Another sleepless and seamless (though not without a bump or two) flight to CDG and we had arrived again in France. While waiting on our car rental, we were advised as to a little unrest in the country that may affect access to trains and fuel during our visit. I supposed we’ll deal with that when the time comes. Which reminds me, while visiting Paris several years ago, we found ourselves in the middle of a spirited, milk-related labor protest. But I digress.
Our Peugeot (btw, internationally, it’s a common theme to be offered an upgrade for just a few dollars/euros per day…) and its navigation system first led us to Giverny, the picturesque home to Monet’s gardens, a few water lilies n’at. Perhaps you’ve heard of them? It was a beautiful, borderline hot sunny day and we weren’t the only ones who had noticed. After a bit of queuing, we were hustled in elbow-to-elbow into the home and then the gardens.
The latter of which had more to offer in personal space and in beauty. I love Monet’s paintings, and to see some of those scenes which inspired him was amazing. Impressionism captures internal the feeling about seeing, if that makes sense, and external light and movement in ways that nothing else does, and I can only imagine that perfect sunset which results in a Monet masterpiece.
Architecture offers its own masterpieces, also, and sometimes it is an entire town, collectively. We ventured next to Honfleur, a harbor town situated perfectly surrounding the water. Honfleur was our first overnight stay, and the tranquil setting was ideal for settling down our jet lag. And when you’re not far from the ocean, you seek the fruits de mer. After a dinner of oysters, mussels and such, we took in some live blues music (wait, what?) and called it a night.
Tomorrow was to bring about the first jump or two of our dive into WWII history…
Travel Notch 