You've seen Giverny. Now what? I know! I know!

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Ahhhh......Giverny. Who doesn't love impressionist paintings? And what impressionist lover visiting Paris doesn't want to visit the house of Claude Monet? The sense of anticipation as you stroll through the tranquil country streets and alleys of this quiet village leading to his house. Vegetation pours over the tops of rustic stone walls of the houses lining the streets. All around you the color green in every shade imaginable. Peering through an open gate your expectation increases as you notice a lovely garden bursting with daffodils and tulips and daisies. Now you are ready to see the actual house and gardens of this impressionist master. Unfortunately this post will have nothing to do with Monet's house and gardens in Giverny. Sorry, but I had to get you to read this post somehow and since most people have never heard of the region which this report will cover I had to do something a little sneaky to bring you all in. Don't worry, you won't be disappointed. And I promise, no more nasty tricks. Seriously though, how many of you would have been trembling with excitement if I had titled this trip report something like “An Exploration of the French Vexin Region”.

Giverny lies within the Vexin region and this region will be the topic of this trip report. We will mostly discover the region east of the Epte river, which is just east of Giverny. I am discussing this region, however, because it lies so close to Giverny and if you do visit Monet's house and have a car (or even a bike) this may be a good way to follow up your visit. Or explore it ahead of time to prepare you for your visit. Whichever you choose. Think about this. Take the train to Vernon and instead of taking the bus to Monet's house why not rent a car for the day? I took the autoroute A86 (which also rings Paris but further out) and then got onto the A15 heading in a northwest direction. The A15, after a short time, turns into the N14. I'm going to describe my trip in the order it happened, providing route names and other directions. If coming from Vernon you'll be doing it in a different order but you'll have route names and village names to guide you.

As much as I love seeing all the famous sites and attractions that France has to offer I equally enjoy discovering new places that just aren't talked about in the guidebooks. How is one ever supposed to “get off the beaten path” if you are reading a guidebook? Any place that is described in a guide book as being “off the beaten path” has obviously already been discovered and is just less visited than other major attractions. I find that seeing a blend of both known and unknown sites is a perfect balance between covering major points of interest and stumbling on hidden surprises. Perhaps you've seen a few of my posts where I advise people to do a “get lost” drive (assuming they have a car). Well, this trip will describe just that. By “get lost” I am not talking about a situation where you and your spouse will be yelling at and blaming each other for not being able to read a map and resulting in your being stuck on the Peripherique, endlessly circling Paris and unable to get onto the A13 to Normandy. No, I mean just roll the dice and look for the smallest roads on your map that seem to go through as many small villages as possible and maybe have some chateaux that you can pass by along the way or some other marked noteworthy attraction. Michelin maps highlight designated scenic roads in green (as well as a whole host of other features) and I frequently use these roads as a start to getting off the beaten path. I might do a little research on a region I plan to visit or I might just get in the car and drive. That choice is up to the individual. But I've been blabbing for several paragraphs now and you still haven't seen any pictures and you are thinking of reading an actual trip report about Giverny so let's get on with it.

So, I am on the N14 and I look at my Michelin map and notice a chateau is marked just a few kilometers ahead in a small village called Vigny. Guess that's where we'll go first for no other reason than it appears to be a small village and it has a chateau. If it has a chateau it must have been an important area to someone at some point in time. We drive into the village and I sense small town life. It is quiet with few people out on the streets.

It's a cute place. I like the buildings. I like it already. We park the car next to the church. The church appears to date from around 15th century and is not so different from many other provincial churches I've seen. Here it is.



As you can see, they are setting up the fun fair in front of the church. The bumper cars, my favorite ride. Religion and entertainment are often coincidental with one another. We walk around the fun fair as we are sure the map shows the chateau as being right around the corner. Well, it's a private chateau and we can't enter the grounds but we get a good view through the gate and what a view it is.



Now I'm American and being an American I often tell my French wife that I know what a castle looks like. I've seen them in movies, and in Disneyland. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty both lived in castles (eventually). I am a castle expert. As any castle expert knows, castles have spires and towers and turrets and are surrounded by a moat, preferably filled with water and teeming with piranhas, sharks and alligators, similar to the way these creatures enjoy living together in The Great Lakes. Castles do not resemble big houses, like Versailles. I tell my wife with certainty that this, indeed, is a castle. She tells me I'm an idiot. But we both agree that this one is a beauty and is a good way to start the day. Undiscovered gem number one just checked off the list.

