I did some funny trips in the past, but never documented them. This year, I did a summer trip to France and it was very special. For multiple reasons. So I think it is worth documenting at least a little bit.
One - I didn’t go alone. That was new. That was very nice. And I’m gonna be using “we” in this article.
Two - It was the first time in France for me for an extended period of time.
Three - It was a true road trip with a car. My car. First time.
The trip
I had a lifelong dream of seeing the D-Day beaches. It’s kinda far away. So I had to add some stops to it to balance out driving time and see some things along the way.
Day 1
We were driving into Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a very vibrant, pretty city and I was very surprised by its cool and quite vibe.
Day 2
We were driving through Verdun to Reims. I struggle with how to pronounce Reims in any language.
Anyway - Verdun is almost physically sick. You get out of the car and there are grenade holes everywhere. More than hundred years old grenade holes. They have a very nice - and depressing - museum, giant ossuary and couple of forts that are accessible.
In Reims, there is plenty of history to go off of. The most important place is the cathedral which is absolutely massive. But… Is it the best cathedral we saw during the trip? No, it isn’t.
Day 3
We were driving to Le Mans. That has the best cathedral we saw. It feels like half of the old town is the cathedral.
It also has the Circuit de la Sarthe with a big car oriented museum. And you can drive a piece of the track because it is public roads. Just a fantastic experience, for a few euros you can get in and we were lucky that there was a motorbike track day. It was insanely hot though.
The hotness was not ideal for us, but it was ideal for seeing the solar eclipse. From a hottub. Because why not. We were staying at a magnificent old maison and had genuinely good time. And in the morning, we explored the town a little bit more and it is a gem after a gem. Really lovely piece of history.
Day 4
This was the day when I wanted to drive to Saint Malo and Mont Saint Michel. And we didn’t. Instead, we headed directly to Omaha Beach because it was so hot that it was unbearable. We stopped by a zoo and the drought was absolutely crazy.
We were planning to stay at Omaha for the next three days and drive around a little bit.
Day 5 - 7
Nothing like a morning run.
We decide to just walk around Omaha, see the cemetary and we did visit the gift shop of the Overlord museum, but it was very packed.
The next day, we did go to Mont Saint Michel. It was overflowing with tourists. It is a very stunning once-in-a-life historical site worth a visit, really well organized, but I would probably choose a different time of the year. We did catch one of the highest tides of the year though. Spectacular.
On our way back, we stopped at the Utah beach to get a feel of where the Easy Company was progressing through. And we visited the Point du Hoc, a cliff that played a pivotal role in the D-Day operations.
And then it was Sunday with a really long drive to Belgium as we decided to stay in Liege.
Day 8
Liege is a strange city. It feels very dirty, confusing and cluttered. It feels like every building has been added at a different time at random. I didn’t like it there too much.
Driving through Germany was a blast though! Even if it rained in the morning.
Overall
These are just random feelings:
French and Belgians are terrible drivers. Living in the left lane.
Verdun is too much sadness.
The D-Day beaches are very nicely done, there is a lot of gratefulness in the locals. And overall it gives hope.
Le Mans is banger.
Liege is really weird.
Changing pace on vacations is amazing. Been driving a lot? Just do a day walking.
Would I do it again? I don’t know, France is really strange. It feels like there is no feel for improvement and efficiency, just living the moment. The chaos at the hotel restaurant every day was just… unnecessary I think? It’s not for me.
But overall it was a great vacation. I’ve been eternally grateful that I didn’t have to do it alone, and we had fun, I believe. More to come.