A couple of months back, Ann received an email from our friend Magnus, Ann’s former classmate from Iceland. Well, his daughters Haldora and Thora (now those are Viking names!) live in France and he was planning to visit them. He asked whether we’d like to come for a visit - “You’re only about 7 hours away by car!” We couldn’t say no and decided we would make a trip of it. I knew I was going to have a busy April/May so I figured (correctly) that I was going to need a bit of a vacation, and we do love a good oadtrip (though not in the Bimobil this time). We figured about a week would be good.

So for the next couple of weeks in my free time I planned a possible trip route, made hotel reservations and didn’t think much about it. I worked my butt off, recovered a bit, worked a bit more and completed my projects with a couple of days to spare. So we decided we would leave a day early and booked our extra day’s hotel the night before we left.

The trip was . . . different than most of the trips we plan. This wasn’t a photography trip for sure and we decided we were not going to focus on national parks or landscapes or things like that. It was time to play tourists a bit and see some historic sites because, we’re in Europe and history is everywhere.

Finding potential places to stop was easy. For example, when we decided we wanted to leave a day early I thought, given our set schedule, which included a very long first day’s drive, why not drive half-way between home and the first planned stop. So I opened up Google Maps, visually estimated the half way point and started zooming into Belgium. And up pops Waterloo. Yeah, of Napoleon Bonaparte fame. That was our first day’s destination!

Day 1 didn’t go exactly as hoped for. I’d also researched a bit more in the area and found out that very close by was the Folon Foundation - the museum and institute founded to exhibit the work of a Belgian Artist Jean-Michel Folon. I was familiar with his work from my days as an architecture student - one of my close friends loved his work. You are probably familiar with his watercolor images that were prominent in the New Yorker magazine in the late 1970’s, early ’80’s - often ironic, witty images that would often have no captions and depicted the absurdities and struggles of humanity, he called it “white humor”. Anyway, we arrived at what Google said was the entrance and . . . could not find a way in. No signage (though earlier I’d seen a sign for it). After a few frustrated minutes, we decided to head on to Waterloo - sorry Jean-Michel.

Waterloo was almost as frustrating. We ran into a road closure about 1/2 mile from the museum and battle field, which blocked car access to the area from our direction. We parked and walked in the cold wind. Yeah, it was June, but it’s been a very, very cold and wet June. But hey, the museum was really interesting and, as one might expect, Napoleon was not very happy about the state of things.

It was too cold and windy to want to spend a lot of time outside and certainly not to climb the giant hill that was constructed on the site, so instead, Ann and I had a nice late lunch/early dinner and made the short drive down to the hotel. Given how bushed I felt, I was glad I split that first long drive into two shorter sections (I guess I’m not getting any younger).

The next day was dedicated to art. When I’d looked in the area of France a bit north of where Haldora’s and Thora’s place was, my eye immediately went to Giverny on the map. Zooming in I confirmed that it was, indeed, the Giverny of Claude Monet fame, where he painted his famous water lilies and garden photographs. After a few hour drive that morning, we hit Giverny around noon and spent a few hours wandering his gardens.

Flowers were everywhere and you can see where the inspiration for his impressionist paintings came from.

Unfortunately, though not surprisingly, the place was a tourist magnet and was packed, even for early June. I’d hate to see what it is like in August! Still, Ann and I managed to get away from the biggest crowds by wandering into lesser visited parts of the garden. They were lovely.

We of course had cameras with us, but no tripods.

We eventually made our way around to the large lily ponds that he made so famous.

Even with casual hand-held images, you can see how the impressionists came to represent water the way they did.

After a few hours in the gardens we headed towards Vernon, a town just down-stream from Giverny where our hotel was. Before crossing the Seine River, we stopped off to look at a small castle and mill I’d scouted on the map.

In front of the castle was a mason-bee structure where the bees could do their thing.

And down by the river was the mill.

That evening, after settling in, we decided to go into town and eat at an Algerian restaurant that had excellent reviews.

The reviews were justified!

After dinner, we wandered around Vernon a bit, stopping to photograph at their gothic cathedral, which is visible from quite a distance and very interesting from up close. And yes, those are gargoyles, but actually look like flying cats. It was a nice town and a lovely evening to just wander around.

The next morning we were back in Giverny, this time to check out the Impressionism Museum and its gardens. Sensing rain might be coming, we opted for the gardens first, taking our time to appreciate the diversity of plantings.

There were of course plenty of flowers.

And when it started raining, we headed indoors.

I’ve seen several of Monet’s paintings in person, mostly in DC’s National Gallery of Art. It was nice to see some more obscure paintings, nearly all painted in the area around Giverny. Looking at the paintings up close, you can see the layers of thick paint used to construct the image.

And one painting included the Vernon cathedral Ann and I strolled past the day before.

After learning about Monet’s life and impressionism in general, we headed down the road a ways to Le Val-Doré where we would spend the next couple of nights. When we were in Iceland, Magnus and his wife Yayoi explained to us that one of their daughters was looking to buy a place outside of Paris where they could settle down. Well, they finally found one and the whole family has pitched in to buy it. It’s an old farm property with 9 structures on it. To say it’s a fixer-upper is to overstate its condition. One might say it’s barely habitable. Apparently, the old farmer who used to live in it could not do any maintenance of the property for the last 10 years of his life. And then the place has sat empty for about 5 years. Haldora and her partner Lo Lo are gung ho about renovating it so . . . good for them! Let’s just say that Magnus was scraping plaster off the interior stairway walls when we arrived!

