July 28 & 29
Written July 29 hrough August 3
Written July 29 hrough August 3
Dear Friends and Family,
Our plan was to drive to the town of Vernon, near Paris, and leave the car there while we go into the big city to meet with Chris and the family. The estimated driving time from Trebeurden to Vernon was four-and-a-half hours, but we were doing it on the busiest travel weekend of the French summer: traffic jams should be expected.
The first hour passed uneventfully, but as we got more and more into the mainstream we hit more and more slowdowns. At the end of three hours, we had made less than two-hour's-worth of progress and our GPS was warning of another hour wait at the entrance to the toll road. When we needed gas and a rest, we tried stopping at an "aire", or freeway rest stop, and faced long lines just to go through the exit. At that point, we decided to go onto secondary roads, despite the expectation of increased time. Maybe we would see more.
Our first stop was a small gas station, a kilometer or so away from the freeway: No lines, in fact no other cars in sight. We asked the cashier where we might get lunch, and she sent us 20 kilometers away, to Villers-Bocage. There, we went into the Au Vrai Normand ("The True Normandy") and had one of the best surprises of the day. We ordered the "express meal" and had an excellent three-course meal of cold gazpacho soup, Sunday-best chicken, and a cheese dessert. "Express" means something different in French cooking, but we were not complaining.
 
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Theresa's childhood home is now a museum, operated with great reverence by Carmelite sisters. My education had not been flavored by the specialness of this saint versus others, but I was impressed that this home and many of its contents had been used personally by someone who did have a role in church history, limited or not.
   St. Peter's Cathedral in Lisieux     St. Teresa's house, furnishings, toys, and garden |
The Hotel Normandy, our three-star stop until Monday, was easy to find and had good, underground parking. Beyond that, it was pretty unremarkable. Probably won't be a recommendation.
Sunday, Monet's House and Garden
After our normal slow breakfast, we made the five kilometer trip across the Seine to the village of Giverny. It was here that Claude Monet set up a studio, house, and garden that served for decades as both his workplace and the setting for many of his most famous pictures. Giverny is a must-see for artsy Paris tourists and many of them were out this summer Sunday. There were crowds in the village street, lines to get into the house and gardens, and thousands of folks wandering everywhere. While this normally is not my cup of tea, the grounds themselves seemed to soften any irritation.
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From the house, we went over to the Impressionism Museum. Led by Monet, Giverney became a center of the impressionist painters and continues to have several artists who have made the village their homes and studios. I found the Museum collections extraordinary and enjoyed the time and space to see everything. Again, no pictures, but you need to visit in person anyway.
So, that was that for the goal of this two-night stop. After Giverny, we returned to the hotel garage and tried to see if our car would repeat the odd noise that had worried us a couple of days before. It didn't and we decided to chance avoiding the repair shop. It's always pretty frustrating reporting a problem that "might" have been happening, especially if we would have to explain across a language barrier.
We did manage to squeeze in one more meal, this time at Cote Marine, a Seine-side fish restaurant, where Marianne and I had beef and pork dishes. Not too bad and the walk to and from was pleasant. (Across the street, we saw another project we could take on .... not!)
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Until then,
John and Marianne
ps: Maps
  Drive to Vernon -- Around Vernon and Giverney |