May 26, 2016 - Tanya's in the Azores and More - Day 7 - Andorra

Elisa's Daily Scoop

Reflections of Honfleur & Giverny

Good day to you! or should I say Bonjour!! Today is all about France!!

I'll be flashing back to my March, 2013 trip to France - specifically to Honfleur and Giverny (the home of Claude Monet).

Figured with Tanya currently traveling through these two great towns, I'd join her!

Before, I do, however, let me tell you about last night.  It was the kids' Social Studies Fair.

Both Gianna and Kelsey were part of this annual event.  G's project was about about Ancient South America and her presentation included a replica of Machu Picchu in Peru.

Now, most kids dressed up as a famous person from their historic era and geographical location.  But since there were no famous goddesses from South America, Gianna dressed up as Amelia Earhart and boy did she look cute!!

Kelsey's grade featured the various counties of New York and her's was Saratoga County.  I was a proud mommy of both of my girls and the job they each did!!
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Gianna and her classmate after the fair - ready to get ice cream.

My little aviator, "Amelia Earhart"

Back to France!!!!
In 2013, during my trip to Paris, I ventured outside the city with the FAM to Giverny and the seaside town of Honfleur.

Let's take a look at each of these destinations!

16 Fun Facts about Giverny, France

Claude Monet's House in Giverny (credit: wikipedia.com)

1. Giverny is a village in the Upper Normandy region of northern France.

2. Giverny sits on the "right bank" of the River Seine where the river Epte meets the Seine. 

3. The village lies 80 km from Paris, west and slightly north, in the old province of Normandy. It is officially in the département of Eure, in the région of Haute-Normandie.

4. Claude Monet, one of the most admired painters in the world,  moved to Giverny in 1883 with his family, including his second wife and 8 children, until his death in 1926. The town has become synonymous with the artist.

5. Long before Monet decided to make this town his principal residence, Giverny had already possessed a charm that attracted artists and city-folk in search of some rest and relaxation.
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6. The artist’s former home and elaborate gardens, where he produced his famed water lily series, are now the Fondation Claude Monet museum.

7. ​Nearby the artist's former home is the Musée des impressionnismes Giverny highlights the Impressionist art movement.

8. The cultivation of grapes has been an occupation of the inhabitants of Giverny since Merovingian times.

9. The village has remained a small rural setting with a modest population (numbering around 301 in 1883 when Monet discovered it) and has since seen a boom in tourism since the restoration of Monet's house and gardens.

​10. Beginning around 1887, a number of American Impressionist artists settled to work in Giverny, drawn by the landscapes, the overall atmosphere, and the presence of Monet. 

At Giverny (March 2013) (c)travelincousins.com

Before the Spring Bloom in March 2013 (c)travelincousins.com

11. Claude Monet's property at Giverny (house and gardens), left by his son to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1966, became a Museum opened to public visit in 1980 after completion of large-scale restoration.

​12. Giverny owes its name to its Latin counterpart, Giverniacum, which dates back to almost 1,600 years. 

13. The very first historical traces of Giverny go back to the Merovingian era (481-575 AD) when Charles II the Bald officially recognized and thereby gave possession of Giverny to monks ordained at the Saint-Denis-le-Ferment Abbey.

14. As a master gardener, horticulturist, and colorist, Monet perfected his style of blending multitudes of flower and foliage colors, textures, and shapes. 

15.Monet He redesigned, adjusted, and developed his garden, perfecting nature’s compositions and enabling him to capture glorious moments that shaped his impressionistic art.

16.  ​Monet repeated color, plants, and architectural accents, which makes a big impact as opposed to using random dots of color here and there.

Now, let's take a look at Honfleur!!

16 Fun Facts About Honfleur, France

Honfleur - 2013 (c)travelincousins.com

1. Honfleur is a city in northern France's Lower Normandy region, strategically located at the mouth of the Seine, and just across the river is the larger town of Le Havre. 

2. Its Vieux-Bassin (old harbor), lined with 16th- to 18th-century townhouses, has been a subject for artists including Claude Monet and native son Eugène Boudin.

3. Ferries arrive in Le Havre from Portsmouth in the United Kingdom and many tourists access Honfleur across the bridge connecting the two cities.

4. Since the 9th Century, France, England and Scandinavia have vied for the coast of Normandy -- including the village of Honfleur.
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5. Saint Catherine's Church is a vaulted wooden structure built by shipbuilders beginning in the mid-1400s.

6. Saint Catherine's is the largest wooden church in France.

View of the harbor, Honfleur (c)travelincousins.com

7. Vikings invaded and then settled the area, and in 911, France ceded the region to the Norsemen, later known as Normans.

8. In around 1050, Normandy became the center of a French-English tug of war during the Hundred Years War. 

9. France gained permanent control in 1450 and Honfleur became a thriving commercial center.

10. During the 19th century, Honfleur became an artist colony, and the natural charm of the region attracted many painters including Eugène Boudin, Courbet, Millet, Monet, Français, Achard, Jongkind, Monet and Hamelin.  