Still, the place has real potential and I bet it will be beautiful in a few years time!

And, yes, our photographic sensibilities went wild with the possibilities. But that’s for future blog posts.

Magnus, Haldora and Thora quickly put us to work, moving things, weeding and generally getting the place ready for company (us). Then it was off to the grocery store to go food shopping for the next couple of days.

When we got back from our food run, I helped Magnus find some blocks and bricks to form a makeshift grill . . .

. . . and we set a table outside for dinner. And yes, those are freshly cut and cooked French french fries. When in Rome, do as the Romans do!

The next day, Ann, Magnus, Thora and I drove to Trouville-sur-Mer on the coast to have lunch at a restaurant Haldora had recommended. The seafood was delicious. After some discussion, and realizing that it was June 6, the anniversary of D-Day, we decided to drive a ways east along the coast to Sword Beach, where British and French troops landed. Along the way we passed an airport where Magnus said, “There’s a big white and blue plane with USA on it! What do you think that is?” I looked over and could see in my side mirror the typical White-Blue commercial jet where US dignitaries fly in. I said, “Yeah, that’s a typical US diplomatic plane. It’s probably someone here for D-Day. Maybe it’s Hegseth?” A few minutes later, we ran into a massive traffic jam, just before our turn coastward to Ouistreham and Gold Beach. Unfortunately, I was right. It was Hegseth. Fortunately, the French audience apparently let him know what they thought of him. The French do love to speak their mind.

At Sword Beach, we made our way over to the D-Day Flame Memorial.

Walking back along the beach, there were plenty of signs that the residents there have not forgotten.

It was a bit late when we got back. Haldora had already started cooking our dinner and there was not much to be done, so I grabbed a camera to wander around the property to make photographs to pass the time. The property was rich with images.

That evening, after Thora’s partner Leon joined us (after a short train ride and 60 km bike ride from Paris), we had another delicious dinner and great conversation outside.

The next morning, before sunrise, Ann and I got up to make a photograph she’d planned the night before. I couldn’t resist pulling out my iPhone and taking a quick shot - the light was so lovely.

After breakfast we were off heading eastward cross France. Verdun of WWI fame was our destination. But as seemed to be the pattern with this trip, not all went according to plan. First off, driving through Paris is not what I’d call a pleasant experience, though French drivers are much nicer than I’d expected. I did get to see the Eiffel Tower . . . from a distance! But then a warning light came on in the car. Fortunately, it was nothing major - one of the typical emission control warnings you get with diesel engines. The light (and car manual) was kind enough to explain that it is something that doesn’t need to be fixed immediately but that the vehicle will not start after another 1,000 km . . . . 900 km . . . 800 km.

When we arrived in Verdun, had a late lunch, wandered the town a bit, and then headed over to the hotel. And the next day, instead of learning all we could about the Verdun battlefield, we headed off to the Peugeot dealership in Verdun and waited for 3 hours in their waiting room. At least they had decent coffee. The verdict was that indeed a sensor had gone bad. It would take them 3 days to get a new part, or they could reset the sensor and we could drive home. That’s what we decided to do after confirming we wouldn’t hurt the engine by doing so.

Then we headed to our next destination - Bastogne, Belgium.

We started our visit in Bastogne at the Bastogne War Museum, which was very interesting.

Several of the exhibits made you feel for the soldiers and civilians who suffered during that month-long battle. Like the crew that had been in this tank.

The next day we visited the Bastogne Barracks, which had a lot of WWII military vehicles on display, and then the Bastogne War Rooms, where the US command was located and where General McAuliffe had responded “Nuts!” to the German offer for surrender.

These places may be tourist attractions, but they are are informative and provide a good reminder of just how horrible war really is.

Afterwards, we drove a bit out of town to wander the forest of foxholes where Easy Company from the 101st Airborne Division had dug in - foxholes made famous in the Band of Brothers series. Again, it was hard to imagine soldiers hunkering down in these shallow pits in the freezing cold with artillery rounds pounding you for days on end.

From Bastogne we headed north to Maastricht. It was a lovely town, though we didn’t get to wander it as much as we’d hoped. Rains blew through the area so we headed back to the hotel after dinner. I’d somehow gotten sick during the trip and it hit that night - chills and sweats throughout the night. By morning, I was exhausted so we didn’t walk around town at all after breakfast and instead headed to our next destination, the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten where . . . we discovered that the only road into the cemetery was closed for repairs that day. How frustrating.

There was nothing left but to head back home.

Overall, it was a nice trip with plenty of . . . adventures. I can say that Ann and I learned something this trip, or maybe it’s better to say were reminded of something this trip - we’re terrible tourists. We hate the crowds and tire of celebrations very quickly. The best moments were spent exploring areas and things other folks seemed uninterested in. Still, it was a nice enough trip, and I do think we need to get back down to Maastricht. Now that seems like a city I could enjoy wandering through!

Art, War and Life in the Normandy Countryside

It’s nice knowing that someone . . . something, agrees with me!