Paris to Normandy
At 10.15 am we all assembled with our luggage to head to a street wide enough for our coach to collect us.
Greg and Gaye have booked a luxury coach and driver for our week in Normandy.
The following photos are ones I snapped out the bus window as we headed south towards Normandy.
At about 1pm we arrived at Monet’s Garden near Giverny.
We only had 1.25 hours here so it was very rushed. We found the signage to be really confusing so wasted time walking wrong directions and then asking as soon as we heard someone speak English where to go to get tickets. As we walked we met some young Aussies from Sydney who had the same issues as us working out where to go – so we were reassured it wasn’t our age holding us back.
For a major tourist attraction that wants to make money they could do their admissions much more efficiently. I know they may try to limit the number of people in the garden at any one time, but by doing that they also limit your opportunity to purchase from the gift shop if you are on a short time frame.
So after 30 minutes in 35 degree heat standing in the queue – (yes we are in the European heat wave!) we finally entered the garden. Again it was not clear how to quickly get to the lily pond and bridge. I had done some research so knew we had to go under the road. I felt very sorry for families with prams lugging them up and down the concrete steps to get there.
However it was worth while as I had wanted to see this garden ever since we booked this holiday.
Mim, I thought of you with every step. And I saw flowers I had not seen since childhood. Snapdragons, geraniums and others that were always in our garden as a child.
I am so glad I purchased the ice towels before I left home as I used one for the first time today. I think we would have suffered heat stroke if we didn’t have it. There was a lot of walking in the heat and we then didn’t have time to get any food or drink before returning to the bus.
When we reached the Village of Villers Bocage the driver stopped at a bottle shop called le Cave for us to get supplies for our week at the Chateau. That was a challenge, finding a wine that looked remotely familiar. It cost us 50 euros for 24 stubbies and 2 bottles of wine.
Lovely descriptions of the gardens and love your commentary on traffic, travel tips, food and prices etc. thanking you for sharing your adventures with us, and loved seeing that little wave on video. Keep enjoying your trip to the max. ?
Hi Helen, glad you enjoyed our blog. Yes the numbers person in me keeps comparing to Aus prices. Its not a negative as we knew before we came, but it is interesting. Cheers Ruth
Hi Ruth and Paul so glad you are enjoying your holiday the gardens are just beautiful all well here can not wait to see what is next keep well and safe xx
Thanks Chris. We hope you are well too. Lots more coming up. We are glad there are a few rest days for playing bridge! cheers Ruth
Loved the gardens
Yes Laraine, they were beautiful. More time on a cooler day would be ideal but not this time. Cheers Ruth
Sounds like you’re having a wonderful trip.
Have a glass or 2 for me! 🙂
Hi Christine. Yes having a great time. Enjoying a few wines and beer along the way. But most of all enjoying French food at every opportunity. cheers Ruth
Great video of Monets garden, Paul.
Sorry he didn’t grow hops but the water lilies were worth seeing. It did look hot though!
Hi Kate. Verrryyy hot! Luckily it is cooler now and far more pleasant for sight seeing. Ruth
Such a beautiful garden & in so much sunshine
Lovely holiday
Glad you finally found your way around the gardens, sounds like such an amazing place to visit. I have heard that Europe is having extremely hot weather which is unusual for them. Try to stay cool and well hydrated.
Glad you finally found your way around the gardens, sounds like such an amazing place to visit. I have heard that Europe is having extremely hot weather which is unusual for them. Try to stay cool and well hydrated.
Not sure if the first email went through so I’ll try again.
Hi, got both messages. Normandy was much cooler and its nice in Bruges. Cheers Ruth
What an amazing video of Monet’s Garden, will have to put that on the bucket list, thanks Paul.
Hi Krsytyna, so nice to hear from you. Hope you enjoyed your cruise. We board ours tomorrow. Love to you all. Ruth and Paul
Hi Ruth & Paul,
We all had a wonderful family cruise/holiday in Cairns, this is one family holiday we will not forget, as we had Ethan and Cejay along with us. The cruise up the coast was smooth, weather was great.
Glad to hear that you both are having a great time. Good health and good weather to you both. We are off again on the 5 Sept for 35 days, so we will miss each other, but will get together soon after.
Good traveling, keep the blogs coming.
Peter.
Hi, so glad it all went well. Cruising from today. Looking forward to along lunch when we both get back. Ruth
I’m enjoying your blog especially the photos. Janina
Hi Janina, lovely to hear from you. Hope you are well.
Looking forward to a catch up lunch in October. Ruth