Farewell to France!
I think I have come to the end of my blogging about our trip to France….after all, we have been back for over a month now.
In summary…it was a great trip, and really special because the kids came with us. I loved being on a boat and in the same bed every night as opposed to changing hotels and packing/unpacking all the time, and never really having a sense of “being there”. I like being settled.
We were lucky to have decent weather during the whole trip. Some days were overcast, but we only had slight drizzle one day. Temperatures mostly in the 60s, which was perfect.
Viking was a good cruise line….very organized, clean, fairly good food (some exotic offerings like wild boar ugh! and not enough chicken. LOL) There are a couple of picky eaters in our family who would have killed for a hamburger once in a while. The staff was very accommodating and always on top of things. I loved the slow pace of the boat and watching we cruised past towns and villages along the Seine. Our cabins were small and compact, but plenty big enough….and an added bonus was windows that could slide open.
I would say that the most special place we visited was Normandy. Standing on those beaches and visiting the cemetery were truly moving experiences. I was surprised by all of the signs thanking the “liberators” - 64 years after D-Day. The most beautiful place was Paris, an incredibly gorgeous city, wonderfully preserved. New construction is strictly regulated so that the center of the city remains uniform…and uniformly lovely. Versailles was a big disappointment due to the crowds and some obnoxious groups of visitors. I do not think that “crowd control” is even a concept there – surely something could be done in terms of ticket sales, etc. to keep the crowds more manageable. The sheer magnitude and opulence of the palace of Versailles is certainly impressive, though.
I think all of us enjoyed seeing some small and out-of-the-way places like Caudebec and Les Andelys, which the October tourists seemed to miss….if they are ever there at all. Rouen was a nice place to spend a day, very walkable and lots of interesting things to see, and I was glad we were able to visit Giverny, about which I had read so much.
In the not-too-distant future I look forward to returning to France with some of my high school gal-pals and spending more time in Paris, as well as visiting Provence.
Below is a photo of the Elysee Palace in Paris, described to us by our guide as "the home of Carla Bruni.....oh, and her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France!"
Laura and Brendan under the Eiffel Tower
and last but not least, all of us - overlooking the Normandy beaches
Au revoir