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Visiting Normandy on Memorial Day was really special for Max and his parents. |
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On a somewhat gloomier day at Mont St. Michel. |
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"My new summer cottage ..."
(Max at Chambord.) |
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The stories from the Chapel Hill Herald, with permission. Lewis family wrapping
up global trek By JEAN BOLDUC chh@herald-sun.com;
933-8883 NORMANDY - Winding down their yearlong tour, 9-year-old Max Lewis of Chapel Hill and his parents are starting to get the itch to head home. Julie Lewis said that although she and husband Mark have become quite adept at "staying in the moment," their minds are now drifting toward their journey home and making plans for where to live and what to do when they return. The Lewises departed last July for their 12-month trek, taking a break from work and school to see the things they've always dreamed of and put off visiting until "someday." They rented their Chapel Hill home to another family for two years, so they'll have to find a place to call home when they return. For the last year, the family of three has managed to get along with only those material things that they could carry with them in their backpacks - including some very lightweight electronics. An ultralight laptop and digital camera has allowed the Lewises to keep up-to-date with their friends and Chapel Hill Herald readers via the Internet, sharing photos of Max riding camels, climbing mountains, trekking in the Outback and chatting with Israeli soldiers. It wasn't until last month that the Lewises ran into the possibility of a real glitch in their plans to keep in touch. While in Italy, the family - along with Mark's visiting brother, Steve - stopped at a car museum. Returning to their own vehicle, they found it had been ransacked. Mark's fannie pack, several electronic goodies like MP3 players and CDs were missing. It could have been much worse, Julie Lewis said. "Lucky for us, there was no trunk release inside the car so the thieves had no access to the trunk - packed with everything we own, including the laptop," she said. "I had everyone's passport in my purse because we had gone to Switzerland for dinner the night before." On their way to France, the group traveled from Italy's Lake Como across the French Alps and through several small towns until they reached their home away from home in Provence. "Our apartment was located in a cobblestoned village called Lourmarin, complete with its very own castle to explore. Bright wooden shutters adorned the windows and flowering rose vines crawled the stone walls," Julie Lewis said. With several art galleries and good restaurants nearby, the family settled into the quaint spot. Just a day trip from Cannes, Max and his parents popped in for one day of the famous film festival, a present from Mark's brother. "The festival is actually a trade show for producers, writers, filmmakers and actors/actresses selling their wares," Julie Lewis said. "The beautiful Andie McDowell stayed right down the hall from us, her room closely monitored by the security guard." Julie Lewis' mother and stepfather visited the family for a few days during their stay in Paris, which occurred over Mother's Day. Stepfather Curt was once a race car driver, so the family took a day trip to Monaco to see the town prepare for its famous annual Grand Prix race. "The town was setting up bleachers and padding the streets with tires," Lewis said. "Curt drove the race course through the upscale town in our lovely rental car, not exactly what he's used to, but it did the trick." Winding down their French adventure, the Lewises hit the beach in Normandy on Memorial Day, spending a week "submerged in the memories of World War II," Julie Lewis said. The family visited the Memorial Museum in Caen, which contains photos, weapons displays, uniforms and advertisements for factory workers. "We slowly wandered through the museum until we reached the D-Day presentation, a series of three films containing actual footage of the arrival of the young soldiers on Omaha and Utah beach - crammed in the boats, their faces filled with fear as they approached the unexpected. I cannot begin to imagine their pain, or [that of] their parents as they failed to return home," Max's mother said. The film's screen was split, showing the Allies on one side and the Germans on the other. "You felt as if you were there landing on the beach with them, your heart in your throat," Julie Lewis said. "Two of the films re-created the war with dramatic visual graphics showing town after town completely destroyed by the bombs. The third film contained a collage of alternating images of hope and despair - powerful and hopeful speeches from articulate leaders calling for world peace, while showing footage from wars in Rwanda and Vietnam, babies starving in India, mass graves, war in