All posts by tdelora

Audrieu, Chantilly, France, Giverny

Coasting

After one week on the road it was time for a down day including the blog. We decided to stay at our ‘residence’, The Château d’Audrieu which is easily one of the prettiest places we have ever stayed. The staff is great as well, just the right balance of proper and friendly. The grounds are quite large with nice pool and huge forest for hiking and bike rides. Alas this beauty has a little history to it as it turns out, the Chateau was the headquarters of a German General during World War 2. A few days after D-Day Canadian Soldiers who were taken prisoners of war early in that effort were taken in that beautiful forest and never came back. And not a small number either. A sobering thought I kept in mind as I moved around the grounds.

On to a happier thought. Sydney taught herself to ride a bike at the Chateau. We have been encouraging her to learn to ride a bike but she was a bit nervous about the idea a her interest never stuck. However for some reason when we checked in to the Chateau and they mentioned bikes were available to ride she took great interest and when we finally had the opportunity to try it took her only 15 minutes before she was cruising around on the gravel roads. She did finally have a fall but it was in the forest and on a bit softer patch of road. A bit scratched up and all we could say to her was welcome to bike riding.

Time to move on closer to Paris.  On the way in we made a stop at Giverny, the home of Claude Monet and where some his most famous paintings were created. Quite popular with visitors I was surprised at how uncrowded I felt while there. I can only chalk it up to the serenity of the place. The famous pond with the water lilies was larger than I imagined. Kim had the opposite reaction she said the overall property was smaller than she though. We both loved the house. Sigh, not in California, too much monet money and not enough water…

Today was La Fête Nationale Française which is like July 4th in the United States. Marked with fireworks (feu d’artifice) as well we were a little disappointed when we asked if there were fireworks nearby tonight the answer was no, they did it yesterday. We saw this setup as well in other cities. But as it turns out they meant no fireworks nearby not no fireworks period. The hotel we are at is on a hill in a thick wood north-west of Paris and come 2300 (takes a while to get dark this time of year) there was at least a dozen fireworks shows visible on the horizon. Far yes but more than we usually see. Vive la France! And happy birthday Mrs. Halaby, wherever you are.

The road to the chateau. Quite dramatic.
The road to the chateau. Quite dramatic.
Le Chateau d'Audrieu
Le Chateau d’Audrieu
The family coat of arms over the chateau.
The family coat of arms over the chateau.
The town of Audrieu from the chateau.
The town of Audrieu from the chateau.
The forest behind the chateau.
The forest behind the chateau.
The newly minted bike rider.
The newly minted bike rider.
Claude Monet's house from the garden.
Claude Monet’s house from the garden.
The garden behind Monet's home.
The garden behind Monet’s home.
The garden behind Monet's home.
The garden behind Monet’s home.
The pond in Monet's garden.
The pond in Monet’s garden.
Syd beside Monet's Water Lilies pond.
Syd beside Monet’s Water Lilies pond.
Kim and Syd beside Monet's Water Lilies pond.
Kim and Syd beside Monet’s Water Lilies pond.
Kim and Syd beside on the (new version of) Monet's Japanese bridge.
Kim and Syd beside on the (new version of) Monet’s Japanese bridge.
Monet's Water Lilies pond.
Monet’s Water Lilies pond.
One could not go to Monet's garden without creating some art in homage to the gent. Here is the original photo of Monet's pond...
One could not go to Monet’s garden without creating some art in homage to the gent. Here is the original photo of Monet’s pond…
... and with a little photoshop into a painting.
… and with a little photoshop into a painting.  Please click on it for a better view.
Bayeux, Caen, France

The History Day

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Today was dedicated to indoor activities, the weather prognosticators said a high chance of rain today but the weather gods had other ideas, lots of clouds with scattered showers but not near us. God bless them gods!

Our first stop was to see the Bayeux Tapestry which depicts the events surrounding the Battle of Hastings in 1066. My parents indulged my interest in all things space related when I was in elementary school by giving me a subscription to a publication for youth on this topic and in the discussions on comets the image to depict how comets were a bad omen in the middle ages was panels 32-33 in the tapestry showing the reaction of King Harold and others of the appearance of what was later named Halley’s Comet. I found it fascinating at the time, never forgot it and had to see the tapestry given the chance. The tapestry itself is over 200 feet long (for the American audience) and is very vivid.  The viewing itself had an audio tour and although all thought the tour moved too fast it illustrated the tapestry brilliantly and really brought the depictions to life. A must if you find yourself in this part of France.

