We decided to sleep in a bit yesterday and when we finally hit the road, it was well after 10am. Another breakfast of toasted baguette, fromage and coffee and we were off to see the home and museum of Claude Monet in the village of Giverny about an hour away. WE changed the GPS to avoid toll roads and that was where we went wrong. Back roads to not begin to describe the places we ended up yesterday but as our friend Willie likes to say "every day is a new adventure". We found a sweet little farm market in Le Pas and got some pain au chocolat, took twisty turns down streets where we were thiclose to touching walls on either side, not to mention how steep they were! The kilometer distance reader didn't seem to be getting any lower as we drove for at least an hour and we decided to stop and have some lunch. Donald decided on easy and available and took us to a great little roadside spot called.....FAST FOOD....yup in english....though the workers and menu was in french we managed to order a 5 cheese pizza and cherry coke easily enough. I have never had so much cheese on a pizza in my life....mozza, parmesan, brie, blue and raclette. You could hardly pick up the slices they were so heavy and the crust so very thin. They also gave us two packets...like ketchup.....of cayenne oil for drizzling.....not hot at all from the heat master sitting across from me....we ate a little bit of cheese heaven that day.
That's me looking very nervous....this must be a four milk pill meal.Just to top off the incredible richness of that meal we get a small salted caramel ice cream sundae to go....We finally arrive at the town of Vernon which is huge and we get turned around so many times it makes me wonder how someone without a GPS could find Giverny. We do, just barely and make our first stop the museum. It was a little disappointing as I thought they would have Monet paintings there but it is always another Impressionist which made it okay in the end because I have never heard of the gentleman Maurice Denis and his work was quite lovely. But onto the Monet. With each step inside this tiny little village, truly a one lane kind of deal, you could smell more flowers, see more color, feel the paintings coming to life. I know it sounds silly but I kept saying "It's like we are in a painting" to which Donald would reply "Yes BooBoo, you keep saying that, it's lovely isn't it". So into the gift shop we go....always do this first, it just makes me happy buying things, and then into the gardens. OMG. it is absolutely stunning. The home of Claude Monet is completely painted wood, the rooms bright and with gorgeous views of the gardens, the room of paintings...sadly replicas....is like being in an impressionist dream. The kitchen and dining room are amazing and you can't take pictures inside :( I did buy the book though if you want to see it!!! Out to the garden and the LILY POND which is underground and a whole other garden space of its own. I took a video......
I also took a million pictures. Sadly we had to go and continue our journey to the Palace of Versailles and then Paris. Versailles was a treat! The gold and gilding, the mirrors, the statues, the frescoes, the paintings, the extravagance of the very rich and the life I think I could get quite settled into....except I can't because I have a dairy allergy. Yup, all that cheese finally caught up to me and I barfed my guts up at the Palace of the Sun King....funny they don't make a t-shirt that says that at the gift shop. Here are some pics I managed to take before we had to leave a bit earlier than we wanted to because I was feeling a bit weak.
So there we have Donald eating a pain au chocolat in front of the palace, the church, the hall of mirrors and the dining table for the king and queen. My camera battery is so low at this point I am conserving pictures. Donald's parents visited Versailles a few years ago and brought me the book back.....so I don't feel so bad!
Onto gay Paris where we decide to do the Eiffel Tower. Have I mentioned I am afraid of heights? I can do a roller coaster but put me on a 3 step ladder and my knees got to jelly...makes no sense I know. So we wait in line for about 45 minutes...the guides all tell you it could be up to 2 hours, eat some fries and chat to some dolled up ladies from Texas. We make it all the way to the first viewing platform on the 2nd floor when I break down. I gather myself together while Donald....who is enjoying this more than anything on the trip so far...takes pictures. I get it together and make it to the top. I play it safe and stay on the inside of the top level while Donni heads up to the open air. Not wanting to be alone I climbed the last staircase very carefully. I made it. We drink champagne at the top of the Eiffel Tower and celebrate our 10 and 16 year anniversaries. I love you Goggleybear.
It is now 10 o'clock and we are hungry. We try to find a veggie restaurant but it isn't showing up on the GPS. We drive for awhile when I notice Donald is not paying attention to the GPS while I am scanning the streets for dinner possibilities. He misses 3 turns then runs a red light. When the cops pull us over he mumbles a them. I think he's tired. We skip dinner and head for home. It has been a long but fabulous day.
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