the Middle East and millions dying of AIDS in Africa. "When the lights came on after the film, there was not one dry eye, an international audience globally responsible for the issues at hand. When will it stop?" After the museum, the family visited Omaha Beach and the cemetery where nearly 10,000 American men are buried. "Rows and rows of white crosses stretch endlessly on the manicured green grass," Julie Lewis said. The family spent Memorial Day on Omaha Beach. "As I jogged down the beach, a fighter jet roared past at low altitude to mark the memory of those who died," Max's mother said. They stayed in Bayeaux, a nearby town that was the first to be liberated by the Allies during the Battle of Normandy. "The bakery has a permanent sign in the window, 'We Welcome Our Liberators,' with a brightly painted flag for each country. The residents of Normandy have not forgotten," Julie Lewis said. "The next day we visited Pont Du Hoc where the Rangers scaled 90-foot cliffs, secured the Germans' battery of weapons and then were counterattacked for 72 hours straight. "Outnumbered and exhausted, most of them died or were injured, but they held their ground. The area remains unchanged since the war, the bunkers barely standing from continuous bombing, craters marking each blast." Max and his family say they're forever changed by their journey. Their visit to Normandy gave them a new depth of understanding of the very freedom that brought them there. Now, they're ready to come home.
Double winner aces last geography quiz Chapel Hill Herald One of our first winners, Estes Elementary student Ophelie Rutschmann, has done it again - winning the last of Max's world geography quizzes with her three correct answers on Italy and France. Ophelie, who is originally from Switzerland, correctly named those watery streets in Italy as those of Venice, famous for its canals and ornamental buildings. The Grand Canal dominates the city, following an S-shaped course throughout and ranging in width from 80 to 175 feet across. The canal is the main thoroughfare in Venice, much like the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. If you don't want to go all the way to Italy, there is a copy of the Grand Canal - complete with gondola rides - at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Our second question asked about another important waterway in Europe - the river that snakes through downtown Paris. Oph,lie correctly named the Seine as that river. A ride along the Seine is thought to be among the most scenic and romantic of any city in the world, taking visitors past the Cathedral at Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. The Seine flows northwest and empties into the English Channel. Speaking of the channel, that's the answer to our third question, asking which body of water lies between France and the United Kingdom. The channel is as narrow as only 21 miles across at the Strait of Dover, its junction with the North Sea. On the western side, where the channel meets the Atlantic, it is 112 miles across. Swimming the English Channel has been a standing challenge to the world's swimmers, much like climbing Mt. Everest is to climbers. Those attempting to cross the channel usually do so by departing from France and swimming to England, presumably due to more favorable currents. Fifty years ago, American swimmer Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim the channel in both directions. Ophelie will receive four tickets to the Lumina Theatre in Southern Village in Chapel Hill. The quiz winners have received various prizes and will enjoy lunch with 9-year-old Max Lewis and his family when they return home in a few weeks. We'll let the winners know of the exact date and location. Winners also are eligible for the contest's grand prize, including a one-year family membership to Exploris in Raleigh and a personal Web site provided by Pen & Inc. Communications. The Web site prize includes six months of Web hosting, registration of a personal domain (like "www.yourname.com"), up to 10 POP e-mail accounts (for your really cool friends), and five Web pages on your site featuring (almost) anything you want! Penandinc.com also hosts Max's Web site, www.wheresmax.com, where you can find more pictures and journals. Kids who enter are entitled to a free e-mail account at wheresmax.com, too. While Max, a Chapel Hill resident, was traveling the world, kids back home have had the chance to win prizes while learning a bit of the geography that he's learned. Each month while the Lewises were on their yearlong tour, we've asked three geography questions related to the places Max was visiting. The contest was open to elementary school-age children. Kids were allowed to get help from their parents and teachers, who aided in guiding them to research materials like encyclopedias and online resources. We hope our readers - of all ages - have enjoyed following young Max on his adventure.
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