Tears for Beauty, Tears of Remembrance

Sunday morning was a beautiful day and we visited Claude Monet’s House and Gardens in Giverny. For some reason I had in my mind that it was going to be a really small house and 

For you, Iris!

View from the bedroom window. 

These lighter-coloured tulips seem to be dying off, first. 

small garden. The house, in all honesty, was not something I found that interesting although it had a beautiful yellow dining room which really stood out and a blue French kitchen with lots of space to cook. The upstairs bedroom has a phenomenal view of all of the garden. And the garden, well it is spectacular. 

We had the first tickets available for the day and within minutes, the garden was packed with people clamouring to get just the right photograph. The gardens are full of just about every kind of tulip, every kind of rose, and every kind of flower you could imagine. It’s hard to think of the planning that must have gone into the creation of the gardens. Everything just works together so beautifully. There are hyacinth blooms dangling from tree branches, perfectly placed it seems, over the water lilies. It’s really hard to put into words but suddenly you are seeing all of Monet’s paintings in real life, not in a painting. Seeing such beauty all in one place was actually very emotional and it literally brought tears to my eyes. I know it’s a spot that my mom would have really loved and I don’t know if my aunt got to see it when she lived here, but I certainly hope so. If anyone in your life loves the beauty and solitude of gardens, this is where they should visit, if the opportunity is available. 

We decided to head north towards Dieppe and it was a somber change from the beauty of the gardens. It’s about a 90 minute drive. So far all of the motorways in France have been very good to drive on and the signage is very helpful at ensuring you’re following the right path to your destination, in case you aren’t certain whether or not the GPS is guiding you properly or whether you’re following the GPS as intended. 

The beach at Dieppe is not a sandy beach. It is all stone and rock, about 3 or 4 inches in size minimum, so it’s challenging to walk. It’s also hilly. When the water rolls onto the beach you can hear all of the rocks clanging together making quite a sound. We also toured the Canadian Memorial Museum for the 22 August 1942. We were the only guests in the museum and it was hosted by a kind woman who only spoke French and a very lovely French-speaking gentleman who took his job very earnestly. They asked us how much French we could speak and even though I clearly replied, “un peu,” for some reason he seemed to think I could understand much more than I could. They showed a 40 minute video which explains the history of Dieppe on that fateful day and it was educational and helped us understand. The museum is actually located in an old cinema so the entirety of the museum is on the first floor and displays are set in the foyer and on the old stage. It was also a very emotional and moving experience to hear the survivors explain what particularly stood out in their memories. The “roll call” response to an interviewer’s question is one I don’t think I shall ever forget. 

Fishers on the pier at Dieppe

We tried to end the day with a drive along the coast to our final destination of Honfleur but that route was a long drive so we abbreviated the trip going inland instead, once we reached the town of Fecamp. We needed to get diesel for the car, actually we learned it’s called GAZOLE, but the GPS took us on a very indirect path full of tiny winding streets to make it to the petrol station. Needless to say, near the end of a long drive, it was quite exhausting to be facing these trying driving conditions. 

And just when we thought we had put all of the driving trials behind us for the day, we suddenly arrived at the Pont de Normandie. It’s an enormous feat of engineering with a double span bridge that pretty much looks like you are about to drive onto a roller coaster. It is huge. David was instructed, very seriously, by his wife, to look straight ahead only, not to check the water for some nice ships. Not sure he’ll get me over that one again. But it is a remarkable feat of engineering and architecture.  My pictures do not really capture the bridge. Google it if you’re interested.

With the sun gloriously shining, we reached Honfleur. We approached the place we will be staying for the next while and were slightly confused as it had a gate outside the facility which gave the impression we would be parking on the street. I had understood that parking came with the property which I had expected to have a lot of beautiful green space and a park-like atmosphere. This looked from the exterior, street view, that we were about to stay in amongst a bunch of row-houses. Realizing there was a buzzer to let us in, two green gates opened and we were ushered inside the grounds by our host. It has made us realize that we have absolutely no idea what is beyond the gates and doors of all of the properties in this city. In many ways, all of the buildings look quite similar from the street view, now we know that’s not the case. 

We are staying in an old French chateau that has been converted into an inn. It is on beautiful park-like grounds and even has a kitchen for the residents to use at their leisure. After a full day exploring France, it was nice to be so warmly welcomed by our host. We spent the evening wandering around Honfleur which is quite a tourist spot. Unbeknownst to us, it has an extensive upscale art vibe situated alongside the port. We will enjoy Honfleur’s coastal beauty over the next several days.