11. For several decades, the best landscape painters of the age belonged to the "Honfleur School."

​12. The Eugene Boudin Museum honors native son Boudin who exposed Claude Monet to open air painting.

13. Honfleur was and remains a fishing and shrimping center. 

14. Every Fall, Honfleur is home to the Fête de la Crevette, the town's Shrimp Festival.  The all-day festivities center around the port and include a shrimp-peeling competition.

15. The Fête des Marins (Sailors' Festival) takes place each June. Local sailors decorate their boats with flowers and sail to the estuary for a priest's blessing. The following day, the entire town parades up to the Chapelle Notre Dame de Grâce for a Catholic mass and festival.

16. Honfleur was the birthplace of numerous navigators, sailors and captains. Samuel de Champlain (born in Brouage) organised several departures from Honfleur to Canada  - particularly in 1608 with the founding of Quebec.


If you haven't already caught my Throwback Thursday story, please click the link!!
Honfleur: A Charming French Seaside Town


Please catch up on Tanya's side and her day yesterday in Honfleur!!!

SEE YA BACK HERE TOMORROW!
HAVE A GREAT ONE!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: FRANCE

Heading into the micro country of Andorra!

GREETINGS once more from France! 

​This morning we woke up in Toulouse, and today we are heading into the beautiful Pyrenees Mountains and into one of the smallest countries in the world - Andorra.

​The Pyrenees are a line of high, rugged mountain range just south of Toulouse. 

The massive main crest is actually a natural divider between France and Spain, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between.

Stretching for more than 400 km and seperating the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea.

Dotted with colorful high-altitude lakes and waterfalls, bristling with jagged peaks, the Pyrenean mountain range stretches across three of the eight départements of Midi-Pyrénées: Haute Garonne, Ariège and Hautes Pyrénées.

And this my friends is where we are off to go and explore today!!

While today will be all about new exploration, yesterday was about continuing exploration as well as adding to the list of new sights for me to adore!

(c) travelincousins.com

Our day started out in Honfleur, which I fell in love with back in 2012.

This was my second visit to this most picturesque seaside village, which has not surprisingly been subject for many artists over the years including Claude Monet and native son Eugène Boudin.

​One of the most famous sights being
​Le Vieux Bassin (old dock): the exceptional old harbour in the heart of the port, with distinctive high, narrow, timber-frame and slate-clad houses overlooking the dock from three sides.

Honfleur, France (c)travelincousins.com

In town you also have the wooden bell tower of Saint Catherine's Church and of course the church itself, which is a vaulted wooden structure that was erected by shipbuilders beginning in the mid-1400s.
Where the two parallel vaults actually take the shape of an upturned hull.  

(c)travelincousins.com

(c)travelincousins.com

(c)travelincousins.com

It was a lovely day wandering the narrow streets of Honfleur while singing Paroles (one of my favorites) from Disney's Beauty and the Beast soundtrack:

(c)travelincousins.com

Little town it's a quiet village.
Every day like the one before.
Little town full of little people, waking up to say.

Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour! Bonjour!

There goes the baker with his tray like always.
The same old bread and rolls to sell.
Every morning just the same since the morning that we came,
To this poor provincial town....

Look there she goes, the girl that's strange but special. A most peculiar mademoiselle. It's a pity and a sin, she doesn't quite fit in.
But she really is a funny girl..
A beauty but a funny girl..
She really is a funny girl...   That Belle!!!

The only downside was that we couldn't find my beloved Bretzels!! This had even brought tears to Cosette's eyes. And she hadn't even ever had one from here. What we did get was a few beautiful Baguettes! What is a day in France without a Baguette?
A sad day.

On our way out of town and going to Giverny,
we had a happy accident when I made a wrong turn and we ended up going across 
Pont de Normandie -
This bridge spans the Seine between Honfleur and Le Havre. Its stunning design was by Michel Virlogeux. It opened in 1995, when it was the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, at just over 7,000 feet.
​While principally built to carry a toll road for cars, you can walk or cycle over the bridge for free on special paths, going from beyond the eastern edge of Honfleur, to enjoy staggering views along the Seine estuary.

Just so you know, I am having a miserable time with the wifi this morning.

​So please come back again just a bit later - when there will be many more photos and a bit of show and tell about the rest of my day which included the very beautiful Claude Monet's Garden and the amazing Notre Dame Chartres Cathedral.
It was a really great day!

But in order for me to have another great day - I must be on my way. 

Tata for now,
-T

Hey Folks, Elisa here.  Once again, dear Tanya lost internet connection while writing her blog.  She texted me that she will absolutely update her post and we will link it to tomorrow's blog so you can see all of her lovely photos!!