I was going to leave the vacation stuff behind, but then Deni said she was born in Verdun France. How often do you meet someone who was born in Verdun? (Okay, technically, I've never met Deni, but I know her. You blog. You know how it is.) So here is a little bit of Verdun:

This is one of the war memorials in town. This one is at the end of the main street. Here is how things looked from the top of this memorial:


This is the river that runs through town. Although it was freezing, there were still teams of scullers.

This memorial, which dates back to World War I, is at the entrance to a small charming park sandwiched between the river and the town. One of the things we found in the park (in addition to the cat on a leash -- I still can't get over that!) was a sequoia tree which was donated to them by California in 1976. Sequoia trees in northern France. Oh sure. Well, look at the results:

And here is the view through the city gates and down the main street:

Gosh, if I'd only known I'd be showing someone her birthplace, I would have taken a lot more pictures!