After leaving Paris, we traveled north west to Normandy. The main objective was for a history lesson here, since one of my favorite series of all time is Band of Brothers. We traveled by train to Caen then caught an Uber to our hotel. The following day, we went to a local museum dedicated to World War 2, and specifically the Allied invasion of Europe from D-Day to V-E Day. We spent the morning learning in the museum, then set out in a small tour van for a tour of Omaha beach, Pointe Du Hoc (made famous in Saving Private Ryan), the U.S. Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, and Arromanches makeshift harbor where troops and supplies were unloaded. Omaha Beach has a beautiful memorial, and it felt chilling to stand on a beach where so many men sacrificed everything.
The cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer is beautiful. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Arlington National Cemetery. It was a very peaceful place, overlooking the beach where many of these men died. There was a chorus of birds singing while I walked through the cemetery, and just as we were getting ready to leave, the time came for the cemetery staff to lower the flag to Taps. It was incredible to see.
Mont-Saint-Michel
The day after the WW2 tour, we rented a car and drove to a small Airbnb at a farm house near Mont-Saint-Michel. It looks like a fairy tale castle, especially being out on an island in the sands and sometimes surrounded by water. We took a tour of the abbey which was very interesting. My most memorable moment though was a great drink I got with our lunch at a restaurant on the island, a sparkling raspberry apple cider that I have never been able to find something quite like since.
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