Flaneuring in France 2017: Living the good life on the banks of the Seine

Next stop was Porte Joie a tiny village on the banks of the Seine.

We followed the back roads heading southwest and wove our way through lots of villages to get there. We had a couple of stops on the way....

Dieppe was an ancient port for many centuries but is probably best known for it’s role in WWII because of its proximity to the Normandy beaches where the allies landed.

We wandered around the town, firstly to check out the beach. It was a pebble beach – very hard on the backside if the weather had been fine enough for bathing – and we were horrified to see at least a hundred white mobile homes lined up in an exposed car park at the beach: not a tree in sight. I won’t be putting that on my list of places to camp, that’s for sure!

This religious statue had been carefully placed overlooking
the entrance to the port but I wondered if the fishermen
had chosen this location in the hope of divine assistance wiht their catch!

Determined to have fish and chips for lunch we perused endless menus only to find that in Dieppe they don’t really do fried fish and chips. But of course they do fish cooked in cream and frites: all very nice! A wander around the shops and the harbour and we set off, heading further south.

It is lovely to drive on the smaller roads but it does take a lot longer as every small village has a speed limit of 50 and sometimes 30, and the main roads have a limit of 90. So finally we decided we had better hit some main roads to get us through Rouen. I would like to say that Rouen looked interesting but to be honest I can’t tell you as I was juggling Maps on the tablet and the GPS on the car to try and work how the hell to do it. Gloria, the car GPS, seemed to have a meltdown in the middle of town and gave no instructions at all. Despite her lack of interest we only had to do a U-turn once, with some swearing I admit, until we finally emerged at the other side of town. So maybe we will have to see Rouen at some other time!

Our living room windows overlooking the Seine

We weren’t too sure about the next accommodation ( Airbnb Porte Joie) but it did say an entire house and it was on the banks of the Seine so we were hopeful. Well we certainly underestimated it! It is an entire house created from an old building ( maybe stables?) but newly renovated and with every mod con. The original proportions of the building remain so there are a couple of spots where you have to duck as the ceiling is so low. But it is literally on the banks of the Seine which is a wide slow moving river.

For future reference - Airbnb- Sur les bords de Seine avec sauna Porte Joie - host is Helene

We appear to be staying in a ‘millionaires row’ of superb old houses that have been lovingly restored without compromising their history. This morning I went for a walk along the ‘promenade’ along the banks of the river and it led me past the houses, an old church with ancient graves and through some woods lining the bank. Very beautiful.

Early morning view of the Seine

After Ewan managed to work out how the coffee machine worked, we were able to have some breakfast to sustain us for a trip to see Monet’s garden, only 20 kms away at Giverny.

The entire town is given over to Monet’s house and garden, statue, tomb and museum. However the highlight is undoubtedly the gardens and the waterlily pond which inspired his beautiful waterlily series of paintings

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Fortunately we were there early as it is very popular and is only open from April to October when the garden is at its best. The range of tulips was the highlight, I have never seen such a range of colours, sizes and shapes. Some were as large as dinner plates and had multiple frills whilst others were simple curved single rows of petals. The colours were vivid and the combinations very pretty as you can see.

There were lots of hyacinths too, hidden in the crowded planting, but their blooms seemed so large that they had all fallen ov.er

The range of colours and shapes was stunning. But the overall effect of the garden with crowded garden beds ablaze with colour set amongst some lovely arches and trees filled with blossom was stunning. As you can see the waterlilies were not flowering but the ponds were very lovely anyway. As Ewan pointed out there wasn’t a lot in common with our rambling unkempt garden at home. But then again, we don’t have a team of gardeners to look after our garden do we?

The famous bridge, but no waterlilies flowering.

After a quick wander through the house itself filled with (copies of) paintings Monet liked we set off for the Museum. The exhibition was about paintings about music: from gypsy girls playing tambourines to circus music to some classical portraits of violinists and cellists. Lots of painters and a wide range of techniques to admire. Then a small exhibition demonstrating the wide range of impressionism. And I had to have a good look at the shop and bought a spectacles case with waterlilies on it: so kitsch but very pretty!

Time to move on as the next stop was Les Andelys. We found an Artisan Boulanger (flash bakery) and tried to use our best French to purchase some lunch and some quiches for dinner. Why is it that when you try to communicate in the local language you forget the most basic words. I was standing there composing what I would say when I simply couldn’t remember the word for mushrooms…..and of course it's champignons! What an idiot!

I have managed to avoid using any Indonesian yet, but it is an effort as Indonesian words pop into my brain far more readily than French. When I was in Bali I did Indonesian language lessons three times a week for a month. I’m just not sure that any of it will be useful here so I just have to try and dredge up some French from the depths of my brain.

Despite my brain freeze we managed to purchase a loaf of rustic grain bread, some quiches of indeterminate filling (too hard), a toasted baguette with chorizo and cheese, an apple pastry ( Ewan is testing every one he sees!) and a ‘pain au raisin’ for me - all of it delicious! Mind you there was quite a queue that formed with only one person serving and our appalling French taking too much time!

So now we are listening to one 30 minute French lesson per day so let's hope we improve!

The next part of our adventure involved a visit to the ruins of Richard the Lionheart's castle - officially known as Chateau Gaillard - on the outskirts of Les Andelys.

I'd like to be able to say that we only took a few minutes to get there but we went around in circles a few times climbing out of the valley up a hill, and then ending up back in the valley to climb the same hill.......and again! Somehow carefully following Google Maps this time we ended up on a narrow road with blackberries on either side scratching the car paintwork....and we were on the right road according to Google! After some frustration and switching maps we managed to find the ruins and they were worth the hassle to get there (fortunately!).

Overlooking the Seine below it was clear this would have been a well located fort when it was built in the late 12th century. It's claim to fame is the the walls were 5 metres thick which is impressive. Despite such fortifications it was only English territory for a few years before becoming part of France in 1204.The site has a chequered past: fires, attacks and deliberate destruction over the following centuries so there isn't a great deal left.