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In February, my husband and I had our Italy trip fully planned out. Road tripping from Rome to Venice through Tuscany was going to provide the perfect balance of history, views and good food. That was not meant to be, however. 2 days before our flight, our kids both woke up sick, with a combination of strep, the flu and an ear infection. Sadly, we had to cancel.
The day after our planned departure, the kids were already feeling better, and so we decided to take off. Since our original plan didn’t work well with one less day, we decided to switch our destination to Paris (thankfully we had booked flights with points and they were fully refundable). While researching Paris, I was checking day trips and Normandy looked like the perfect location. We’d base ourselves out of Paris and drive to Normandy for one night.
We arrived in Paris Tuesday morning and used the day to explore the city a bit and get our bearings. The next morning we picked up some baked goods, rented a car and headed out of the city. It was a long drive, but with good music and snacks – the drive is half of the fun.
At the Bayeux train station, we met with our guide Adrien from Normandy Sightseeing Tours. He was a local who’s grandfather’s farm was bombed during WWII and had a lot of personal stories to relate. He did not disappoint, he had a perfect English, amazing knowledge of the history, and came equipped with images and maps to relate it all visually.
First we headed to Le Pointe du Hoc – the place where the first Americans landed on D-Day. A group of rangers were deployed to take out the artery and anti-missile aircraft at this location before the rest of the army landed. Despite major difficulties, including unexpected tides, an insurmountable cliff due to corrosion, and their backup not arriving, they managed to complete their mission just slightly behind schedule. This point was crucial for the invasion, as it has an expansive view of the Normandy beaches.
At the location, you can still see craters from the plane bombings and the bunker the German army used. While the views at this location are awe inspiring, the history and fighting that took placer here gives it a solemnity that cannot be missed.
After that, we headed to Omaha Beach. I had recently watched the movie ‘Saving Private Ryan’ and would say that’s a must before visiting. On the beach, you could imagine hearing the cries of the soldiers as they were trying desperately to make their way across the beach. With our guides fascinating accounts of the day, the history lesson felt like it was coming alive. In the hills above, you can see hideouts the Germans used to shoot down all the landing troops.
Next up was the American Cemetery. On the way, we stopped at a few memorials – one being the first temporary cemetery during the war. This was used by the soldiers to bury their friends so that they can continue fighting. The cemetery was shortly moved to another location so as not to be the first thing new soldiers see when landing. Another one was “The Braves” sculpture, honoring the courage of “the sons, husbands and fathers who endangered and often sacrificed their lives in the hope of freeing the French people”.
The American Cemetery in Normandy contains the graves of 9,387 of our military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing, in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial, are inscribed 1,557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those since recovered and identified. The cemetery maintains records on each of the bodies and if the family requests, they can do DNA testing to confirm a match. Also part of the memorial, are maps documenting the D-Day landings and overall invasions of Europe. Across the memorial is the cemetery, lined with white crosses and Stars of Davids in neat lines. The graves are in a random order, since it was decided that they all fought equally brave and deserve the same honor, regardless of rank. Every day, an hour before closing, there is a ‘lowering of the flags’ ceremony, where everyone is quiet and watches the flags being lowered, folded and put away until tomorrow. The drizzle that started falling felt oddly appropriate in a place like this.
Before heading home, we did a quick stop in the yard of one of the local museums, to see some of the actual military tanks, jeeps and bridges used in the war. Then we drove back to the original meeting spot while our guide shared more of the history and general information on the area. Once back at the train station, we picked up our car and drove to our stay for the night.
The house (Gite – Le Banneau Bleu) was everything I had dreamed of. A nice 3 story home with every room decorated by – I assume – a skilled DIYer. It had all the extra thoughtful items throughout the house, like guidebooks, local magazines, games and puzzles for kids, and more. But the best part was the view. The bedroom and loft windows were overlooking a small field with horses to the left and endless green hills to the right. If you looked down to the right, you can see the neighbors’ goats and chickens roam their yard. In this peaceful setting, we noshed on some food we brought along, and called it an early night. (Disclaimer: there’s a highway relatively nearby, and somewhat ruined the view, but I had no problem shutting it out and enjoying the rest of it.)
The next morning, I woke up bright and early and went out for a walk. The horses were extremely friendly and took turns coming over to the gate to be petted. After coffees with some leftover pastries we brought along from Paris (Le Reserve – check Paris post), we started out on a leisurely drive back to Paris using only small local roads for a scenic drive. We passed through some small towns, stopped for pics here and there and enjoyed the drive. The weather played along perfectly despite the forecasted rain.
About halfway, we stopped in Deauville. The Chabad Rabbi was very helpful and my husband davened while I took a stroll through the charming seaside town. Half-timbered houses line the narrow streets and the port is surrounded by artsy boutiques and restaurants. The area is a popular vacation spot from Paris and has a few Kosher eateries, which we expected to be closed during the winter but were pleasantly surprised otherwise.
La Belle Epoche – the dairy restaurant, was full when we got there. They cleared us a table and brought us a menu. I’m not sure if we were very hungry or the food really was that amazing, but everything tasted heaven. We even said we couldn’t handle dessert anymore, but went for it anyway, and polished it. Our waiter was very nice, but didn’t speak a word of English. With hand motions, a lot of pointing and my broken French, we managed and had fun doing so.
Eventually we continued on our journey. We made one more quick stop in Honfleur for a photo opp and continued on the highway to ensure we got back to Paris in time for dinner. The highway was a pleasure to drive on, roads were well paved and drivers respected the left lane. Before long we were back in Paris. We made the mistake of not refilling our tank outside of the city. The search for gas and even just the driving within Paris was a nightmare, but alas, we returned our car and headed to dinner and to rehash our adventure in Normandy.
Thank you for following along and letting me relive it once again. Check out my related article on Paris: Paris: Tips & Tricks.
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