Sometimes, our guides give us information about the country, costs, trends, etc. One of our guides shared that she is charged about 52 euros a month for her health insurance. Hard for us to even imagine!
Another told us when we were in Normandy that one family lost 4 sons in the war. After that a law was passed to limit enrollment to 2 sons.
We also heard the story about photography being invented in France.
Generally they seem to be very proud of their country.
The stories of the French Revolution when the uprising against wealth, religion and corruption are both frightening and inspiring in their own way. Outside on the wall of Notre Dame there are 28 statues that people of the French Revolution thought were the French kings, so they took down the statues and cut off their heads, like what was done to Marie Antoinette. Later they found out those were the Kings of Judah not French monarchs. The heads were lost for 200 years until they were unexpectedly rediscovered in 1977 during a renovation. They were preserved and are on display in the Musee de Cluny in Paris and new statues had been reconstructed.
Our trip today took us for a walking tour of the twin villages of Tournon and Tain L’Hermitage.
Our guide was Elsa who came from the Tournon side of the river. She entertained us with stories of the rivalry between the two town. Mostly a friendly rivalry….
We walked from our ship in Tain L’Hermitage to Tournon across an old wooden bridge that is only for pedestrians. We could see the remains of castles and everywhere on the hills in the distance – many grapevines.
The bridge was designed by Marc Seguin in the 17th century. He also invented the hot air balloon
Here are some other sights in the town.
This house was built right onto the churchThe best view yet – the house attached to the church right over a CBD shopMurals in the churchI bought some candy in this shop run by two brothers
Valrhona chocolate has a whole complex back across the river but I wanted to buy from the small shop. Later I heard that it would have been twice as costly at Valrhona!
Japanese cherry blossom
After some time to walk around the town, we crossed back over the bridge to go to a local wine shop where we heard all about this area of the Rhône Valley and the types of grapes that are grown here.
We tasted one white and two reds and paired them with cheese and baguette slices.
With new friends Frank and Arlene
We walked back to the ship for lunch. We are sailing in the afternoon so there was an afternoon lecture on Vincent Van Gogh and a demonstration and tasting of Crepes Suzette. Delicious.
Frank took a turn at making a crepe
Norm went up to the top deck and had to duck down when the ship went under some low bridges…
Tonight we have evening entertainment with Chris the Crooner in the lounge. Kassima says he sounds like Michael Buble. We will see.
Tomorrow we will have a full day. In the morning we will be in Viviers where, in the morning we have Ardeches Villages Day with a variety of local experiences and in the afternoon – the one I have been most looking forward to – the truffle farm. Norm says the temperature will be 75!
Last night we were entertained after dinner by the husband and wife team of Magali and Jerome. They performed many popular songs and the dance floor was crowded! We have a large group of passengers from Brazil and they loved the selection of songs that they recognized and wow, can they dance!
Today we docked in Macon. It is a vibrant riverside town overlooking the Saone river. It is most known for its strong connection to the surrounding vineyards of southern Burgundy due to the mild climate. The town is more than 2000 years old.
We were not staying in Macon, though. With Andre as our guide, we headed to the small town of Beaune, about an hour away.
On the longer bus trips, we stop at a rest area and for sure the French know how to do rest areas! Large number of restrooms of course, but they are a bit of everything, store, coffee shop, restaurant, take away food, extensive gift shop, vending machines, bakery, etc. I remember they are like this in Italy too and probably other countries but nothing I have seen in the US can compare.
Even Starbucks
The sun was out today and it was just wonderful for our trip.
Andre stopped at an area called Puligny Montrachet near a vineyard to explain how the Romans introduced wine growing to this area over 2000 years ago. We have the monks to thank!
One of the wines Norm enjoys is Côtes du Rhône. Cotes means coast or incline and of course this is the area of the Rhône river.
We traveled on to Beaune, a small town brimming with history. Beaune was the seat of the warlike dukes of Burgundy until the 16th century. One of the things it is known for is its open air market, but it is not open today. It is a charming town and is also the home of the Fallot Dijon mustard factory. We took a walk to find it and did buy some.
This wine press is from the 16th century
Some sights in the town.
The wisteria is so beautiful everywhere we goThe bull is named beef bourguignon
Today is a long day and lunch was on our own. We wanted to explore so we again had our baguette sandwich picnic lunch right near this beautiful building.
