Oh Hans... Our Normandy Trip!

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So on Thursday we ventured out to the Normandy region to tour the DDay beaches. Once we arrived at the Caen train station we had planned on simply hopping on a bus out to the beaches and doing a tour ourselves, but that was not what happened at all...
I heard a man talking to two American boys about a tour to the beaches and how he would drive them and simultaneously give them a history of the area and invasion. They noticed Michael and I listening in so invited us to join them on their tour, lowering the cost for everyone. The tour guide called himself a limo driver, so Michael and I expected a really nice car to chauffer us around all day. But that is definitely not how it went down! First, a note about the two American boys, it turns out they are students at uva too! It was crazy to run into uva students in europe, but really nice to have some familiarity with them!
We met Hans (our beloved tour guide) at his 'limo' which, according to Michaels description, was basically a shoebox on wheels. We both later found out that we were thinking the same thing when we saw the car: OMG WERE ABOUT TO BE KIDNAPPED!!!! AND HELD FOR RANSOM! AH! DO WE GO?? Luckily, Hans had no such intention and we were somehow persuaded into getting into the car and take a trip we did not even really know about...
He took us to Gold Beach, Juno Beach, and Omaha Beach. All in all, it was a very good trip. Hans was a German soldier believe it or not (im not sure what i believe about him) and then moved to france and has been doing these tours for 35 years. basically, hans was like your crazy old nextdoor neighbor. you love him, but when it comes down to it... youre just not sure that hes 'all there'. for example (although all french people do drive this way) Hans really enjoyed yelling at people who he thought were bad drivers. in reality, Hans was the bad driver. Oh lord... I think he had been through 12 cars in 20 years or something. Oh and did I mention he lives in a trailer that he parks at the end of a street? Maybe that was earlier on, but we are not sure about where he resides. He was a joy to be around when I was not worried about my life though. And it turns out that he actually did know quite a bit about the region. I really enjoyed Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, it was such an eye opening experience that I really cannot do it justice on this blog. I would basically just say that if you ever get a chance to visit Omaha Beach and the cemetery, do it. You will walk away with a deep connection to those who served during WWII, and be ever the more grateful for defending democracy in the face of oppression.
We headed back to Paris on the last train from Bayeux, which Michael and I thought we were going to miss because of Hans' driving. I thought I could see his speedometer from where I was sitting during the car ride so I thought we were going really slow, but it turns out that the speedometer was broken and I was looking at rpms... again, thats Hans for you! I would definitely reccomend him! To students, not families. And not to the faint of heart. Or those prone to motion sickness.
When we got back to Paris, we had my favorite meal of our time in Paris: falafels at L'as du Falafel! and a wonderful glass of lemonade! It truly was the best falafel I have ever had. I am craving on right now. Mmm... so good! And dont even get Michael started on the lemonade. It was the perfect way to end the day. Ah, I miss that falafel!!! oh and hans.

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