
Weekend trip to Normandy, France
We’ve been stuck in the house for SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long! Our last trip anywhere really was Nick and I’s 10 year anniversary trip to Malta back in January. We had several other little get-a-ways planned before the baby arrives, and all had to be canceled due to Covid-19. Such a bummer.
But, right as I hit 37 weeks, we hit a small window where travel is allowed to some areas, the AC in our car was fixed, and we had a weekend available so we hit the road! We drove 5 hours down to Normandy, France to explore the beaches and history there.
ROAD TRIP!

It was a long car ride and we did hit some traffic since it was a weekend in the summer, but it was a beautiful drive. When we arrived at our AirBNB in Bayeux, we took the evening to explore the cute little city!









Our AirBNB was right above a restaurant, so we decided to try it out for dinner. It was pretty good!









The view from our AirBNB window was an incredible cathedral! It was absolutely beautiful.



We did explore inside the cathedral, and Sunday morning we could hear the organ music playing for church service. It’s things like that that I’ll miss most about Europe.







Day 2
Utah Beach
First stop was Utah beach. We moved pretty slowly (thanks to me and my huge belly), but it was a beautiful day and the monuments were special.







The kids asked if they could dip their toes in the water… so naturally they got soaked. It was a little chilly but they didn’t seam to care at all.







Omaha Beach
Next stop was Omaha beach, where many of the American troops landed. We decided to make this our lunch and main beach stop. We bought some fruit and vegetables from a local farmer who had a stand set up, and went for a picnic on the beach with our PB&J sandwiches 🙂







A sweet little french family cam for a picnic and stuck an American flag in the ground next to them. A sweet little tribute!






Simon branched out of his comfort zone quite a bit and went neck deep in the water with Nick. I was proud of his willingness to be adventurous! It doesn’t always come easy for him. He was also proud of himself for doing some brave fun things, what a sweet and special soul he is. Once he saw the jellyfish toward the end of our playing though, that was it for the water!



I have never seen Hyrum play so hard or be so free. We just let him run and splash and throw sand at his own will, and it was amazing to watch him. He spent 2 hours playing HARD in such a random and fun way. I love to let him have free reign when I can and not stress the small stuff. He is such a free spirit.







Both boys crashed hard on the way to our next stop.

Juno Beach
Last stop for the day, Juno beach. Definitely where many Canadians landed because there was a large Canadian museum there and lots of maple leaves! A really fun little stop to end our day.


There were some bunkers still in tack and the boys explored a bit while I enjoyed some maple leaf cookies and a little foot break 😉



Day 3
Nick and Simon went on a walk around the city each night before bed (usually looking for ice cream) and again in the mornings to find mom some breakfast. I usually enjoy doing this too much I really had to rest quite a bit and not overdue it on my feet and hips! They had a great time exploring together though.


I wasn’t quite up for another stop yesterday, so on our way out of town, we stopped by the American Cemetery. It was an incredible place. So solemn and reverent. I’m really glad we stopped although it wasn’t really on the way…












What a perfect trip! It felt so good to be out of the house and back in the world. We did have to wear masks when we went indoors, but so much time out doors was really refreshing. I’m feeling much more ready to have this little baby! Hopefully we get to explore more of France soon.
~Tolman Travels~