The town was actually pretty quiet so we could walk through it with no problems at all.
Lots of layers are in order
After lunch we toured the Hospices de Beaune (Hotel Dieu Museum) which was a hospital initially to care for poor children. It was founded in 1443 by the chancellor of Burgundy, Nicolas Rodin and his wife, Guigone de Salins. What an amazing visit it was! Andre took his time to explain many features of the complex and how it has changed over the years.
Original slate roofs were a sign of wealth But then, times changed and ceramic tiles were used
We really didn’t know what to expect and this visit really was eye opening. Here are some pictures of the inside. Things have been changed inside too, in many rooms there was a second floor.
The contraption in the bed was a bed warmer. The hot water in the pot warmed the bed, then the whole thing was moved on to another bedIf you look at the top of this stained glass window with Christ and the two thieves on the cross, you see that on the right is the ‘bad” thief – with the devil, and on the right, the “good thief” with the angelMedical equipment of the dayPharmacyModel of the complexKitchen
There is a huge wine auction every year that supports the museum and the town. It has been taking place annually since 1859 on the third Sunday in November.
These paintings are by a Netherlandish artist, Rogier van der Weyden. It consists of oil on oak panels with parts later transferred to canvas. The first one has hinges and opens up to reveal the second. The imagery is really telling a story and it is worth looking up to read more, too much for me to write here. It depicts scenes from the Last Judgement.
The Hospice (not hospice as we think of it, but hospital) receives more than 300,000 visitors a year. It ceased functioning as a hospital in 1971. Hotel Dieu means House of God.
After the visit, we headed back to the ship in time to get ready for the dinner – again celebrating Uniworld’s 50th anniversary as we did on the last ship. Here’s the menu:
Delicious!
In the bar, it was Golden Night and we were invited to wear Gold attire, as we were on the last boat. I did have a dressy black, silver and gold top but we forgot to take a picture both nights. Here it is anyway without me in it!
Tomorrow we will be in Tain L’Hermitage and will visit the Twin Villages of Tournon and Tain L’Hermitage and have a tasting on wine from the region.
Well, our time in Paris has come to an end and we now board the high speed train to Lyon to board our next ship, the SS Catherine.
Our luggage was taken by truck to Lyon and will be waiting for us when we arrive.
We were escorted to the Paris train station by John who helped us navigate this huge station. We arrived at the station at 8:30 for a 10 AM train so we had time to walk around and enjoy some of the sights.
They have these kind of trails with raised borders for blind people to be able to navigate the station.
There was a lovely bread and pastry shop where we watched the staff create their masterpieces. We had a wonderful breakfast on the ship so we didn’t buy any.
There are so many chocolate shops in France and this one in the station was really outstanding. It’s the first time I have seen a chocolate toucan.
The train was very comfortable and fast. It was a 2 hour trip to Lyon. A bus picked us up to take us to the ship. Our rooms were not yet ready but we spotted our luggage. We had lunch and relaxed and soon our room was ready and we unpacked. Here is a picture of our room.
Before dinner, we had a drink in the bar and were then introduced to our general manager, Silvia, our cruise manager, Kassima and several of the bar staff. Kassima and Silvia were proud to say how many of the senior staff are women! The engineer, head sommelier, head housekeeper and head chef are all women. We will meet the rest of the staff tomorrow.
Captain Samuel DemonchauxGeneral manager SilviaCruise manager Kassima
We had dinner with two new friends, Terry and Alice from Charlottesville, Virginia. We really enjoyed getting to know them.
There was no evening entertainment tonight and we were pretty tired anyway, so we headed back to our room. We did get to speak to our sons and daughter in law (it was her birthday!) and my sister so our day was complete.
April 13 in Lyon
This morning we had a choice of the silk weaver walking tour or the panoramic tour with Traboules visit. We had initially chosen the silk one which was a total walking day but the day was a cold one with the potential for rain, so we switched. We also heard that there will be a silk presentation on the ship later. We were pretty spoiled with perfect weather for our previous 10 days. Today was 45 degrees, windy and cold. The rain held off until just about when our tour completed.
Our guide today was Emilie. We had a tour through the city – it is the third largest city in France behind Paris and Marseille and home to 190,000 college students. The city is at the confluence of the Saone and Rhône rivers and is also defined by twin hills.
