I had to get up very early for a quick breakfast and airport transfer. As on my departure, the flights were uneventful. I arrived early in the evening, giving me enough time to get re-settled at home. Overall, I had a wonderful cultural, culinary and cruising experience in France, one I’ll never forget.
The grand finale of our tour was a visit to Monet’s Home and Gardens in Giverny. The weather was overcast and cool but dry. I was surprised to see so many flowers in bloom this late in the season (October).
Our guide gave an amusing narration of Monet’s private life and romantic entanglements. Monet’s collection of impressionist artists’ paintings are on display throughout the home.
We also visited the nearby Impressionist Museum.
The rest of the day was spent back at the ship where we had a presentation on the life of French fashion designer Coco Chanel, followed in the evening by our farewell reception and dinner.
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We drove to the town of Tilly where we visited La Ferme des Ruelles, a charming apple orchard farm. We drove past harvested fields, farm animals and wind turbines and stopped to view the ruins of the Château Gaillard, Richard the Lionheart’s castle, and learn about its history from a local guide.
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La Ferme des Ruelles
Château GaillardWe returned to Les Andelys where our ship was docked and had a short walking tour of the town, including St. Savior Church.
Back at the ship, after lunch and an ice cream social, we spent the rest of the day at leisure and ended with cocktails and appetizers, dinner and a cabaret show in the lounge.
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Today we had the luxury of sleeping in as our excursion was scheduled for the afternoon. We had a walking tour of the Jumièges Abbey, which was built in the 7th century, later destroyed by the Vikings, partially rebuilt, but then destroyed during the French Revolution. leaving only impressive ruins.
We drove back along country roads and stopped to visit the MuséoSeine, a museum dedicated to the history of the Normandy Seine, before returning to the ship.
After cocktails and appetizers, we headed out for dinner at the Chateau du Taillis, a 16th century manor. Our menu included smoked salmon, duck, cheeses and a variety of desserts.
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This was a very long but informative day at the Normandy beaches. We had a great knowledgeable local guide whose grandparents’ home had been occupied by German soldiers for four years during the war. Our walking tour of the Pointe du Hoc had an excellent narration on the D-Day activities. D-Day was the beginning of the Normandy offensive which lasted for months. Many young soldiers, some of them just in their teens, died.
Afterward, we stopped at the Omaha Beach memorial and left white roses at its base.
We had an excellent lunch at the Chateau la Cheneviere, a 18th century manor house, followed by a walking tour of the American Cemetery. Over 9,300 soldiers are buried there (less than half of the fallen).
Chateau la Cheneviere
American CemeteryOn the way back to the ship, we drove past charming villages with stone buildings, walls, churches, war memorials and abandoned military equipment, and farms with cattle, horses and sheep. Our day ended with a nice dinner and a dessert buffet.
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This was the best day of the tour so far. We visited the Mémorial de Caen, a museum and war memorial commemorating World War II, and I definitely could have spent more time here. The guided audio tour starts at 1918 and moves through to the liberation of Paris. The movies were very well done.
We then went on to Bayeux to visit the cathedral and have lunch in town on our tour company. After lunch we walked through the Tapestry museum with an audio “play-by-play” of the scenes depicted on the tapestry. Despite its description, it’s actually embroidered linen, not a tapestry. It depicts the events leading to the Norman conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy, in 1066.
Bayeux Cathedral
Le Manufacture Restaurant
Bayeux Tapestry Museum
After returning to the ship, we listened to a great D-Day presentation in the lounge and ended the day with a wonderful dinner featuring bouillabaisse and veal tenderloin.
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We had a rainy walking tour of Rouen and visited the Notre Dame Cathedral. The subject of almost 30 paintings by impressionist artist Claude Monet, this Gothic cathedral has beautiful stained glass windows and small side chapels and contains the tombs of Rollo and Richard the Lionheart.
The city is an interesting mix of old and new architecture. Its showpiece is the astronomical clock which dates back to the 14th century. We saw the Palais de Justice and the Place du Vieux-Marché, where a modern church marks the site of Joan of Arc’s execution pyre. Little is known about Joan of Arc. She is said to have been a shepherdess, but some say she was actually a noble of illegitimate birth. Why she was singled out for burning at the stake remains a mystery.
Astronomical Clock
Palais de Justice
No massacre took place on this street – butchers’ shops were located on this street centuries ago, hence the name
Church of Saint Joan of ArcI returned to the ship for lunch and a relaxing afternoon, attending a fun presentation titled “Tour de France of Gastronomy” that discussed the food specialties of different regions of France. The day ended with wine and appetizers in the lounge followed by the Chef’s Signature Dinner with duck breast, porcini essiccati, deep sea scallops, Alaskan halibut and flaming creme brulee.
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We had hit-and-miss (fortunately, mostly “miss”) rain on our visit to the Château de Versailles. Our guide lead us through the royal apartments, state rooms, and the Hall of Mirrors. The paintings, statuary, and marble and gilt bronze interiors are magnificent. We also saw the interior of the Baroque chapel and the gardens with their statuary, fountains, and lake. Many fruit trees were in the process of being moved indoors in advance of the cold weather.
After lunch, we had a chance to rest and then go up to the Sun Deck for photos as we left Paris. We had our last look at the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. We saw lots of house boats and the beginning of fall color changes in the trees.
After a quick introduction to colloquial French and another excellent dinner, we watched the documentary “D-Day” narrated by Tom Brokaw, a great overview for our upcoming visit to the D-Day beaches.
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I chose the city tour option for today’s excursion. We saw many city landmarks and had photo stops at the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides.
The Seine River and the Eiffel Tower in the early morning light
Eiffel Tower
Paris Opera House
Giant teddy bears enjoying breakfast at an outdoor cafe
Napoleon Bonaparte is buried under the dome of Les InvalidesWe toured the Panthéon, which is the burial site for not only military leaders but also writers and philosophers.
Our tour guide gave us 20 euros for lunch of our choosing in the Latin Quarter before returning to the ship.
We drove past the Arch of Triumph, but it was covered in scaffolding as an exhibit by Cristo was being removed, so the photo is less than ideal. Notre Dame Cathedral, still under renovation following the 2019 fire, was also off limits.
Arch of Triumph
Notre Dame Cathedral
We returned to the ship and had a wonderful see bass dinner followed by great entertainment in the lounge with a French jazz trio featuring Cynthia Queenton.
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My day started with breakfast in the hotel brasserie followed by a meeting with one of our tour guides in the lobby for joining instructions.
Our group (49 people total) left by bus mid-afternoon, and we boarded our ship, the MS Sapphire, around 3 PM. The ship was both cozy and elegant with friendly courteous staff, and my cabin was small but comfortable. We moved quickly from orientation to a buffet dinner and then back on the bus for a private tour of the Louvre.
We had an excellent guide who described the museum’s history and its collections. As it would take a month to view the entire museum, we focused on the most famous masterpieces – the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory and Venus de Milo, I managed to take quite a few pictures of the paintings and sculptures as we walked through the galleries.
Inside the Louvre Pyramid
Our group had fun with this sculpture, which we christened “Apollo Taking a Selfie”
Mona Lisa
Winged Victory
Venus de Milo
Old Centaur Teased by Eros (apparently Eros has never heard of the consequences of “poking the bear”)When we got back to the ship, there was a surprise dessert waiting for us in the lounge – crepes suzettes! I had chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce with mine and enjoyed a musical performance by a pianist and singer.
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