France: Onward to Bayeux

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HONFLEUR

View from the center of Honfleur

Today the goal was to drive from Giverny to our next B&B just outside Bayeux with a suggested stop for lunch in Honfleur.  Honfleur has long been on my list of French towns to visit, mostly because it has been a favorite of painters and other artists for years.  It’s a fishing town with a harbor and plenty of boats.

The town attracts tourists and its narrow streets are full of shops with colorful awnings on tall buildings in muted shades. Restaurants abound with many local specialities on offer, particularly oysters, fish, shrimp, cider, Calvados, and Camembert. We dined well on several fish preparations plus succumbed to dessert at Entre Terre et Mer.

Narrow shopping streets
A main square in Honfleur
An elaborate carousel in the center of town
This red boat caught my eye

TIDBITS

B&B Hospitality

Breakfasts at La Reserve in Giverny were lovely, and host Valerie could not have been nicer.  There was always coffee and tea, a plate of ham and other meats, several kinds of cheese, cereal, croissants (of course!), several baguettes, and orange juice and fresh oranges.  She would happily prepare eggs if you wished.  Valerie has some pretty collections of mugs and tea cups, glass pitchers, and some of the small statues of Queen Elizabeth in her dining area.  Over the meal, we also enjoyed chatting with other guests including a young French couple from Paris and two British couples, one who were winding up their month in France. 

This queen was popular and respected here in France

Challenges

One of the challenges of traveling in France is making sure you eat meals at the proper times.  Lunch is generally available anytime from noon until 2:00 pm, but not later!  The greater challenge can be locating a restaurant open on Monday for dinner.  It’s frequently a day restaurants choose to be closed, but now in October, it seems to be more so.  

We headed to a recommended restaurant in Giverny for Monday night dinner.  It was supposed to be open, but wasn’t.  Two men on the street stopped and kindly gave us directions to a restaurant they like in a nearby town. We drove there, it looked attractive, but it too was closed.  Another place across the street was also closed so, we returned to our B&B and dined on granola bars, cider, and slices of cake. As it was Day One of our trip, we were fine with it and retired early.

Learning New Things

Today the Chief Penguin mastered getting us successfully in and out of a paid parking lot in Honfleur:  getting a parking slip on the way in, walking back and watching someone else to see how you check yourself out at the machine, and then actually echoing those actions to get the green light and a raised mechanical arm when we wanted to leave.  He also figured out how to buy gas at one of the rest areas on the superhighway.  It turns out some of the steps are in the opposite order from the U.S.  He was able to fill the tank!

Note: Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

France: Charming Giverny

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MONET’S GARDENS AND HOUSE

Per the advice of our travel agent, we arrived early at the gardens and were so glad we did.  It was another foggy morning and only about 45 degrees.  Very few people initially, so we could take our time wandering the garden paths. Even when we got to the water lily garden, it wasn’t extremely crowded. 

At Monet’s Gardens

I had wondered if visiting the gardens in October was crazy, but no.  They were spectacular!  The garden rows are a riot of color, seemingly arranged casually, but not quite so. The colors popped against the grayish white sky.  The Rows and rows of densely planted flowers are somewhat grouped by color and all allowed to grow very tall.  As you walk along, you are both surrounded by greenery and blossoms and dwarfed by their size.  Lots of yellow big daisy-like flowers, dahlias in pinks and purples, plus masses of other purple and lavender flowers.

 The water lily garden is also gorgeous, perhaps even more so than the main garden.  There are Japanese maples with their red leaves, slender stands of bamboo, Monet’s signature green arched bridges, and then the lilies themselves.  It was serene and almost quiet, despite the masses of people with everyone shooting photos of themselves or the views with their iPhones.

Water lily garden in Giverny
Japanese maple overlooking Monet’s waterlilies

Monet’s brick house is also open to the public.  Not surprising, it has green shutters.  Inside you see the blues and yellows and greens that were some of his favorite colors. 

Green bench with Monet’s house behind
Monet’s dining room

I particularly liked the yellow dining room with yellow table and chairs, a ceramic pot with yellow flowers in it, and a yellow fireplace with green and blue tall vases on top. The kitchen was done in shades of light blue. We also saw Monet’s bedroom and the bed in which he died. Throughout the house, the walls are filled with art. A comfortable place to live indeed!

GIVERNY VILLAGE

What are the colors of Giverny?  The buildings and homes are stone, oatmeal and tan in color, a perfect backdrop for wooden doors and shutters in blue, green, or red and cafe chairs in yellow and blue.  Much of the main area is a pedestrian zone which makes it very pleasant to wander.  

Note orangey-red doors
Outside an in-town B&B

We noted a sign with an arrow to see Monet’s grave so, we headed to Saint Radegonde’s Church, a simple but striking Romanesque church, parts of which date to the 11th century.  Radegonde lived in the 6thcentury, was forced to marry a royal, but later left her husband. Devoutly Christian, she helped the poor, cared for the ill, and later founded a monastery. She continued to have influence with the government and was linked to the liberation of Normandy from the English.  

St. Radegonde’s Church

In the 10th century, she was canonized and even today is an important saint beyond France and Europe and is honored with two feast days.  The interior of the church is small with several impressive stained glass windows.

In the cemetery surrounding the church are not only the graves of Claude Monet and several members of his family, but also that of seven airmen buried together who were shot down nearby in 1944 during the war.

We lunched in the village at the Ancien Hotel Gaudy and enjoyed our repast of salmon rillettes, a Camembert crepe which was bathed in a puddle of melted cheese and accompanied by both greens and French fries for me, and for the Chief Penguin salade landaise of duck confit, lettuce, and mini potatoes.  Plus a basket of toothsome French bread and some vino.