We passed this large ornate cemetery and Emilie commented on how quiet the neighborhood is, the closest neighbors are dead. French humor I guess.
We visited the Notre-Dame de Fourviere Basilica which was built with private funds between 1872 and 1896. The inside is really amazing because of the mosaic murals that cover the walls. We sat for a while for Emilie to describe them. Then we had a bit of free time to wander in and around the church.
After that visit, we went to the Fourviere Hill where we had a lovely view of the town below. The Renaissance houses are striking and some are painted in colors.
The white tower is next to a large outdoor swimming pool
More pictures from the town.
Ribbons for remembrance
We then headed to the old town where we did a walking tour. A highlight was the silk shop. They will be coming to the ship later on so I will write more about it.
At one time there were 30,000 silk weavers here and almost half of the population was employed in the trade. The silks are famous and they are even being used in the Versailles restoration. The creation of such beautiful fabrics by hand is an incredibly strenuous task – in the past, a weaver could spend as much as 30 years of their life to decorate a single palace room.
Here are some other sights in the town. At one bakery, Emilie bought a large almond and red berry brioche for us to taste and we gathered outside the shop to enjoy it. Many Viking passengers passed by, thinking the shop was offering samples, Emilie told them it was only for Uniworld. I said she should have told them “next time come on Uniworld!” By the way, the brioche was delicious. It is the one on the second shelf. The top one is chocolate.
We were not at the right place at the right time as they say – to see the clock on a quarter hour when the puppets ring the bells and a trumpeter emerges from the top doors. It was beautiful to see just the same!
I didn’t know what the traboules were. It turns out that they are well hidden treasures of the Renaissance. They are in the old city, which is a UNESCO site and are shortcuts linking streets through one or more buildings. Most are private, but of the 500 that exist, about 80 are open to the public and we did get to go through one of them.
Not as big as the Eiffel Tower, not the same architect, but Emilie says it does improve cell phone reception!Yes, it was cold, but we were prepared.The city has the reputation of the gastronomic capital of France. We didn’t have time to sit at a restaurant today though
It just started to sprinkle as we returned to the ship after a great morning of touring Lyon. The warm peach tea they served on arrival back was so needed and delicious.
After lunch, the owners of the silk shop, Brochier Soieries, came to the ship to tell us about the Brochier family that has been handing down a tradition born in Lyon in the 16th century. They manufacture exceptional natural silk fabrics and printing artists scarves and neckties. Four generations followed one another since the creation of the factory. The collection has a wealth of more than 100,000 textile designs and they print products for the greatest museums in the world. They still use the hand silk screening technique and wood block printing for coloring their products. They gave a presentation with slides to show their process. It takes 500 silk worm cocoons to produce one small scarf!
They brought many scarves to show us and showed how each layer of color is applied.
Avignon where we will visit later in the week. I bought this one.Lyon at nightOne of a kind silk and velvet
I bought two, the Avignon and a colorful design one.
We had a demonstration of scarf tying and got a printed brochure too
Tonight we will have a talk about the activities on the coming days, the Gala dinner and evening entertainment with Magali and Jerome (no idea what they do…yet).
Tomorrow we will arrive in Macon where we have a full day called Burgundy landscapes, Beaune walking tour and the hospices. Lunch will be on our own so we will get to experience some of the delicious food of the region.
Because we spent 3 days in Paris before the river cruise, we have a relaxed afternoon, so I am catching up on my posts.
We chose to do a walking tour of the Latin Quarter and we were happy to have Aurelie for our guide again today.
We took a bus for a short trip to the St. Germain area and walked the narrow, historic streets, all to the commentary by Aurelie. The Latin Quarter is named for the many students in this area and was home to icons like Matisse, Picasso, Rimbaud, Sartre and Hemingway.
Waiting for the busThis is the Saint Sulpice church with its one unfinished bell tower due to a dispute with the architect. While the Louvre was under construction after the fire, this became its replacementBeautiful fountain in front of the churchA chocolate shop from 1761 when chocolate was not allowed to be given to childrenThis coffee shop was a favorite one of artists. During and after the revolution, coffee was very scarce and was mixed with vegetable skins. This cafe served the first real coffee
Apartments are very expensive in Paris so most people go out for their coffee and pastries since they do not have much room and rarely have dining space. The cafes have tables facing out so customers can people watch.
