay
and a splendid view of Lake
Michigan found us having no
problem with customs.mainly
because our 13 pieces of lug
gage were still in London and
had only the clothes on our
backs. That, being the worst
thing that had happened in 18
glorious days, we were able to
survive.
Special memories of the
Heppner travelers were
varied:
Cemetery
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A 'Goodbye' picture. Jnnrfer HuqhM (I), Kimbrty Hugh, O let's
Mhl Portmonn
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Carolyn Hughes "Torre
molinos, Spain was my favo
rite part of the trip. The coast
and three free days was a good
way to relax after 20 hours on
the airplane,"
Jennifer Hughes: "My fa-'
vorite "place was Sevilla.. ,
that was where we got to know
the other people on the tour,
and in the afternoons when
we weren't listening to a
guide, we could go wherever
we wanted and take as much
lime as we wanted to see the
town."
Kathleen Clark: "1 think my
favoritewas the Eiffel Tower;
when I saw it. I knew I was
renlly there!"
Kimherly Hughes: "I
couldn't choose among all the
things 1 experienced, but I
especially liked meeting all
the new friends on our trip.
Hopefully someday we can
meet again,"
Wanda Riley: "The train
rifle was the most fun, espe
cially fitting 17 people into a
compartment which was
made to hold only six!"
Anne McLaughlin: "My
favorite was learning about
different cultures and life
styles, meeting people from
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Morrow County Fair & Rodeo
Queen Lottie Laughlin is on the go
wearing a Levi western
boot-cut jeans, topped off by a ladies down-filled
by Tempo-all from GARDNER'S
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all over the world, also
castles, cathedrals, shopping,
sunshine and all the attention
from the Spanish and French
men!"
Michele Portmann: "My
favorite... all the men at
Bayeux from different coun
tries, of course; and the
friMHkliinl mitt within our
group."
Claudia Hughes: "I loved
the laughter, the kids; the
history and beauty of such old
countries: the evening walks
along cobblestone streets, the
smaller towns of Mijas and
Toledo. Spain and Chartres,
France: meeting English
speaking people from other
countries; flying; getting to
know the Heppner group and
becoming friends with the
other members of our tour 1
loved it all!"
Valery Voleskv wasn't here
with a quote, but we especially
want to thank her for putting
her "nil" into planning this
trip We wish everyone could
have this opportunity.
We have enjoyed sharing
our fantastic trip with all of
vou who have continued to
read week by week.
I'ntil we take another trip
(don't hold your breath)...
GOODBYE!
J " '
Holt (Georgia) ord
shirt, Wrangler
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fill
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Je-r f i- '
(your choice)-$8
EVEN'S UIEflR
'MEMBER 'FDIC
astern Oregon
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