Our youngest has taken an interest in World War II and asked us if we could visit places related to it. Of course my wife immediately devised a little trip which led us to Normandy where various memorials dot the land.

We rented a colourful house in the middle of nowhere and literally went off the grid as no network was available. But it didn't matter as we were always visiting something. Our first museum was the Airborne museum in Sainte-Mère-Eglise where the Battle of Normandy (operation Overlord) started. On the night of the 6th of June 1944, paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines and landed, amongst other places) in this little town, one being famously caught by his parachute on the church's bell tower. The museum is awesome, with artefacts, real planes and gliders, dioramas, and the use of iPads and QR codes to watch documentaries and listen to testimonies. The afternoon was spent outdoors at the Pointe du Hoc were a path roams around German blockhaus and defences.

The next day was spent in Bayeux which was a mixture of interesting things to do and a major disappointment. The attractions and museums are still dealt with as if we were in the 1980's with no booking on line (we didn't get to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry as it would have entailed hours of queuing) and an outdated (although interesting) museum dedicated to the Battle of Normandy. But the city is cute and lunch was nice. We ended up going to the beach to take a look at the famous landing beaches. There was nothing left at Omaha but what is left of the Mulberry harbour in Arromanches on Gold Beach is quite impressive.

While driving back the following day we stopped at Caen and enjoyed a guided tour of the Abbey of Saint-Etienne, founded by William the Conqueror in 1063, and now the city's town hall. We spent the afternoon in the Memorial of Caen which encompasses the entirety of World War II. It is an extremely interesting and well devised museum with all aspects of the war being exhibited. We spent four hours there and the girls (and us) expanded their knowledge about this war. We gave up on the galleries dedicated to the Cold War. This will be another opportunity to go back to Caen and continue visiting the city and its surroundings.