Just Cruises Plus

Real water lilies at Giverny

After three nights at the Count’s “castle” we continued to follow the route that my uncle took in his fight across France during WWII.  After visiting several towns devastated in the war, we deviated from the route to get to our next B & B in the town of Giverny, the home of Claude Monet where he created his most famous works.  Monet was one of the founders of the Impressionist movement; in fact, the name “impressionist” came from one of his paintings named Impression, Sunrise. The highlight of the town of Giverny is Monet’s gardens where his Water Lilies series was painted. But that is not all that that Giverny area has to offer.

Les Andelys

Les Andelys is nearby. From the hill overlooking it, Les Andelys appears to be a toy town or fairyland. Les Andelys is actually two towns, hence the word “Les”. We walked along the meandering Seine River where the Tapestry 2 Avalon riverboat, happened to be docked. Rachelle was invited aboard for a visit and was very impressed with the upscale public spaces and staterooms.

Château Gaillard

The Château Gaillard, a (partially ruined) fortress built by Richard the Lionhearted in the 12^th century, is the most dramatic sight on the Seine River (I think even more than the Eiffel Tower). It took only one year to build this enormous structure.

Avalon Tapestry II docked in Les Andelys

Our next stop in the Giverny areas was one of the most beautiful villages in France, La Roche-Guyon. It’s imposing castle, named after the town, was the headquarters of the German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox”. Rommel committed suicide after the failed attempt on Hitler’s life.

Sandrine’s library / music room

Our hostess at our Giverny Bed & Breakfast was a lovely French woman who spoke perfect English. She was neither a count nor a colonel and her modest, eclectically furnished house was completely different from our first two chateaus. However, it was no less comfortable and Sandrine, our hostess, was warm and charming. We must say that we hit a grand slam with our Normandy Bed & Breakfasts. Each was different but each was fantastic in terms of food, hosts and comfort and location.

My Uncle was initially buried in Villeneuve sur Auvers Cemetery.

After two very pleasant nights, we headed toward Paris. But first, we visited the cemetery where my uncle was buried after he was killed. His body was brought back to the US and the cemetery is now farmland but there is a memorial with his name on a plaque.

Our next installment in this series will focus on our stay in Paris.