This used to be a monastery where the monks created manuscripts on sheepskins. It took three sheep to produce one page and the manuscripts were often 300 pages long and took two years to finish. That’s a lot of sheep!
Inside is all paintedThe best chocolate these days is found at Le Roux shops according to AurelieArea where the first beheading with a guillotine took placeThere are many bridges and boats going byThere is an annual competition for the best baguette. This place won last yearGarden near the Louvre
After our walking tour, we went to Shakespeare and Company and I just had to have a real Paris hot chocolate. Delicious.
Love the hats
Aurelie told us about the prices for health care and education, both of which are much lower than in the US. To get a PhD at the Sorbonne for example, it would be about $3000 euros per year. And a dental checkup and cleaning costs 28 euros.
And then it was back to the ship for lunch and to write my delayed blog posts and start packing for our train trip to Lyon tomorrow. They will take our bags by truck so we need them out by midnight.
As we awoke this morning, we were reminded of how, during yesterday’s ceremony, we were thanked as Americans, for the help we provided France, and how grateful they are. They again thanked us for coming back. Our guide also thanked us today and said if it wasn’t for us, they would be speaking German. Each year 300 veterans still visit and Normandy beaches have 4 million visitors a year from all over the world.
Our trip today is to Versailles. We have visited previously but today, our visit will include the secret apartments of the palace. The trip took about 30 minutes. Our guide was Aurelie and she was wonderful, as all of the guides have been.
Versailles is an elegant town just southwest of Paris, known worldwide for its palace but beloved by locals for its culture and quality of life. It grew up as a town in the 17th century alongside Louis XIV’s court. Wide geometric avenues radiate from the palace and the same configuration exists in Washington DC and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Versailles was the official residence of the country’s kings and queens from 1682 until the revolution. The Louvre was the palace before that. There are 2300 rooms in the palace of Versailles – of course not all are available for touring! This was originally a modest hunting lodge with large stables across the street and was turned into the palace. All of the buildings with the gold on top were part of the original hunting lodge. The gold is gold leaf and must be carefully applied by hand. Can you imagine that? The extravagance helped fuel the rage that led to the revolution.
We went in through the group entrance, which meant no waiting, and the group could not be more than 25. One couple had to leave our group so we were 24 which made the visit really wonderful as the private apartments are not open to individual visitors.
Aurelie had many stories about the royalty of the time. Louis XIV married Marie Antoinette at age 16. He had many mistresses over his lifetime and the mistresses lived in a separate set of rooms near the king’s rooms. Marie Antoinette was a modern thinking woman for her time. For example, she refused to wear the corsets that were so tight that women fainted because they couldn’t breathe! Also, it was the custom for children to be raised separately from their parents until age 7 and she refused to do that and kept them with her. She had 4 children.
Louis XIV was responsible for some of the known ballet moves – he was a skilled dancer and was proud of his dancer’s legs!
Louis XVI became an orphan at 5 years old and suffered all his life from depression. He was married and reportedly never had mistresses!
I will share photos from the secret apartments and then from the state apartments. There is much too much to post so I will have to choose.
This is Louis XVI, he had the shortest wig!Louis XIV with the muscular legsThis clock is from the 17th century and is programmed to go to the year 9999. You can see that it is on 2026, 30 days in this month but the date is slightly off due to slight time adjustmentsFabric was very expensive, the equivalent of 1500 euros for a piece the size of your thumb. You can only imagine the reams of fabric in this palace.
Candles were expensive too. There were about 6000 candles in the palace and ONE candle cost the equivalent of the salary of a worker’s week. Most of the furnishings were sold off during and after the French Revolution.
Original roll top deskThis is a thermometer that records in Celsius. What is unique about it is that at various levels, there is also a word that describes the temperature. At 0, it says ice, for example. There are markings for bath!Marie Antoinette and three of her 4 children. The black covering on the crib signifies the one who died The queen’s bed. King and Queen slept separately and the Queen’s bed is the “king sized” one!
Once we got to the state apartments, it was much more crowded. The art, tapestries, etc, are amazing but a highlight is always the Hall of Mirrors.
The Hall of Mirrors where the ruler of France held court. Mirrors were so expensive they could cost more than the whole palace. They were brought in from Italy
Aurelie told us that she had a surprise for us and led us down to the chapel which was empty except for another tour group. This is a private area that we were allowed into after a guard opened it with a key!
