Paris, July 6th, 2013

Saturday 29th June. We made an excursion from Chateauroux to Bourges. It was a wet morning but the rain had more or less stopped when we arrived. Bourges has free parking near the medieval city which is encouraging for tourists. We went to the Tourist Office and got a map. The tourist train was just leaving so we went on the tour which also had an informative commentary in English. As we left there were several wedding parties making their way to the Town Hall for the civil ceremony and so we waved to them.  An hour later we finished the tour at the cathedral. It is really impressive and avoided damage during the Wars of Religion, the Revolution and both World Wars. The nave is 37m high (think a ten story building!) and the stained glass in the choir dates from 1215, contemporary with the more famous Chartres cathedral. There are three levels of windows and the bottom level is just above eye level so you don't need binoculars to see them. There is also an astronomical clock from 1424 which is only a few seconds out in a year. 

 The tourist train parked outside the cathedral in Bourges.

 Cathedral of St. Etienne in Bourges.

 Detail of one of the 13thC stained glass windows.

 The diamond pattern is very typical of the half timbered buildings in Bourges.

 

Our next stop was in Alencon famous for its lace, but we did not go to the lace museum. On the way to Alencon we explored the Loire Valley a little including driving through Chambord park. Our day trip from Alencon was to Saint Ceneri le Generi supposedly one of the prettiest villages in France and we were not disappointed. From there to Mayenne and Jublains for the Roman ruins and Lassay les Chateaux another classic chateau. 

Chambord, one of the great chateaux of the Loire. Begun in 1519 it is surrounded by a vast park and forest where the king used to hunt.

One of the pretty restaurants in Sainte-Ceneri-le-Gerai, one of the most beautiful villages in France.

 A street in Sainte-Ceneri-le-Gerai.

 Frescoes probably from the 12th-14thC inside the 11thC Romanesque church in Sainte-Ceneri-le-Gerai. They had been plastered over centuries ago and this preserved them.

Lassay les Chateaux in Mayenne

 

We were a bit ambitious making our way from Alencon to Caen. We started off visiting Sees cathedral. This cathedral is the 5th Christian structure on the site of a Roman temple. As far as I know it is the only cathedral ordered to be burnt by its own bishop. (He was trying to smoke out looters) The Pope was unimpressed and ordered him to rebuild the cathedral! I was anxious to finally see some French coast and so we went to St Malo which took rather longer than I expected so we were late arriving in Caen. 

 The story of Sees cathedral and its vicissitudes through the centuries.

 The keep of the chateau of Carrouges near Sees in Normandy. The chateau itself is moated and was lived in by the same family from the 14thC until 1936.

On Wednesday we went back to Falaise to see William the Conqueror's castle where he was born in 1029. It was drizzling rain, but the old buildings outside the castle were attractive. Unfortunately at this point the Sat Nav gave up the ghost. Although previously we have found our way around France with just paper maps, you do get used to modern technology.  We returned to Caen and found the Opel dealer who was not very helpful and so we resorted to our own TomTom which we had brought from Australia. Driving north east from Caen we reached the coast at Deauville, a very up market seaside resort. Apparently it was race day as there was no shortage of horse floats and traffic. Our last stop on the way to Rouen was Honfleur, one of Monet's haunts. Unfortunately it was chaotic. There were major roadworks and one of the main parking areas was inaccessible. It was also one of the few places where we found tourist hordes. 

 A chaumiere - a thatched cottage of Normandy. Although this one does not  they typically have iris planted along the ridge of the roof.

The harbour at Honfleur as painted by Monet and many others.

 The porch of the wooden St Catherine's church in Honfleur.

 A saxophonist plays Bach next to the organ in St Catherine's church in Honfleur.

 I love the lively horses on this carousel next to the harbour in Honfleur.

Thursday was our last full day in France and we went to Dieppe. It was a glorious day and driving along the coast was very pleasant. On Saturday we had until 6 p.m. to get to CDG airport, so we went to Giverny and peered through the fence of Monet's garden, which was looking as beautiful as ever. Continuing along through the Seine Valley we were able to amble along quiet back roads although we were so close to Paris. 

 Camembert in the making?

 The cliffs at Pourville. I had read how Monet was fascinated by the changing colour of the sea on the Normandy coast. The day we were there, the sea was a beautiful turquoise colour.

 Cathedral square surrounded by pleached trees.

 Monet's garden at Giverny viewed through the fence.

 Sunlight on the cliffs beside the Seine near Les Andelys.

A pigeonnier or dovecote in the Seine Valley. The pigeons were an important food source in Medieval times and were kept for their eggs, meat and dung.

 

The pace changed suddenly when we got onto the autoroutes on the outskirts of Paris. I found that rather nervewracking but we got the car back to the depot at the airport without incident. I was promising myself a Gin and tonic at the airport. So it was a disappointment when I could not find it and had to settle for French champagne.
We arrived home to bitterly cold weather and now I have caught up on sleep I will put this blog into hibernation until next time we set off on our travels.