A European journey with Sidonie and Ann.
Wednesday, May 24
Grey and gloomy weather to greet us early this morning at Charles de Gaulle Airport but a quick exit from the Peugeot depot and on the road to the north west. It was a bit of a mistake to tell the GPS to avoid toll roads and our expected leisurely drive through the countryside turned out to be a zig zag route through the endless villages that lie on the outskirts of Paris. Finally reached the little town of Gerberoy, all ancient stone or colombage houses, narrow lanes and flowers - roses, iris, peonies - and surrounded by lush fields and forests. Lunch was in the courtyard of an old manor house, parts of which date back to the 1200's. The salad was fresh from the garden and the rollot was a little quiche made with local cheese - yummy.
We were rewarded with sunny skies as we made our way through the lovely countryside to our B & B in Giverny conveniently located within 10 minutes walk of Monet's Garden.
Thursday May 25
With pre-purchased tickets we had a quick entry to the gardens as soon as they opened and managed to visit the house before the crowds arrived. The gardens were in full spring bloom, dominated by purple, mauve and white iris, huge scarlet poppies and luscious, blowsy peonies in shades of pink, red and white. Quite stunning!
By the time we took the tunnel under the road to the water garden the crowds were multiplying by the minute but nothing can really detract from the beauty of the waterlily pond with its reflections of giant willows.
The rhododenrons were especially brilliant under the shady trees at the far end of the pond and Sidonie was persuaded to have her photo taken on the famous bridge - along with a few others! Sadly the wisteria over the bridge had finished flowering.
Leaving Giverny we drove west along the Seine to Les Andelys, a riverside town overlooked by the 800 year old Chateau Gaillard which has strong links to Richard Lionheart.
No restaurants open here on this public holiday so we drove to another exquisite village, Lyons-la-Foret, not far from Rouen. Lyons was really humming, all the restaurants in the village square crowded with diners enjoying the first holiday of summer. It is an exceptionally agreeable old town with beautiful buildings and an ancient market hall in the centre. Lunch under a large umbrella with lots of people watching thrown in at no extra charge.
After relaxing in Lyons we completed our journey to Honfleur with only one GPS whoopsie on the outskirts of Rouen. Being a holiday weekend Honfleur was packed to the hilt and it was definitely "pedestrians rule". Donie managed to negotiate the narrow cobbled streets without having a nervous breakdown or sending a tourist to hospital and we finally settled into our ancient, nicely modernised inside but grossly lacking in some facilities, apartment just one street back from the harbour. Fortunately we only spent one night there before escaping the crowds - rather a shame really as without so many people Honfleur has a definite charm.
Friday 26 May
We played dodge the pedestrian again this morning as we left Honfleur after a nice harbourside breakfast. Locking the boot of the car had us stumped so we decided to make a detour to the local Peugeot dealer - the locking problem was simply resolved but the GPS led us on a crazy circumnavigation of the outskirts of Honfleur - not a little frustrating and time consuming!
Most of the rest of the day was spent cruising down the motorways of western France to Chateau- Thebaud, near Nantes. We had a disappointing stop for lunch in a small hamlet with a routiers restaurant (truckie's stop). The meal was very ordinary and expensive which was a bit surprising. I doubt that many hungry truck drivers stop there! Finally we reached the lovely, tranquil farmhouse of Sidonie's most hospitable friends, Jane and Alban (a French/Australian couple). Most of our drive was through rolling countryside and the cows of Normandy looked very content munching away in their verdant fields. Chateau- Thebaud lies in the middle of fields of grape vines which produce a very fine Muscadet, as we were to discover during the course of the weekend.
Le Weekend (27 & 28 May)
Alban had insisted that we stay through until Monday so as to avoid the holiday weekend traffic and we were treated to a marvellous time in Chateau-Thebaud, a village just twenty minutes from Nantes.
Actually Jane and Alban live on several acres in the tiny hamlet of Le Pigrel, where they raise bees, grow vegetables and fruit trees and enjoy the peaceful country life. They also raised three children in this idyllic spot and one of them, Melanie, was home for the weekend.
Saturday morning saw us visiting a nearby town, Clisson, which was enhanced a few centuries ago by some very fine Tuscan style houses and a large castle.
Apparently the wealthy brothers Clisson were enchanted by the architecture of Tuscany and decided to replicate the style in their home town. The river flowing through the town is very pretty and very popular with kayakers - lots of colourful kayaks today.
After a coffee in the square (my cappuccino was that uniquely French blend of strong black coffee topped of with an extravagant swirl of Chantilly cream) Alban drove us home to enjoy a delicious lunch in the garden, courtesy of Jane's morning visit to the local market.
Donie and I were not too sorry to be able to have a bit of a siesta after lunch, preparing for our late afternoon excursion to Nantes. The city is rather modern in style having been seriously damaged in WW2 and is known for its promotion of surrealist art. Most fascinating is the Isle of Machines which combines DaVinci's mechanical universe with the industrial past of Nantes. Here in a former shipyard is the famous mechanical elephant which ambles around the street during the day. It is a fantastic feat of engineering, 12 metres tall, 8 metres wide and weighing 45 tonnes.
Many other fanciful metal creatures are to be seen in the vicinity, especially on the giant carousel. In keeping with the avante garde nature of the city we ate dinner in a very modern restaurant. For me, it did lack the charm and quirkiness of eating places in many ancient buildings.
Sunday was a lovely family day - Mother's Day here in France actually - and Jane and Alban put on a barbecue lunch for a lively bunch of friends and family. There was a little panic when we awoke to grey skies and rain, but fortunately by lunch time the sun was shining and the day was hot, just right for eating in the pretty garden. A good opportunity for practicing our French too!
After such an enjoyable weekend it was sad to say goodbye to Jane, Alban and Melanie, especially since the farmhouse is on the market as the family prepare for a new life in Provence. Now to the south for us and a few days in the beautiful Basque country of the Pyrenees.
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