This building was the original stables
We had a really enjoyable day. Aurelie really brought the palace and the period of history to life and I am sure I didn’t remember it all.
We had some time to rest and have a beverage before heading back to the ship
This is Uniworld’s 50th anniversary so there was a Captain’s Farewell and Golden Cocktail reception and a Golden dinner, followed by entertainment by a wonderful singer, Celine.
The chandelier and entrance to the shipThe amazing dessertThe bartenders were all decked outCeline was great – much singing and dancing too
Tomorrow we go back to Paris and will do a walking tour of the Latin Quarter. Then it will be time to pack for our trip to Lyon to board the SS Catherine for the next segment of our trip.
There is so much to say about this day – I have to start somewhere! We chose to go with Martin for this tour. We have had him as a guide several times already and he did the WWII lecture so we knew how deep his historical knowledge goes.
The trip to the beaches from Rouen takes 2 1/2 hours so there was lots of time for commentary. We learned that gas is very expensive here because they need to import all of their oil – it is about $12/gallon, but that due to lots of windmills and nuclear plants, electricity is very inexpensive. There are lots of electric cars and charging stations.
Martin told us that there are 29 cemeteries in France for war casualties. We will visit the highlights of the American sites. There are only 7 non Americans on our ship and they have a separate small vehicle to take them to the Commonwealth and British/Canadian sites. We have met one couple from UK and and three people from Australia but don’t know the other two.
At the beaches of Normandy, 160,000 soldiers landed by sea and air. The conditions were not great, and the landing was actually delayed by a day from June 5 to June 6. Martin talked about the strategic decisions made by Eisenhower and how this invasion was ultimately a success in spite of the forces being greatly outnumbered by the Germans. In fact, Hitler was led to believe by information from spies that the landing would not take place in Normandy but in a site closer to the narrowest part of the channel between England and France.
We decided to re-watch the movie “The Longest Day” since Martin referred to it a lot.
On the drive, we saw the yellow covered fields that we have seen all through our travels in this area. They are rapeseed fields. Rapeseed is primarily used to make canola oil.
The battle of Normandy is considered to be 24 hours that changed history. It began with air assaults shortly after midnight on June 6, 1944. Allied troops took part in the largest seaborne invasion in history. With this campaign – code named Operation Overlord – the allies established a 55 mile long coastline. By day’s end, more than 160,000 Allied troops had landed in France, loosening Hitler’s once firm grip on Western Europe and paving the way for the liberation of Paris less than 3 months later on August 15, 1944.
Our first stop was at Utah Beach where the assault began in the early hours of the morning with US parachutists from 2 airborne divisions. Hampered by poor visibility, complicated terrain and artificially flooded fields, they eventually captured Sainte-Mere-Eglise, the first town liberated in the invasion.
This red roofed house is significant because the landing was originally set to be on the other side of it. If that had happened, it might have failed!
We headed to the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise where we visited the church. The US Army paratrooper Private John Steele became famous when his parachute caught on the steeple of the church. He hung there for 2 hours, playing dead before being captured, escaping and rejoining his unit. A mannequin remains on the church today.
We visited the airborne museum, had a nice picnic lunch and wandered through the market.
A French lawn mower!
We visited the American Cemetery which is now US land. It is a sobering place with the markers perfectly lines up to remind visitors of how many lives were lost. There are 9386 graves here. Only 4 women were buried here, US nurses.
Map of the battlesThis is a very long wall with names of those who have never been found. When one of the soldiers is found, a black mark is put on the area of his name. This statue represents the valor of youth called to battle
Our next stop was Pointe du Hoc, the site of one of the most daring operations of the Allied landings. There are many bomb craters and artillery batteries which serve as stark reminders of the battles fought here. The sea wall allowed the troops to shoot from either way.
Our last stop was Omaha Beach. This area was fortified by German batteries and proved to be a deadly objective. Wave after wave of troops from the US 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions were cut down. However the few who managed to scale the beach’s steep slopes breached the German defenses by midday. To the west the strategic German defense at Pointe du Hoc was scaled quickly but taken only after significant losses by the US 2nd Ranger Battalion.
We were each given a rose before a very touching ceremony was held.
