About me...
Normandy, a family story...
Normandy, between land and sea, my ancestors, my family, my birthplace.
The one where I grew up and which made me what I am today.
I’d like to take you with me to discover this jewel of the French coast, this regional, national and, what’s more, international heritage!
An atypical and authentic career
I was born in Caen on a snowy Tuesday in 1984.
At a very early age, under the guidance of my grandparents, I became interested in reading and history.
So much so that by the age of nine or ten, I had already created a World War II museum in the garage of a friend (whose grandfather was a paratrooper on the German side during the war and remained in the village as a prisoner of war afterwards).
War and battles that I loved to recreate playing with my brother Julien in the fields opposite my grandparents’ house, where 50 years earlier, in June, July and ’44, the Canadians fought the SS to take Ardennes Abbey.
How many times then did we play, imitating the heroes of D.Day, with our wooden pistols and old cartridge belts, in the blockhouses and bunkers along the coast where I grew up.
We were bathed in the stories told to us by our grandfathers and grandmothers at lunchtime and at weekends, when we watched “Hogan’s Heroes” on TV with amazed eyes. My grandfather Achille had endured years of forced labor in the STO camps in Germany, while my grandfather François and the whole family took part in the reconquest of the French colonies in North Africa against the Afrika-Korps.
in Normandy, the family lived through the daily grind of occupation, bombing, rationing and bullying.
I’ve lost count of all the anecdotes and stories my family had to tell during this intense period in our shared history.
And so, as I grew into adulthood, I decided to share and pass on these life experiences so that they would never be forgotten.
I became a regional guide in 2009, then a national lecturer-interpreter in 2012.
It was then that I began my career as a guide, nearly 10 years of passion, exchange and sharing on the sites of the great French West.
So many experiences then, in all weathers, summer and winter, along the coast, in museums and castles, in parks and gardens, in cathedrals and temples, at ceremonies, with veterans, so many colleagues and above all so many friendly guests and discoveries every day.
(I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan, Adrien, Sunilda, Antoine, Anne-Sophie, Philip and Magali for their support).
In my opinion, guiding is the most beautiful profession in the world 🙌🏻
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It was during a road-trip scouting World War II sites in Eastern Europe, with my best friend Jonathan of Normandy History Tours,, that, in 2016, I met my wife, Sarah – originally from West Germany – in Berchtesgaden, in the famous eagle’s nest – Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun’s vacation home – (which is now a café-restaurant).
Who could have predicted how fate loves to play tricks on us!
And that a Normand could fall in love with a “boche” so reviled by my family? 😅😊 (I assure you, everyone loves her)
So it was after a fantastic final season in 2018 that I joined Sarah in Germany for the next seven years.
We lived mainly near Koblenz where the Rhine and Moselle rivers part.
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Our two beautiful children – Sophie and Malo – were born of this almost symbolic union, and have dual Franco-German nationality.
They are living proof that despite the complicated history of our two countries – love always triumphs! –
In 2024, we decided to return to Normandy.
We bought a stone farmhouse near the village where my mother was born, hoping that the children would grow up in their second nation.
Season 2025 marks my return home and the start of a new adventure for our family…
an adventure I’m proud and happy to share with you!
See you soon on the beaches, your guide…