Saturday, July 26
On Saturday, we left Disneyland and headed out on our road trip! Our rental car is a VW T-Roc with a manual transmission. Grant says it’s like riding a bike—no trouble with the car at all. It also has radar cruise control, which he very much appreciated when we were driving through Paris traffic!
Angie left this morning to head back home, with a few hours in Paris and then another day in London. She’s flying home Sunday night.
As for us, our first stop on the road trip was near the town of Bayeux, in Normandy. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Tracy-sur-Mer. Our host, Jean-Claude, was awesome—so welcoming and friendly—and he connected with Geoffrey over their shared taste in music… Chuck Berry, the Rolling Stones, Elvis, Lynyrd Skynyrd. He said that’s how he learned English! He cared deeply about Normandy’s WWII history and greeted us with big hugs—starting with Grant! Our room had one double bed, two twin beds, and a bathroom. No TV… gasp!
After we dropped off our bags, we headed into Arromanches-les-Bains, which—despite my research—I was surprised to learn is a completely different town, even though it’s less than a four-minute drive away. Lol. There, right along the ocean, is where Mulberry B was built. This was one of two prefabricated temporary harbors designed by Winston Churchill and Allied planners to support the D-Day invasion. All the components were built in England and towed across the English Channel after the landings. The idea was to create a functional port at Normandy until they could capture a permanent one, like Cherbourg.
Two Mulberries were constructed: Mulberry A for the Americans at Omaha Beach, and Mulberry B for the British at Arromanches (Gold Beach). Unfortunately, Mulberry A was destroyed by a violent storm just days after D-Day, so the Allies relied heavily on Mulberry B for weeks, moving thousands of tons of supplies, vehicles—even tanks—through this makeshift port.
It was fascinating to see remnants of the harbor still out in the ocean. When we arrived, it was low tide, so we could walk right down to some of the structures. Later, after dinner in town, we returned to the beach and the tide had come in—those same structures we’d walked around were now surrounded by water. Nature’s timeline is amazing.
We headed back to the B&B and went to bed early since we had to be up for our 8:30 a.m. breakfast (lol).
Sunday; July 27
Breakfast the next morning was classic French: croissants, pain au chocolat, baguettes, homemade apricot jam, fresh orange juice, coffee, hot tea… When Katelyn asked for water, Jean-Claude dramatically brought it out over a bowl with matches burning in it while singing “Smoke on the Water” to impress Geoffrey. I’m telling you—Jean-Claude was a legend.
We also chatted with a sweet older British couple sitting at the next table. It was like something out of a sitcom: the husband was super friendly but desperately trying to get his wife to stop talking so they could pack and catch their train. She kept saying, “Just let me show them one more picture,” lol!
We had our day planned, but Jean-Claude gave us a few more suggestions before we left. Most of them overlapped with what we already intended to do, but one we hadn’t heard of turned out to be our first stop—and one of the highlights of the day!
He recommended we visit the Longues-sur-Mer battery, a German coastal artillery site with original WWII bunkers and guns still in place. These were part of Hitler’s Atlantic Wall and gave a clear sense of what the Allies were up against. We saw huge concrete casemates that had housed cannons and gun placements. There were also trenches and lookout points—some of it felt like a set from Star Wars. (George Lucas definitely drew inspiration from WWII bunkers.)
We walked a path all the way down to the beach, and I’m so glad we did—it was calm, quiet, and deeply introspective. Honestly, it felt more reflective than Omaha Beach, which we visited later.
Next, we went to the Normandy American Cemetery, overlooking Omaha Beach. More than 9,000 American soldiers are buried here, Families had the option to have their loved ones buried here or have the remains sent back to the U.S. in addition, there are 1,557 names on the Wall of the Missing—those whose remains were never recovered.
Attached to the cemetery is a visitor center that’s totally free and exactly what I was hoping for. It’s a comprehensive museum that walks you through the history of D-Day and the Normandy campaign. There are tons of museums in the region, many with tanks and artifacts, and I’d love to return someday to see those. But for this trip, this museum gave us what we needed: depth, clarity, and reverence.
Inside, we watched a short but powerful film about some of the people buried at the cemetery. There was also a quiet hallway where the names of all the fallen soldiers are read aloud, one by one. It was incredibly moving.
We then walked the grounds, passing row after row of white marble crosses and Stars of David. It’s a sobering, powerful place. Seeing the Wall of the Missing, with its 1,557 names, added another layer of emotion.
After that, we went to Omaha Beach. I don’t know if “excited” is the word, but I was eager to see it after learning so much about the battle. And while it was meaningful to stand on that historic sand, the experience was more… everyday than I expected. The beach was crowded. People were swimming, sunbathing, eating at cafes—including us. It felt like any tourist beach town. Nobody was disrespectful, and I think the soldiers would be glad to see the beach enjoyed by free French families and visitors from around the world. But it didn’t feel reflective—it felt vibrant, joyful, and a little disconnected from the pain that once took place there.
Which is why that earlier stop at the quiet beach below the battery site stood out so much.
From there, we drove about an hour and a half to something completely different: Mont-Saint-Michel.
Mont-Saint-Michel is a medieval abbey built on a tidal island at the edge of Normandy. We chose to visit because it’s featured in Impressions de France (yes, the Epcot film!), but it also just looked amazing—and it was! When we arrived, it was low tide, and the tide had gone way out, so we could walk far out on the sand flats surrounding the island. At high tide, though, water comes right up to the walls.
The island is surrounded by medieval ramparts and contains a winding little village with narrow streets, shops, restaurants, and a grand abbey at the top. There are six hotels on the island and only about 20–30 residents. No cars are allowed, so everything gets delivered by hand carts or small electric vehicles.
We wandered the village, climbed the ramparts, and watched the tide slowly roll in. After dinner on the island, we climbed the walls again—and this time, we could see how quickly the water was advancing. Within minutes, it had gone from 30 feet away to lapping at the walls! Geoffrey, who was waiting for us outside, caught an amazing video of the change. It was funny to see the police officers walk out on the sand flats and escort the last few visitors over to the Causeway because when the water comes in, it comes in quickly! Wild to witness.
Tonight we’re headed to Le Mans, about a two-hour drive. We’re on the road now and surprised at how many little country roads our GPS is taking us down. We should get to our hotel around midnight—definitely a long but unforgettable day!
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