Sixième Jour

Today we went to the Mont Saint-Michel. We visited the monastery on the top of the Island, and got lost in a maze of chapels, crypts, and hallways. Students thought that it beats Hogwarts. We also walked on the fortified walls, shopped for souvenirs and ate some lunch.


Jérôme, the best guide in France, gave us a very interesting history of the region of Normandy, where we entered next. We learned that the Normans were in fact the men of the north otherwise known as the Vikings. We learned that they eventually settled in France around 900, and also inherited the throne of England through William the conqueror in 1066. We learned that a compagnon of William, named Hugue d’Isigny, was the ancestor of Walt Disney.
Then we drove to Omaha Beach, to see the place where D-day saw its most bloody battle. After a detailed description of how the battle unfolded, some of us went down to the beach, while others visited the cemetery, the memorial, and a very moving museum.



A bit further along the coast, we saw the remains of German guns and bunkers. We also drove to Aromanche to see what was left of the allies’ harbor, and to have ice cream.

We ended our trip in Caen, and saw first hand some still visible scars of the dreadful ally bombings, as well as the monastery established by William, among other architectural wonders. Jérôme taught the students to recognize the stylistic differences between Romanesque, gothic and renaissance architecture, as we were able to contemplate examples of it all in the city of Caen.