Award-winning travel writer Gary Lee Kraut, a Paris-based
specialist on travel and touring in France who grew up in New Jersey, will be
speaking at the Newtown Square Library on January 22 at 7:00 p.m. as part of
his 6-week lecture tour from New York to Miami.
To mark
the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landing in Normandy and the
Liberation of France by the Allied Forces as well as the 100th
anniversary of the outset of the First World War, Gary will be presenting a
fascinating illustrated lecture entitled "Exploring
Normandy and Other American War Memories in France.”
In this insightful lecture of interest to international travelers as well as to armchair travelers, Gary will explain how the battle sites and surrounding areas can captivate Americans of all ages. He'll describe how war tourism has evolved over time and speak of some of the extraordinary people he's met during his work as a travel writer and traveling lecturer, from a brandy producer on a historic farm near Omaha Beach (Normandy) to a French WWI guide whose father was a gardener for Charles de Gaulle to an American war veteran. He’ll tell moving and uplifting stories about touring with the children and grandchildren of veterans and with travelers who were unexpectedly and indelibly touched by what they saw. He’ll also speak of the non-war-related treasures and pleasures of Normandy and other former battle zones and provide useful information for those interested in traveling to Paris and throughout France.
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Gary Lee Kraut is the author of 5 guidebooks and hundreds of articles about Paris and France. He is currently the editor of the online premier travel and culture magazine France Revisited, www.francerevisited.com. In 1996 he received FrancePress’s Prix d’Excellence for his guidebook to France. In 2012 he was elected to the board of the France’s Heritage Journalists Association, the first non-French journalist to be so honored. His has been called upon to assist and advise a wide array of individuals and groups traveling to France, including a U.S. senator, a Hollywood actress, a best-selling author, corporate presidents, educational institutions, charitable organizations, and many curious travelers from across the U.S. and from a half-dozen other countries.
