Are you considering visiting D-Day sites with kids? You'll want to listen to this episode! My guests Ginny and Cristina are mother and daughter and the kids were a 12yo boy, a 9yo girl, a 7yo girl, and a 3yo boy. Also on this trip were Ginny’s sister and Cristina’s husband. They took this trip in October 2019. We have a conversation about driving in France, etiquette at French restaurants with kids, and also about taking kids to D-Day sites and how that worked out for this family. What can you do to keep the kids interested? What is there to do in Normandy besides D-Day sites? Recommended in this episode: The Classic Tales Podcast   It turns out that this family has a long history with Normandy. Ginny’s father served in Normandy in WW2 and they had some letters from him. They went looking for the places where he served, including some places we haven’t talked about on the podcast yet. Tips for Visiting D-Day Sites with Kids Learn from the best, folks who did it and learned the lessons! About Driving in France If there are enough adults in your party willing to drive, you might want to rent 2 cars instead of a van. That will allow you to split up if needed. There are speed traps in France, do not go over the speed limit or you may get a ticket in the mail a month after you get home. If you pay for the built-in GPS in the rental car it will tell you what the speed limit is in any particular road section. Everything is far apart in Normandy, you will need to drive. Parking is generally not a problem in Normandy unless you go around D-Day commemorations. Do Kids Need to Be Quiet at Restaurants in France? Cristina's children are used to traveling at lot, at least the older ones are. Like anything else, travel gets easier the more you do it and that's true for children too! But still she worried about how her kids would be treated in restaurants in France. She had heard that kids in France need to be quiet at restaurants and she didn't think that was possible. There is this myth that French children are somehow perfectly well behaved at restaurants. Let's be realistic: French people have kids, they know it's best to serve families with kids promptly and keep them happy. French waiters do not expect perfection from kids at all! How Were the Kids at D-Day Sites? Ginny had prepared the kids for Normandy by sharing with them letters that her father had sent to his sister during WW2. Build-up some knowledge about WW2 with the older kids ahead of time. Get them as interested as you can. The older kids really enjoyed a book called I Survived the Battle of D Day, and there are a lot of books that can help prepare your kids to understand the historical significance of the area. It's not difficult to find food and snacks the kids will enjoy, go to a grocery store where you'll find a lot of variations on Nutella. There are also lots of cookies and crackers in France. They also love brioche, which is different from what they get at home. Stay in the Same Place Every Night They decided to stay in Mondeville near Caen at an Airbnb called Maison Ancienne "style Deauville en Normandie". It was probably the coolest Airbnb Cristina has ever stayed. Everyone had a room and it was wonderful. Omaha Beach Day with Kids They never planned on too many things in one day, made sure there was always time for ice cream. Their priority was to go to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. It was powerful for the kids to realize that this large field full of crosses is the result of war. The level of appreciation of French people towards the sacrifices of American soldiers is also palpable. The orientation table that faces the ocean and shows where all the battles took place on different beaches is great and they spend some time there. There are no restaurants or cafés at the cemetery per se. But if you drive down to the beach you'll find many services. It's a lovely sandy beach with a monument. There are shells and things on the beach that kids will enjoy. D