One of our guides conducted the ceremony. A local trumpeter played the star spangled banner and then taps, followed by a moment of silence. Our guide read the following from the speech given by Eisenhower at the 20th anniversary of the battle.
To all the peoples of the world, I once more give expression to America’s prayerful and continuing inspiration:
“We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied; that those now denied opportunity shall come to enjoy it to the full; that all who yearn for freedom may experience its spiritual blessings; that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities; that all who are insensitive to the needs of others will learn charity; that the scourges of poverty, disease and ignorance will be made to disappear from the earth, and that, in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the binding force of mutual respect and love.”
I had tears in my eyes during the whole ceremony. We then took our roses and laid them at the foot of the memorial. Some chose to put them into the sea.
It was a long, emotional and tiring day. We had our dinner back on the ship and went to bed early. Tomorrow will be at Mantes-La-Jolie and our tour of the Palace of Versailles.
We arrived to our port very early after traveling from Rouen at night. Our tour today is a walking tour in a nearby village, Honfleur.
It was a short bus ride to the village and on our way there, our tour guide, Stephanie (who happens to be our other guide – Martin’s wife) told us about the area.
Honfleur is known as one of Normandy’s most enchanting port towns, tucked where the Seine River meets the English Channel. Its heart is the Vieux Bassin, a small 17th century harbor lined with tall, narrow, slate covered houses. A young Claude Monet spent time painting here. The history dates back to the 11th century and its port launched explorers like Champlain, who sailed from here to found Quebec.
One of the most surprising things was the thatched roof houses. We have seen them in other places before, but never with irises planted on top of them! The roots are long and help to stabilize the roofs!
Here are some of the sights in the town.
There are many buildings with a lot of different materials used over the yearsLots of the half timbered houses from the 16th centuryIn this area across the river, the connected houses are all in jeopardy as the one with the white surrounding it is ready to collapse . Stephanie says if one goes, they all might collapseSt. Catherine’s Church
Honfleur is near Lisieux, home of St. Theresa. I was fascinated by her as a teenager.
Good thing they have small cars here
It was a lovely day and the weather was perfect.
We had a cocktail party for the river Heritage Club members (at least one previous cruise with Uniworld) and Captain Dave, Woody and Ruben came around to each table to thank us for our loyalty.
After dinner, we had entertainment by the Hot Stompers, a New Orleans style jazz band. They were terrific!
Tomorrow will be a long and emotional day – we visit the beaches of Normandy. It is a 2 1/2 hour bus ride so we leave at 7:15 and won’t be back until about 7 PM. I have been there many years ago but Norm has not. We think it will be one of the highlights of the trip. Stay tuned.
This morning we did a walking tour of Rouen with our guide, Elodie. Please note the French shoes!
We really enjoyed this city. It is the historic capital of Normandy and is a beautifully preserved medieval city. It is France’s only UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.
The skyline is dominated by the magnificent Notre-Dame Cathedral which Monet painted more than 30 times. Victor Hugo called Rouen the city with a hundred bell towers. The one of Notre-Dame briefly made it the tallest building in the world.
The cathedral took 400 years to build, between the 12th and the 16th century and acquired many spires and styles as it was expanded and renovated in different eras. On the opposite side of the square is the former treasury building where Monet had an apartment and was used as his studio.
The former treasury building across from the cathedralThere was a Mass with a glorious children’s choir
There is a stunning astrological clock, the Gros-Horloge.
Some of the other sights around the city include the half timbered houses, restaurants, brasseries and some charming streets and alleys.
And shops for delicious pastries!
This is the place du Vieux-Marche, the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Elodie told us the story of how Joan helped Charles become king and that she needed to be executed as a witch at the age of 19 to protect his reign. She was actually exonerated 25 years after her execution in 1431. There is a striking modern church near the site. The stained glass windows were preserved during the war and re-used in this church.
We returned to the ship for dinner and went out again for a 9 PM concert in the Notre-Dame cathedral. It was simply amazing. The cathedral has wonderful acoustics and seemed even more magical at night. The choir had about 30 men and women. They started with an excerpt from the Hallelujah Chorus, did one selection in English, Simple Gifts from Appalachian Spring. The cathedral is a short walk from the ship so we were back by about 10:15. I hope I can insert the video even though it doesn’t do it justice!
They told us it would be cold in there at night!
