We started our day with a bakery breakfast and a drive to Mont Saint-Michel.

The boys were most interested in finding some quicksand so we let them explore the beach.

The first sign of trouble…

Asa discovered that traveling on all fours prevented sinking.

Cal got stuck a few times.

Extensive scrubbing was required. They did what they could in the water you see here and then we used our water bottle (with many refills from the water fountain) to wash their feet before entering the streets of Mont Saint-Michel. We found Esme’s Breton bowl at the first and only shop we saw selling bowls so that completes our set. We did a fairly quick climb to the chapel but didn’t go in.

Satan: “Dude you’re going to make me drop my ice cream cone!”

We were there for low tide. We learned that this island has the fastest tide in Europe at 20 kph (12.5 mph). They caution against visiting the beach when tide is approaching. I guess people routinely get stranded or stuck in quicksand as it’s approaching and can’t free themselves before the tide comes in.

Nova is really in love with ponies and horses right now. She really wanted to take the horse and carriage back to where we parked the car. It was slow and a little cold (it was windy on the bridge between the island and the mainland) but fun.

We stopped for lunch at a Buffalo Grill. It’s a chain we have seen all over France. I had no idea what they served but we thought we should try one. Turns out it’s an American restaurant. We liked the food and the price was good (it actually only cost our family a few more dollars than Burger King and we got way more food). The atmosphere was a little cheesy and they crossed some cultural appropriation lines. France isn’t in the same place as the US on this front. For those that want to read more about cultural appropriation I suggest this article.

From lunch we went to Pointe du Hoc, a historical site from the D-Day invasion.

These are bomb craters.

We tried to impart to the kids the seriousness of this place. People died here fighting for their countries, for freedom

Rebar scrap that almost looks like a sculpture.

There are Nazi bunkers you can explore. Some have cannon turrets although the cannons have been removed.

We wanted to see the American cemetery too but we spent too much time at Pointe du Hoc and it was closed when we got there. We went to Omaha beach for the kids to play in the sand and swim before making our way to Caen, where we are staying for the night.