We travelled to Paris on Jet Blue with a five hour layover in Boston. Leaving from Boston about 11 PM we arrived in Paris with the time change about 10:AM the next morining. the ship was docked close to the Eiffel tower.
After dinner on the ship, our first event was a wine and cheese tasting at a small wine bar, O Chateau. We sampled five wines and cheeses from different regions in France
In the morning we took a bus tour of some of the many historic sites in Paris, stopping at Notre Dame and later the Eiffel Tower before heading back to the ship for lunch.
In the afternoon, our guide took us on the metro to the St. Germain district where we sampled various tastes of Paris. Starting our with icecream at ANGIOLO, chocolate and macaroons at RICHART, escargo, croque monsieur and wine at LE CHAI and a whole assortment of goodies at MAISON BREMOND.
On Friday we were in the city of La Roche-Guyon.In the morning we visited an old castle dating from the 12th century that dominated the skyline of the town,
While we werre having lunch back on the ship, the ship was underway for the nearby town of Vernon. Arriving there about xxxx, we boarded buses to visit the house an gardens of the renowned French painter Claude Monet. The grounds weree terribly crowded and we had to wait about a half hour on line to enter the house. It was very interesting to see the gardens where he painted many of his famous paintings, including the Water Lillies.
Shortly after 6 AM, we left Vernon and docked about 1 PM in the city of Rouen. Shortly thereafter we went on a walking toour of the town.
Our first stop was the main cathedral in Rouen, Notre Dame of Rouen.
The Square in front of the cathedral contained some classic architecture from mideval times
We stopped to see the Great Clock (Goss-Horlage) which is an astromical clock from the 14th century
We passed by some interesting stores on our way through town.
Next to the garden is the Church of Saint Joan of Arc. Built in 1979 it features a modern design, in stark contrast to the buildings in the area.
Next to the site is the Church of Saint Joan of Arch which was built in 1979 featuring a modern design. A small garden, Le Bucher (“The Pyre”), which is outside and to the north of the church marks the exact spot.
These are some of the building in th square.
View of the pier at night
On Sunday we boarded buses for the two hour ride to Normandy. Our first stop was the World War II Museum at Caen. After touring their grand collection of artifacts, we had lunch in their cafeteria – with wine of course.
From the museum we travelled to the nearby American Cemetery
Our final stop of the day was at Omaha Beach several miles away after which we headed back to Rouen to rejoin our ship
Early Monday morning we were underway from Rouen and bout noon we moored in the town of Les Andelys. After lunch we joined a walking tour of Château Gaillard Walking Tour. We visited the local church and then walked through the small town and headed up a 400 foot high hill to reach the old chateau. The chateau was built as a fortress in 1196 by Richard the Lionheart and now is quite in ruins. It is advertised as the the most scenic castle ruin in the Seine Valley. From the top of the hill we had a spectacular view of the city and the valley.
The walk down down was a lot less arduous and we made out way back to the ship and were underway again before 5 PM.
Our last full day in Paris was a busy one. The boat docked at La Pecq on the outskirts of Paris. At 9:30 in the morning we went to visit Napoleon’s Château de Malmaison. This was an estate that his wife Josephine purchased in 1799 while he was away fighting in Egypt. It was used as a the seat of gorvenment for Naploeon from 1800 to 1802. The estate remained with Josephine after their divorce.
We returned to the ship about 12:30 in time to have lunch and set out on our afternoon tour of Versailles.
While we were at Versailles, our boat had moved to return to it’s original dock near the Eiffel Tower
Our last full day in Paris was a busy one. The boat docked at La Pecq on the outskirts of Paris. At 9:30 in the morning we went to visit Napoleon’s Château de Malmaison. This was an estate that his wife Josephine purchased in 1799 while he was away fighting in Egypt. It was used as a the seat of gorvenment for Naploeon from 1800 to 1802. The estate remained with Josephine after their divorce.
We returned to the ship about 12:30 in time to have lunch and set out on our afternoon tour of Versailles.
While we were at Versailles, our boat had moved to return to it’s original dock near the Eiffel Tower
Airport and home