Decadent crepe filled with and sitting in Camembert

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

On to France: Day One

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GETTING TO FRANCE—EARLY DAYS

Despite the worry and confusion we and others shared this past week over Ian’s path, when our home was still secure, we were able to proceed with a long-awaited trip to France. 

FIRST DAY HIGHLIGHT

After the flight from Detroit to Paris and the usual kinds of delays associated with lines for passport control and picking up a rental car, we were headed not to the city of Paris, but to Giverny.  We landed at about 8:00 am and were on our way in the car at 10:30.  It was about an hour’s drive to Giverny where we found a place to have lunch before checking in early at our B&B.  We’ve ended up in a beautiful spot!

THE ROAD TO GIVERNY

During this trip, we will be staying at a series of B&Bs, mostly in the countryside, until we end our trip with several days at a Paris hotel.  First stop is  to visit Monet’s House and Gardens.  Being jet lagged and it being foggy, then just completely overcast, we didn’t make any stops along the way.  The muted grayness of the sky highlighted the various shades of greenery along the way:  yellow greens, spring greens, warm greens, these occasionally interrupted by splashes of burnt sienna.  Even now and then a  vibrant yellow.  If I hadn’t been playing navigator with Waze, I would have liked to get a photo or two.

Giverny is a tourist destination, but even so, there didn’t initially seem to be a lot of options for lunch.  It no longer being summer, crowds are smaller.  But we happened upon Brasserie des Artistes, part of the Monet complex, and it was a very good choice.  

While it was too cold to eat on their terrace, the inside was most attractive.  The Chief Penguin had baked Camembert accompanied by toast, slices of salami and chorizo, tiny potatoes, and a few greens.  I ordered the chicken casserole in cider with seasonal vegetables.  The chicken was lovely, and the cider appropriate for Normandy, but the veggies were a bit of an overcooked mix.  Nonetheless, I ate most of it along with some superb French bread. For dessert, we shared a delectable tartine.

THE B&B

Front of La Reserve B&B

La Reserve is located just outside Giverny and is a lovely property, perfect Normandy.  The ochre stone house looks inviting and the extensive grounds are dotted with bounteous apple trees.  Metal sculptures  and found objects add interest and punctuate the space. And the afternoon light was spectacular.  I was really taken with the piles of apples under the trees and took many, too many, photos. 

Normandy apples waiting to be collected

We have a spacious room nicely appointed with windows overlooking the back yard. Our hosts have been most welcoming and have recommended a restaurant for this evening’s meal.  Since we are fading fast, we will go early.  Early in France being 7:00 pm. In the meantime, we’ll sit in the comfortable living room enjoying the view and a glass of tangy local cider and a slice of cake.

Tangy homemade cider

Note: Header photo of typical architecture in Giverny with fall color. All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

After Ian: Diversions

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HURRICANE IAN

It was a wild and crazy week for many residents of Florida, especially those on the southwest coast. Ian initially was predicted to hit near the Tampa area and a bit south and then went farther east and pummeled the folks in North Port, Englewood, Ft. Myers, Sanibel, and Captiva. We left our home after we were under a mandatory evacuation order and went an hour south (which turned out to be closer to the storm) to stay with a longtime friend.

We stayed with him for three nights and had some loss of power and lack of water, but were safe and dry and well protected. He’s a good cook whose stove is gas, and we were well provisioned. We were gratified when we returned home yesterday that our condo building was here and intact. Most of the storm damage here was restricted to landscape issues.

As an antidote to the Ian’s wild winds, I offer up a wonderful memoir about friendship and a TV series that doesn’t seem like it should be compelling, but the Chief Penguin and I have found it somewhat addictive.

MARVELOUS MEMOIR

Dinners with Ruth: A Memoir on the Power of Friendships by Nina Totenberg

When I commuted to Penn by car years ago, I used to hear Nina Totenberg on NPR.  Her analysis of Supreme Court cases was always clear and insightful, and I became a fan.  Long before Ruth Bader Ginsburg became a household name, Totenberg interviewed her, got to know her, and they became friends.  They were both pioneering women in their professions. They shared conversation and bonded over their work’s importance to each of them.  As time went on, they socialized with their spouses and were supportive of each other in times of illness and sorrow.

Totenberg’s focus is on female friendships in her life (her colleagues Linda Wertheimer and Cokie Roberts being other prime examples) with a specific spotlight on her almost 50-year friendship with Ruth.  Ruth was a great support to Nina when her first husband endured years of illness.  Later Nina and her second husband David were protective and caring toward Ruth after her husband Marty’s death and during her last illness.  

You might think that this is a sad book, but rather, it is a wonderfully uplifting and endearing account of deep friendships that enriched Totenberg’s life, including her friendships with male judges and justices.  Along the way, I also learned more about the functioning of the Supreme Court.  Highly recommended!  (~JWFarrington)

ADDICTIVE TV SERIES

Suspects  (Acorn)

This crime series set in London is about 10 years old, of lesser technical quality, and  with dialogue partially adlibbed.  Yet, the Chief Penguin and I are finding it quite addictive.  A crime has been committed, and three detectives are involved in finding out who did it.  Detective Jack Weston and his colleague, Detective Charlie Steele are usually first on the scene, sometimes accompanied by their boss, Detective Chief Inspector Bellamy.  The crimes are messy and nasty and often are attempted murder or rape.  

Each episode then consists of the team bringing in a series of suspects and interviewing them and then following up on possible arrests.  Almost no time is spent on the detectives’ lives outside work, and in the early episodes, it’s sometimes unclear if they have really resolved who will be charged with the crime.  Each episode is an hour, and so far, we have watched almost three series or about 8 episodes.

Ibises enjoying the view

Header photo shows trees bowing into the water, thanks to Ian. Photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).