Next up was the Bayeux Cathedral where the tapestry was on display at annually and where some of the events depicted in the tapestry are have said to occurred. A Gothic style cathedral with a long construction history what made it stand out to me was that where there would be stained glass in most cathedrals this one had large clear glass which allowed in lots of light. Very beautiful.

The Mémorial de Cain was our final stop of the day which depicts events surrounding World War 2 including what caused it, what occurred during the war itself and the aftermath. Very moving, the museum not only had war materials but also things from the ordinary person affected by the war including documents, clothes and other items. Sydney was strongly moved by the museum but found it a bit much saying towards the end “When do we get to the part where Hitler loses?” A strong kid this one is, she needs to face history as she can understand it.

Not a great picture production day, no pictures allowed of the tapestry. Darn, there was several hundred I wanted to take… The cathedral yielded a nice set, as for the war memorial, well… Not the kind of pictures I want to put in a blog. But I did find one.

Fois gras followed by Steak-frites. Yum!

A water wheel in Bayeux, France.
A water wheel in Bayeux, France.
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum.
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum.
The Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
The Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).

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Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
Inside the Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux).
The Mémorial de Caen Museum
The Mémorial de Caen Museum
A walk into the sunset.
A walk into the sunset.
Centre-ville Bayeux
Centre-ville Bayeux
France, Mont Saint-Michel

The Exercise Day

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With the long weekend approaching (C’est La Fête Nationale Lundi prochain) we decided that today was the best day to visit Mont Saint-Michel which is a little over an hour south of our ‘residence’. Timing is everything over the summer and since the Abbey is open until 1900 we timed our visit to be in the afternoon hoping that most of the other visitors would be gone. On top of that the bay around the Mont has some of the largest tidal changes in the world and we could see it go from low to high tide with low tide occurring near our arrival. And we were right on both account, when we arrived it looked like like someone had pulled the plug out of a tub, visitors were flooding out while not many were going in so we had a less crowded visit.

And the tides… The water was out several miles when we arrived, we watched it come in with amazing speed (a 40+ foot change from low to high tide) and Mont Saint-Michel was (mostly) an island by the time we left.  The causeway that was built to ease access to the location has ceased making it an island however the French government has undertaken a project to restore the area (Projet Mont-Saint-Michel) which includes replacing the causeway with a bridge restoring the bay to its more natural state. C’est bon!

Mont Saint-Michel has been the sight of a monastery for over 1000 years growing from a more modest start to the grand building visible on top of the island today. We have visited many religious sites over our travels but none have been as modest as this one as compared to the size. As with most places in Europe it seems this one was UP HILL. On top of that I am blessed with a family that acquiesced to my request to walk out to the island when we arrived. Thanks Kim and Syd! We certainly got our exercise today!

The Garmin continues taking us down the oddest roads to get us to our destination. Always correct, my hat is off to the people who recorded all the small rues (and I mean small) including their names.

More pictures can be found in the Mont Saint-Michel tab.

Walking the causeway to Mont Saint-Michel.
Walking the causeway to Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel.
Mont Saint-Michel.
The Grande Rue in Mont Saint-Michel.
The Grande Rue in Mont Saint-Michel.
Walking around Mont Saint-Michel.
Walking around Mont Saint-Michel.
Kim and Syd outside the church at Mont Saint-Michel. Top of the rock, ma!
Kim and Syd outside the church at Mont Saint-Michel. Top of the rock, ma!
Inside the church at Mont Saint-Michel.
Inside the church at Mont Saint-Michel.
In the cloisters at Mont Saint-Michel.
In the cloisters at Mont Saint-Michel.
Syd by the fireplaces in the kitchen.
Syd by the fireplaces in the kitchen.
The crypt.
The crypt.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we arrived.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we arrived.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we left.
The bay around Mont Saint-Michel when we left.
Mont Saint-Michel at sunset.
Mont Saint-Michel at sunset.