Tomorrow we will visit the village of Honfleur which is about a 1 hour trip from where we will dock in Caudebec-en-caux.
At about 11:30 we sailed from La Roche Guyon to Vernon-Giverny. The sun was out and the weather got warmer, in fact, just about a perfect temperature in the 60s.
It was a beautiful sight to see the small villages along the way and also the many swans.
We had our lunch in the restaurant Le Pigalle.
I am not an oyster fan but many passengers are – they were refilling these constantlyThe riverboats stack up against each other and the ones on the far end have directions for the passengers to walk through the others to get to shore. Ours was by itself, not one of these threeTrees in full bloomThese balls you see on the trees are mistletoe
Giverny was the home and working studio of Claude Monet. Our guide was the same gentleman as this morning, Martin, and he gave us a lot of information about the site and about the artist.
Monet moved here to the countryside as a practically penniless artist who could not afford to live in the city anymore. He was really a city person and resisted the move. He moved when he was 43 years old and lived here the rest of his life. He died at 86, one hundred years ago – 1926.
We first visited the famous gardens. I was here with our son Mark over 25 years ago and it was impressive then – still amazing. If you are not garden people, you may be bored with all the photos and I will only post some of them.
One thing to mention, we found out last year that Easter Monday is a huge holiday here in France, and the lines of visitors here on such a beautiful holiday certainly reflected that. We moved through the gardens with lots of space as it didn’t feel too crowded there. Going through the house was another story. We had a long wait and didn’t have a chance to visit the gift shop before we had to leave the site. Some of our tour groups didn’t even go through the house.
The tulips, rhododendron, azaleas, hyacinths, pansies and other spring flowers were in full bloom. There is something wonderful to see here in summer when the roses and wisteria are in bloom but today was just beautiful.
We had a fairly quick walk through Monet’s house. He was a collector of Japanese art and there are thousands of pieces in his house. Others are in the museum.
These are all reproductions of his workIn his studioTaken from the second floor window, the house gardens, not the previous water gardensSpotted on our way back to the ship. There used to be a bridge here
We had a bit of time to relax before the welcome gala reception where we got to meet the heads of all of the departments and the talk about the next day’s tours with our cruise manager, Monty – found out that is what he likes to be called, not Richard!
Cruise manager, general manager and restaurant manager
They said if I took their picture, I had to have one of me with them.
Well the person who took it got his finger in there!
We had a fun dinner with two new couples.
After dinner, we were entertained by a terrific singer, Sara.
A couple of sights along the sway as we headed to Rouen, our stop for tomorrow.
After breakfast, we went out on a walking tour with our guide, Martin. He is Belgian but has been in France for 30 years. And can he talk! Many stories and lots of history awaited us as we went to the the Chateau de la Roche-Guyon.
This hospital is a rehabilitation facility for children
The limestone outcropping began its history as a cave dwelling and later transformed into a fortress, where medieval knights stood guard against invading Vikings. Over the centuries it grew into a proper palace, housing a string of lords who gave the chateau its name – “La Roche-Guyon” which translates into “The Rock of Guy”, Guy being a typical name for these noblemen.During WWII, Rommel made his headquarters here because the ancient fortifications and caves were so secure.
The buildings show the original limestone and the windows that have the traditional arched shape typical of the 18th century when many additions were made to the chateau.
The village is considered one of the most beautiful of all France and we could see some of it as we climbed up into the castle.
Richard the Lionheart was a Duke of Normandy and the ruins of his castle still remain – the Chateau Gaillard. We didn’t visit the ruins but heard the stories of the fighting between the two castles.
Here are some pictures of the inside of the chateau. Most of the rooms are bare and what little furniture is in them is not from the period, but are reproductions. The tapestries are original.
A model of the whole chateauOne of the family coat of armsAlmost every room had a unique fireplaceThis was the library, with thousands of books that had to be sold to maintain the chateau. These fake ones surround the entire roomDon’t ask! An exhibit in the “room of curiosities”!
There are three chapels in the chateau.
This is how munitions and other deliveries were brought in, note the cables on the ceilingPart of the charming town
Apple and pear orchard belonging to the chateau. Our riverboat is in the background.
We returned to the ship for lunch and then headed out to explore Giverny. I will do a separate post about it and about our evening.
Pat and Norm's World Cruises and other adventures 