Today was the day to see Monet's house and gardens and we were so glad
we waited. It was yet another perfect weather day, around 74 with some
clouds. We left quite early to catch the first train and it was a trek
once we made it to Gare St. Lazare. I think we walked at least a mile.
I must say, everyone we have approached throughout our visit has been
wonderfully helpful and friendly. We even had a woman approach us and
ask if we were looking for the Metro.
We enjoyed a nice train ride with window seats and a table in our compartment watching the countryside and the river with houseboats going by. It wasn't long before we arrived and the hoards descended from the train, all heading in the same direction like cattle being herded. We just followed whoever was in front of us. I can't imagine what it would be like in summer. As it turned out, the line for tickets wasn't too bad and we were inside, enjoying the Walled Garden, along with about 5 huge tour groups. But, we still enjoyed it.
Claude Monet's house and a tiny portion of his garden.
More garden leading to his home.
Chuck on the Japanese bridge in the Water Garden, reached by an underground tunnel, with a row boat behind him. Monet's?
Monet's water lilies.
Yellow dining room (I found out in the kitchen that I wasn't supposed to take photos inside.)
Lovely!
Naturally we had to have a spectacular lunch in a fabulous setting for our last day in Paris. Rick Steves recommended Hotel Baudy with it's pretty setting under the trees. We started with two cafe cremes while we perused the menu or, in France, la Carte. We decided on La Menu, which is the fixed price meal of 3 courses that works out to be a very good deal.
My starter was a walnut salad, not particularly picturesque. Chuck had the Goat Cottage Cheese Terrine with Peppers and Virgin Oil (hand made). He really scored and I was envious.
My next course was Salmon with Normandy Sauce, Garnished. I'm running out of adjectives. Delicious!
Chuck's next course was Lamb Brochette, Garnished. It included scalloped potatoes.
We both opted for the Apple Crumble. I am humbled. It was warm, almost hot in the center, and so mouth watering and "real" tasting and not too sweet. We really savored it and realized immediately that it called for two more cafe cremes.
After our very relaxing meal, we wandered around the lovely garden in the back of this hotel. Eventually we strolled to where we would catch the bus back to the train station in Vernon. Because of the herd coming in, neither of us remembered walking through an underground passage from the train. Assuming that the train back to Paris would be on the right side, as on a freeway, we stood there for a minute until we realized we recognized a lot of the people we had seen today, standing on the other side. We quickly crossed back through the passage but stopped to ask a man which side went to Paris. He was from Brazil but spoke just enough English to help us. We stayed with him. In fact, He and his wife were sitting on two of three seats and she got up and moved to another set of stools and he moved down one so we could both sit. This is what we run into all the time.
C&C
We enjoyed a nice train ride with window seats and a table in our compartment watching the countryside and the river with houseboats going by. It wasn't long before we arrived and the hoards descended from the train, all heading in the same direction like cattle being herded. We just followed whoever was in front of us. I can't imagine what it would be like in summer. As it turned out, the line for tickets wasn't too bad and we were inside, enjoying the Walled Garden, along with about 5 huge tour groups. But, we still enjoyed it.
Claude Monet's house and a tiny portion of his garden.
More garden leading to his home.
Chuck on the Japanese bridge in the Water Garden, reached by an underground tunnel, with a row boat behind him. Monet's?
Monet's water lilies.
Yellow dining room (I found out in the kitchen that I wasn't supposed to take photos inside.)
Lovely!
Naturally we had to have a spectacular lunch in a fabulous setting for our last day in Paris. Rick Steves recommended Hotel Baudy with it's pretty setting under the trees. We started with two cafe cremes while we perused the menu or, in France, la Carte. We decided on La Menu, which is the fixed price meal of 3 courses that works out to be a very good deal.
My starter was a walnut salad, not particularly picturesque. Chuck had the Goat Cottage Cheese Terrine with Peppers and Virgin Oil (hand made). He really scored and I was envious.
My next course was Salmon with Normandy Sauce, Garnished. I'm running out of adjectives. Delicious!
Chuck's next course was Lamb Brochette, Garnished. It included scalloped potatoes.
We both opted for the Apple Crumble. I am humbled. It was warm, almost hot in the center, and so mouth watering and "real" tasting and not too sweet. We really savored it and realized immediately that it called for two more cafe cremes.
After our very relaxing meal, we wandered around the lovely garden in the back of this hotel. Eventually we strolled to where we would catch the bus back to the train station in Vernon. Because of the herd coming in, neither of us remembered walking through an underground passage from the train. Assuming that the train back to Paris would be on the right side, as on a freeway, we stood there for a minute until we realized we recognized a lot of the people we had seen today, standing on the other side. We quickly crossed back through the passage but stopped to ask a man which side went to Paris. He was from Brazil but spoke just enough English to help us. We stayed with him. In fact, He and his wife were sitting on two of three seats and she got up and moved to another set of stools and he moved down one so we could both sit. This is what we run into all the time.
C&C
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