Goodbye Normandy, Hello Paris  

What a fun few days we’ve had! I almost don’t even know where to start. As I type, it’s about Noon on Tuesday the 13th, and we are in a van on the way to Paris (about 3.5 hours).

We spent Sunday with our tour guide, Gizelle, who was so fascinating and super fun, walking around Deauville. This town was so cute and exactly like you would expect a little French town to be…it literally felt like we were walking around a movie set or some killer section of Disney. It was adorable. Macy didn’t want to leave and claims she is doing a semester abroad in France, despite not speaking the language.

Speaking of speaking, Macy has blown us away on this trip. I mean, I know my daughter is a smart cookie, but the fact that she retains everything she learns, well, it’s just other level. It’s also a testament to how much she loves to learn bc she truly absorbs it all. 

On Sunday, when we were driving to Deauville, Gizelle was giving us all kinds of history lessons, and she was the kind who liked to ask questions and see if you knew the answer. Well, I sure didn’t. But Macy did. The Enlightenment Period. Joan of Arc. Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette. All of it. Even Gizelle was shocked!

And yesterday, when we decided we were too exhausted to actually go out to dinner after spending 8 hours touring Utah and Omaha Beaches, we walked to a Chinese restaurant that Gizelle’s husband, Harvey, who happened to be our tour guide for day 2, said had delicious, authentic Chinese cuisine. 

We walked into a one-woman show…steaming fresh dumplings, frying up some egg rolls, steaming the rice = all the things. Macy walked right up to her and, in an amazingly confident voice, asked her about some items on the menu and what may be gluten-free. In Mandarin. You could tell the woman was shocked, and even the people sitting at the table behind us turned around to see who was speaking. My parents couldn’t believe it. She placed our order, and the woman looked at me and said, “Her Chinese is very good.” Nice to know our tuition dollars have been put to good use. 😂

Yesterday was definitely an emotional but fascinating experience. Touring those beaches, and seeing what our troops were up against when they got off those boats or parachuted in, was simply surreal. You could actually walk into one of the pillboxes, where the Germans would hide out and shoot everyone they saw. It was absolutely key having our own guide, and we all peppered him with questions. 

I was shocked to learn that the Germans built over 10,000 pillboxes along 3,000 miles of coastline. “They built all of them not even knowing if they’d get used?” “Yep”, said Harvey, “All for this one to get used for 6 hours.” The bullet and casings were still in the walls of that pillbox. 

It was also surreal to be at the Cemetary and see what felt like endless rows of crosses. Knowing thousands and thousands of young men were buried under my feet was a lot to take in, and when they played Taps at 5pm, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the crowd. As history buffs, it was a bucket list item for my dad and Shawn, but every single one of us walked away with a new perspective and appreciation for all those men did…I wish they could see the way they are honored and all the people who come to pay their respects. 

Up next? 4 nights in Paris! Cooking classes, antique car rentals, Eiffel Tower, eating my face off & more. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, put Normandy on your bucket list if you haven’t been…it’s a must.