Normandy: Worth the visit

France is a magical place and there is no other fairytale type of place than Mont-Saint-Michel. Named after Saint Michael, the Archangel, it sits in the normandy region 4 hours away from Paris. As you are driving up to the castle you can see it standing in the middle of the ocean and it is just a moment of awe. There is no other way to describe this place other than majestic. 

The most interesting thing about this castle is where it is located. It is just offshore with only a small road connecting it to the mainland. There is only a few months out of the year that you can reach the castle because of the tide. During the Fall and Winter seasons the tide rises and the road to reach the castle is completely submerged in the Sea. Right now they are in the process of building a road that will make the castle accessible year-round but, for me, that just takes away from the charm of the castle.

The Normandy region is pretty famous around the United States for what happened here on June 6th 1944. The day that the Allied Forces landed on several beaches around this area, the day famously labeled as D-Day. In the picture is Omaha Beach where the United States Marines landed on that day. 

I had a friend that was visiting and living with his sister in Germany while her husband was stationed there and luckily he played trumpet for the Army Band. He was supposed to play, with his band, at the 70th anniversary commemorations. My friend and his sister's family were wonderful enough to allow me to tag along on their adventure throughout this region.

Pictured above is my friend's brother-in-law, one of his fellow bandmates, and some re-enactors dressed up as soldiers from World War 2. As we walked Omaha Beach on the Anniversary of D-Day everyone wanted to take pictures with actual servicemen from the United States, but no one wanted to get a picture more than these five gentlemen. It was a great experience to be there around this time of the year and I would highly advise anyone visiting France around June to plan a trip up to Normandy and just take it the History that they have there.