CAEN, France - With former W&M women's soccer standout Jill Ellis '88 at the helm of the United States Women's National Team, 50 Tribe women's soccer alums, family, and friends have made the trek to France for the United States' final two games of the group stage.

To read the first two installment follow the links below:
Blog 1 - Tribe to France
Blog 2 - Off Day in Pairs

Blog 3 - Trip Caen
Today, the group packed up and said "Au Revoir" to Paris and headed west for the next stop on the Tribe's Tour de France. We hopped on the bus and began our journey to Caen in preparation for the USWNT's Thursday game against Sweden.

The bus stopped in the harbor town Honfleur for us to stretch our legs and grab lunch. The old town, where La Seine meets the English Channel, is full of history and was a common subject for many impressionist painters—such as Claude Monet. We enjoyed the fresh seafood from the town on the harbor and got to explore the quaint streets and local shops.

From there we packed up and hopped on the bus again to continue our journey to Caen. Once we arrived, we went straight to the Caen Memorial Museum. Located within miles of the D-Day landings of 1944, the memorial museum provided a history of the origins of WWII to the end of the Cold War. It provided a tribute from all the towns affected by the occupation, to the innocent lives lost, to all the soldiers (French and Allied) who valiantly gave their lives in the name of liberation. It was an incredibly moving experience that was topped off by a visit to the German bunker of which it was built around. This bunker was the command post of Generalmajor Wilhelm Richter and sat as the German forces' intelligence hub for the costal region.

Some of the group took the immersive experience a little too far and got themselves locked in the bunker as the museum was closing. Good thing they had a signal underground..

Thankfully, we were able to break them out and end our day at the hotel that is perfectly located in the center of town. Tomorrow we head to Mont St. Michel to explore more of the Normandy Coast.

- Katie McGirney, daughter of Linda Seiden Blanchard '87