Two French Cottages in the Woods

Two days of leisurely car travel, punctuated by stunning countryside and non-memorable motel stays, we arrive in Jambville in the region of Vexin about 45 minutes northwest of Paris.  We're talking rural, the smallest of small villes, totally non-touristed (other than French trekkers) chosen because it's equidistant from two of the 'we'll see those on our next trip to France' attractions:  Monet's Giverny and Louis XIV's Versailles.

Giverny is a 30-minute drive and despite a drizzly day, we head out.  So glad we did!  What an absolutely heavenly place and thanks to the weather, it is nearly empty.  Giverny is such a small town, it doesn't even rate a dot on our French road map.  Neither of us can decide which we like more - le maison or le jardin.  We both want to move in!!

In this rendering, the bright blue-roofed, multi-windowed structure in the upper left is le maison; the rest is the fabulous gardens.  Since the rain has abated, we decide to wander around the gardens and the lilypond.  The blue diagonal running from upper right to lower left is actually a road; there is a passageway underneath to get to the lilypond.

The most famous and recognizable of shots at Giverny.

Sadly, you can't see the bridge in the background . . . pretty neat shot of us, thanks to a thoughtful couple whose photo I took.

One of the views into the gardens; we were both oohing and ahing at every turn and this time of the year they're not even at their peak!

Finally, into la maison, and it is an absolute joy.  Monet was born Oscar Claude and changed his name to Claude Monet in his late teens when he decided that being an artist was the only thing that mattered in his life.  His father was violently opposed to his choice of 'profession' so Claude set out for Paris from his home in Normandy with about 200 francs in his pocket (a princely sum in the early 1800's), the result of his success at selling caricatures of people in his hometown.  He did the hippie artist thing, shared a flat with two other painters, and quickly became entranced with the budding impressionist movement.   It took a while but eventually he and his fellow artists changed art forever.

The salon in his home which has 57 reproductions of his more recognizable paintings.  His studio is now the gift shoppe.  The whole house is basically one-room deep, every room looks out on the gardens, most with balconies.  The dining room was, after his studio, the most important room in the house.  And, yes, most all of those 12 chairs were occupied three times a day.  Monet lived here with his second wife and their combined 8 children, two of his from his first wife and 6 of his second wife's (the last of whom is thought to have been Monet's).  

The kitchen is huge and Tim is fascinated with the cooking apparatus, wants the guide to explain to him how it works.

An array of fabulous copper pots and the happy color scheme.

Monet took great care in painting and decorating the house; every room received his personal touch - paint color, fabrics, furniture.  And most delightfully, he painted all the outside trim this brilliant green, a compliment to the greenery of his beloved gardens.

Our favorite travel guide writer, Rick Steves, characterized the house as 'mildly interesting' and we couldn't disagree more.  We both found it warm and homey, in a setting that made both of us swoon.  Tim was ready to move in!  Monet lived here for 40 years and painted every single day . . . 

Interesting historical fact, the house and gardens fell pretty much to rack and ruin after the death of Monet's last son, and by 1960 it was in a sorry state.  Who should come to the rescue but the Rockefeller family.  Not the Foundation but the Rockefeller family . . . so thank you Rockefellers!

Our wee cottage in the woods is not nearly as grand but it is oh so charming!

And local bounty from the farmer's market . . . I wonder if they leave extra dirt on the carrots for effect??

Tomorrow we're off to the grandest cottage of them all - Versailles!  

Angels All Around Us . . .

This is our day to leave Germany, drop our German rental car (Msr. Citroen, the wonder car) in a small border town, catch a bus or train into Strasbourg, France, find our way to the Hertz counter, check out our French rental car, and be on our way.  Simple plan, right?  Only one wee problem: our German border town is Kehl and there is a second German town named Kiel (both pronounced 'keel') which is 423 km away and that's the one shown on the rental car contract! Tim is very confident that it's not an issue . . . our trusty Garmin navigatress doesn't agree.  According to her, there is no Hertz facility in Kehl!!

We do locate what looks like an 'auto row' (this is a very small town) and a McDonald's (free wi-fi worldwide) and somehow Tim locates the Hertz rental facility (close by), identified by a small yellow and black sign behind a chain link fence with two old cars in the lot. There's a doorbell for Hertz and a second one with someone's name over it.  We press both and wait.  The owner of the non-Hertz doorbell appears and and tells us 'not here, don't know when they return'.  Oh good!!  And then, the first angel appears - it's the Hertz man (or someone claiming to be)!  He just happened to stop by on his way to some town we never caught the name of - tells us to top off the gas tank and dump the keys in the mailbox - no problem with the 'right' Kehl/Kiel.

Now to find the bus or train into Strassbourg.  McDonald's clerk tells us not to take the train ('too expensive - take bus') and sends us off in the general direction of the bus stop.  A couple of blocks later and no bus station in sight, we stop a couple of ladies, the second set of angels.  Not only do they walk us to the bus stop and tell us the #21 will get us into the center of Strasbourg, one of them reaches into her handbag and gives us two bus tickets!!  She refused to take our money . . .

We have the Hertz address in Strassbourg, but this is a city of 500,000 and we are clueless and mapless . . . while discussing how we're going to find it, this older gentleman seated next to me says 'I speak English, where do you want to go?'  Enter our Vietnamese angel, a refugee who worked with the American military in South Vietnam 40 years ago and then emigrated to France.  He is retired and uses his 24 euro unlimited monthly transit pass to ride the busses and trams all over town for amusement!  He rides with us to the center of town, gets off and walks with us to the Hertz counter.

We walk in the door precisely at 2:30, the time appointed on our contract to pick up our car. Thank you angels all!!

PS -Two days later Tim receives an email from the Hertz facility in Kiel asking where their car is???  He writes them that we dropped it in Kehl and shortly thereafter they write back saying all is well; they found their car :))