We thoroughly enjoyed our small-group tour of the D-day sites in Normandy. For one thing, it was nice to get out of the big city and see more of the “real” France. Plus it was just us, the (young) guide, and another family from New York who happened to have kids not much older than ours, so everyone got to meet some people closer to their own age.

We saw a ton of stuff: some German bunkers along the Atlantic Wall, the American Cemetery, the Operation Overlord Museum, the cliffs scaled by the Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc, and the memorial at Omaha Beach. The guide shared lots of information in a way that kept everyone engaged—no easy feat with teenagers in the group!

The tour even included a cider tasting at a family farm, which Brayden was super stoked about. (Here, it’s legal for kids of any age to drink as long as they’re supervised by a parent.) There was a basketball hoop set up in the farm’s courtyard, so when the tasting was over our boys played a quick game of 2-on-2 against our guide and the other dad from our group. That was neat to see.

Such a cool experience!