Paris & the Heart of Normandy – La Roche Guyon & Monet's Garden

 Day 3 – Saturday 7 September 2024

 

When we awoke we were moored at La Roche-Guyon

https://what3words.com/napkin.interpreting.deflation

 

As can be seen on the What3Words link, the boat was moored to a jetty that led to the kitchen garden and orchard of Chateau La Roche-Guyon - https://www.chateaudelarocheguyon.fr/english 

 

There was an optional excursion to the chateau but we went for a walk through the walled gardens. At 3.8ha it is the second biggest in the region after the King’s Kitchen Garden in Versailles.

 

Walkways were lined with fruit trees bearing name cards. Apples had mostly gone but pears were ripe and the ground was littered with a great many windfalls. I touched a pear on the tree and it came off in my hand, so I took it back to the boat. The garden was restored to a 1741 pattern in 2004, and we saw a large patch of squashes and a few rows of straggly Cinsault vines, but most of the vegetables had been picked. We had a look at the chateau and wandered through the small quiet village.

Behind the chateau is a sheer chalk cliff face topped with a tower and ruins of a castle. During WWII it housed a German anti-aircraft battery, and for a time Rommel’s headquarters.

 

Pulled BBQ Pork Sandwich

 

The boat cast off at 12:15 and arrived at Vernon an hour later.

 

 

After lunch was an included excursion to Monet’s garden and house in Giverny that left at 14:15. The drive to Giverny took 10 minutes, and we had 80 minutes in the gardens and house before given 90 minutes free time. We could stay on the property or visit the churchyard where he is buried, or otherwise amuse ourselves, but once left there was no re-admission to the gardens or house.

 

 

I had been here before; this time few water lilies were in flower. The time of year one visits makes a difference. It was the end of summer and the garden wasn’t looking as good but there were fewer visitors than my previous visit. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t busy. If you are a keen photographer it is worth using free time by returning to the garden, taking a seat on a bench and wait for gaps in the tourists to take pictures.

 

We exited, found a bench and enjoyed the sun but as we left clouds covered the sun and it threatened to rain.

 

Night Location: Vernon https://what3words.com/sleeping.rooftop.half