Category Archives: Audrieu

Audrieu, Chantilly, France, Giverny

Coasting

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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.
Audrieu, France, Honfleur

It Never Rains In Honfleur

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We were expecting some rain as we planned this trip, the Pay-Bas and Normandy are noted for cooler, wetter weather. We were hoping for some scattered showers but the last 24 hours was a bit more inclement than we wanted. Driving south through more rain we were wondering if we would get a break only to have the break reveal itself as we pulled into our destination for the day, Honfleur with warm sun and scattered clouds, just what we were hoping for.

Honfleur is a picturesque port town located on the south bank of the Seine near where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Still an active port it also has a place in art history, several noted artists lived and worked here including Claude Monet and the visions seen in this area helped inspire the Impressionist movement. The city has one of the more interesting churches we have seen in a while, Saint Catherine’s. Since the area was populated by fisherman thus ship builders they applied some of the same techniques when these same people built the church thus some parts look like a boat.

We indulged  in local delicacies for dinner including some great Oysters, local fish and savory buckwheat crapés.

We are now at our home for 5 days, Audrieu a centrally located town from where we can day trip out to the many sights we want to see nearby. And much to Syd’s happiness there is a nice pool. Rain, rain go away!

Heard a loud groan from the north. Bye-bye Pay-Bas.

Approaching the Pont de Normandie.
Approaching the Pont de Normandie.
Crossing the Pont de Normandie.
Crossing the Pont de Normandie.
Honfleur Harbor
Honfleur Harbor
Honfleur Harbor
Honfleur Harbor
Saint-Catherine's Church & Bell Tower.
Saint-Catherine’s Church & Bell Tower.
Inside Saint-Catherine's Church.
Inside Saint-Catherine’s Church.
The ladies in Honfleur.
The ladies in Honfleur.
Walking around Honfleur.
Walking around Honfleur.
Walking around Honfleur.
Walking around Honfleur.
A fish boat heading out for the evening catch.
A fish boat heading out for the evening catch.