Day 24 – A Travel Story
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It was February 2005. The EX had a work trip to Paris, which I happily tagged along on using frequent flier miles and Hilton points. We arrived on a Thursday morning and did all the normal touristy Paris things that we had our hearts set on. But on our last day we wanted to get to Normandy. EX is a huge WWII buff, and I am somewhat interested in it as well, but also just wanted to see more of France than Paris.
So with the help of our concierge, we got ourselves on a train to Caen, then took a taxi to the WWII museum there. At the information desk we were offered a bus tour of the beaches of WWII. EX was a bit hesitant because he is so passionate about the topic that he didn’t want to sit on a big tour bus and see these moving places through the window. But I convinced him that even going on that tour was more of an experience than just walking through the museum. Plus who knew how long it would be before we would ever be this close again? So we paid a not insignificant amount of money and went to check in for the tour. We were informed that the guide was waiting for us in the lobby.
Our tour consisted of us and one other American couple, and a guide who drove us around in a Citroen mini van. We stopped at several locations, including Gold Beach, Omaha Beach, the American cemetery there, and Pont du Hoc. Our guide, although probably in his young 20s knew so much about the German occupation. It was so moving and an opportunity I’m sure I’ll never have again. It ended up being my favorite part of our trip .
View of Omaha beach from the American cemetery
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
Grave of an unknown soldier