The day is finally here! Finn have planned the holiday in Normandy for a long time, and had intended to cycle here. Unfortunately he was hit by a car for almost two months ago while he was riding his bicycle. It went incredibly well, he got away with a lot of bruises and a small fracture in the his right knee. He has just begun to ride the bike again, but a cycling holiday in Normandy is not goint to happen this year.

An Unexpected Start Of The Day

Mum and Dad were kind and drove us to the airport this morning. We live about an hour and a half from Gardermoen airport, but when we came about half way to the airport, the road was closed due to an accident the night before. We had to drive a detour that took almost an hour, and we just managed to check in before they closed check-in. At Orly Airport the rental car was ready, a pretty cool Audi A1, quite small but fast! The suitcases just got in when we let down both rear seats. There would not have been enough space for the bike, if we had brought it this year.

Lunch at the Restaurant Les Nympheas

Lunch at Le Nympheas

We had lunch at one of the restaurants closest to the entrance to Monet’s garden in Giverny . Since this was my first meal in our holiday in Normandy, I thought I better try a so-called local specialty. I do not remember the name of the dish, but it was a couple of slices of French country bread with one layer of potato slices. On top of which a layer of some kind of smoked ham, and a few solid slices of camembert on top.
It was gratin in the oven before it all was placed on a bed of lettuce. Served with a glass of cider from Normandy. It was actually really good! Find ordered a pie that looked like a cross between a regular quiche and a Spanish tortilla.

Giverny and Monet’s Garden

Flowers in Monet's Garden in Giverny

We had not planned much more today than to drive from Orly, Paris to Lisieux, where we will stay the first week of our holiday in Normandy. But since it stopped raining and the sun showed up, we stopped at Monet’s garden in Giverny.
If you like Monet and like impressionistic painting, I highly recommend a visit to Giverny to see Monet’s garden. The garden is full of flowers, and the most famous water of it all, the water lily pond with bridges and walkways where Monet painted his famous water lilies.

It has been said that the Impressionist art movement got its name from one of Monet’s paintings called “Impression, Sunrise”.

Giverny was Monet’s home in the last half of his life. Here he painted the sunrise on the Normandy coast in Le Havre. The Cathedral series of his was painted in Rouen, a few miles away. But it was the bridge and the flowers in his garden at home, he painted most often in the last years of his life.

You do not have to be an art connoisseur to appreciate a visit here. The gardens are a delight to see. Even if you are not particularly interested in art, you have surely seen the pictures of Monet’s water lilies. And it’s fun to see where he painted them.

You can go over the green bridge, which he painted and try to imagine how quiet and peaceful it was here when he painted the small boat on the pond. Now flocked with tourists who want pictures of themselves, often from a bridge with water-lilies in the background.

The house he lived in is also open to the public, it still looks as it did when he lived there. All of the small village of Giverny has become a kind of monument to Monet and his life. The house and gardens draws thousands of tourists every year.

Monet is also buried in the cemetery here. If you’re going on holiday in Normandy , the place is definitely worth a visit. But it is said that the best time to visit the garden is in the spring until the middle of June or in September when most of the tourist crowds are gone.

I have always been fascinated by old houses and charming narrow streets. You will find them in Giverny, if you move a little beyond the typical tourist “track”. Giverny is about an hour by car from Paris and is easily reachable as a day trip from Paris. Or do like us, drop by when you go on holiday in Normandy. Stop in Giverny at least for a few hours and take a stroll in Monet’s gardens.

France: Monet’s Gardens in Giverny
Claude Monet, the father of the Impressionist movement, historically tense last 40 years in Giverny finding inspiration in These gardens. He diverted a stream, made a pond, filled it with water lilies and built a Footbridge Which Eventually becam overgrown with wisteria. Today, museums all over the world bloom with These garden paintings. For more information on the Rick Steves’ Europe TV series – Including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel information Wed destinations and more – visit www.ricksteves.com.

Arrival in Lisieux – A perfect starting point for the first part of our holiday in Normandy

We arrived in Lisieux around five in the afternoon. We booked the hotel a few months ago, when we found out that Lisieux will be a good starting point of our holiday in Normandy. We live in a Hotel called Hotel de la Place. The room is fine, not a luxury, but you have what you need. The bed is comfortable to sleep in, the bathroom could have needed a renovation and it wouldn’t hurt to have more shelves and cabinet space. But for the price we paid, it is ok. Moreover, the hotel is located in the heart of the city with short distance to shops and restaurants.
Lisieux is just the right size town, around 20-25 000 inhabitants. It has plenty of shops and restaurants to choose from. We were tired when we arrived, and I had a headache, something I usually start all the holidays with. So Finn, by husband, went shopping and came home with a Parisian bread, French Brie, red wine, and instant coffee:) It was really good. We have lots of night to go out later!

All in all, a good start to our holiday in Normandy