Today, let’s meet Sarah, a passionate guide who will introduce you to Normandy from all faces! Sarah is a guide-lecturer and an expert on the Battle of Normandy and the major dates that marked this region: Saint Michael, the Vikings, William the Conqueror, the Hundred Years War, Jeanne d’Arc, Ste-Thérèse de Lisieux, the impressionist painters. But not only, she is also a graduate of the Louvre school in Paris, Sarah can also introduce you to painting, sculpture and architecture from all periods.
We hope you enjoy discovering the portrait of one of our best guide in Normandy.
I founded this company in 2014. I grew up in Paris and at the age of 15, I joined a private school in tourism to prepare for the entrance exam to the Louvre school. Then I lived in different countries for two years and on my return to France I took a master’s degree in finance and I worked in financial engineering for 15 years. When I was 40 years old, I obtained my diploma as a lecturer-guide and moved to Normandy to found my company.
I have a lot of favorite places in Normandy like the Impressionist trail and the Landing beaches. But, I have a crush on the “Pays d’Auge” which represents the traditional Normandy with its Norman cows, its cheese, cider and Calvados trails, its typical local castles and abbeys from William’s Conqueror period, its traditional markets and the opportunity to eat in farms or to learn how to cook local dishes, to build the half-timbered and thatched roof houses, to discover its numerous wash houses, natural water springs and stud farms. It is a hiking paradise with its many rivers, waterfalls and small valleys.
Normandy is famous for its dairy products and cheeses. from milk, we also produce salted butter caramels and cinnamon rice pudding. This region is also famous for its crêpes (French pancakes), its chicken Pays d’Auge made with fresh cream and mushrooms cooked in cider and its Bayeux suckling pig stuffed and prepared 4 days in advance. my favorite dish is scallops with tagliatelle pasta cooked in a fresh cream sauce, mushrooms and a touch of paprika. The French scallop capital is located in Port en Bessin in Normandy with a fascinating show on the spot and the land of the Post –Impressionists movement called Pointillisme with the main painters Signac and Seurat.
I think that southern Normandy and the Pays d’Auge are not very well known by foreign but also French tourists. Yet there is a lot of wealth since the Pays d’Auge offers both seaside tourism with Honfleur and the typical Normandy countryside. In December and January, there is the route of the illuminated Christmas villages with animations, equestrian shows at the stud farm of Haras du Pin, greedy traditions like hot wine and brioches. It is a perfectly family program for the end of the year celebrations.
The guide must try to adapt spontaneously and immediately to the client’s expectations. He must therefore master his subject in order to guide his client in his choices and decisions. As an example, for the landing beaches, I frequently have clients whose parents landed in Normandy. If his father was a parachutist, I will therefore redirect the excursion to the division, regiment and place where the soldier landed and not follow the program to the letter. A good guide will be the one who takes initiatives to satisfy the client within the time, distance and budget allocated.
Things, rules and instructions move very quickly. It is necessary to constantly check whether the program should not be readapted according to the circumstances. It is also important to respect and enforce the rules of social distancing. The new activities will certainly be practiced more outdoors and in places less frequented by tourists. Without the Covid 19, I advise my clients to get off the beaten track anyway, because the experience is more authentic, humane and enriching.
I attended the 75th anniversary of the landing ceremony with Presidents Trump and Macron as I accompanied a veteran of the 29th Division who landed in the first wave, which lost 90% of its strength. The second memory is a visit to a stud farm with my clients and the owner showed me authentic documents signed by the hand of Anne of Austria and the name of Louis XIV because too young for signing. I saw those archives stolen by Russians during the Second World War and found in Germany recently.
For fans of the D-Day beaches, I have a family program with 3D cinema, jeeps and tanks tours, visit of a private battery with trenches, an original German anti-aircraft gun, a typical French café from the forties and day and night reenactments. For food lovers, I can take them to the best typical markets, cheese factories, distilleries, traditional farms, oyster or ice bars, snail farms or even the possibility of taking cooking lessons. Many other experiences available: fishing in the English Channel, tea time in a 10th century castle, visit of a haunted castle, hiking in Pays d’Auge or on the Landing beaches.
If you ever travel with us, you might encounter Sarah for one or many of your tours. We are sure you will enjoy her great sense of storytelling and touring! Do not hesitate to contact us or check our sample itineraries 100% customizable directly on our website.
If you enjoyed this portrait of one of our local insider, check out our portrait of Sophie: a specialist of Provence.