We take the D81 heading west out of Vigny until it joins with the D43, a designated scenic road. We turn left and head south on the D43 and see a vast expanse of open agricultural land on undulating terrain with pockets of trees and isolated villages breaking the checkerboard pattern of square fields. I don't know what they're growing here but the color scheme is in varying shades of green with an occasional field of some sort of yellow flower (my wife knows the name but I forget). I think it is used in some sort of vegetable oil production.



We take a detour to see a small village called Fremainville because, well, it's there. There is nothing remarkable about it. A collection of old houses ringing the church in the center with the more modern housing on the fringes. But it is peaceful and pretty.

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We head back to the D43 and continue south until the road meets the D913. We turn right on the D913 and are now in a pleasant little valley driving through the anonymous town of Oinville and then through Brueil en Vexin. We pass through Brueil en Vexin and shortly after on our right my wife sees a sign that says La Cave Aux Fees (The Cave of the Fairies). From experience I know what this means. This sign is telling me there is a dolmen (a neolithic tomb).
These tombs often were the source of many mysterious myths and legends, often involving ghosts or fairies. There is a dirt road leading up a hill in the direction in which the sign points. It looks more like it was designed for tractor use than for our little 1992 Renault V. My wife (DW – for “dear wife” hereafter) gives me that look like “I don't know about this” but I am determined. I am not only a castle expert but being a male I am also expert at navigating dirt roads that were not intended for aging small cars, such as ours. Well, we go slowly and it's a bit bumpy but not so bad so don't hesitate if you would like to do this (especially if you are driving a rental!). If I recall, once you head up the road take your first left (as I believe the road forks) after a few meters. There are no further signs once you leave the road (as I have discovered is the case with many dolmens). You will be traveling uphill and after a few hundred meters as you near the top of the hill on your left you will notice a small grove of trees. You will not see anything but just go ahead and park here. I've talked about megaliths in another post about Brittany but as a quick recap, they are large stone constructions built during the neolithic period (about 4,500BC to 1,500BC roughly) and come in 2 basic types, dolmens (tombs) and menhirs (standing stones). You will see some beat up fencing surrounding something (you can walk around it) and as you move closer this is what you will see.





Fairies do indeed exist. Here's the one I found at La Cave Aux Fees.



On my serious side (for just a minute) I am an amateur archaeologist and I have a passion for ancient history. Megalith hunting is one of my favorite pastimes. You will see that they have been given an icon on the Michelin maps but many are not marked, as is the case with this one. Let's have a look at the beautiful countryside in which I have just found myself. Oh yeah, if you look to the right of the photo just below under the big tree you will see our little 1992 Renault V, the real star of today's show.





So we decided that this would be a lovely picnic spot. Here is our view while eating our picnic lunch.

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There is no stone source in the immediate vicinity of this dolmen so it is obvious that it took a great deal of effort to move these huge stones to their present location. How did they do that, I wonder?



Originally there would have been huge slabs of stone used as a roof structure for this dolmen. One large slab lies just to the side of this one. Many have been destroyed by farmers who considered them a nuisance in their fields and many more were destroyed by pagan hating Christians. Others were probably seen as handy building material. Anyway, undiscovered gem number 2 checked off the list.

After a nice picnic we head back to the D913 and continue west. Here is a view looking over the village of Sailly.



This “get lost” drive is turning into exactly the kind of country drive I was seeking. It feels like I'm living inside an impressionist painting. I'm listening to The Flaming Lips cd The Soft Bulletin while writing this trip report. It's the perfect audio compliment to the visual imagery swirling in my imagination. A lush aural symphony of dreamy soundscapes, gorgeous melodies and lazy, carefree lyrics (“Driving home the sky accelerates and the clouds all form a geometric shape. Suddenly, everything has changed”). On through the countryside we go using the Michelin map as our guide. Looking at your Michelin map you will notice it is full of dashed lines that have route numbers beginning with GR next to them (i.e. GR11 etc.). The letters GR next to dashed lines indicate hiking trails. If you want to get out of the car and explore one of these trails then do so. Areas on the map that are shaded in green indicate forested area. Areas in white are mostly open country. Maybe pick a trail that goes between 2 villages while crossing a mix of open and forested areas. And don't forget, along your way, to get out and walk around a few of the small villages. Many just require a quick stroll to see what might capture the eye and make a good photo. And there's always the chance that you have an interesting encounter with a local, especially when you're in a place where they don't see many, if any, tourists. I can't tell you how many times when I am in rural France that I have the “meeting the locals” experience. These are treasured (and often humorous) encounters. I love hearing them tell me about their local history and traditions that you just won't find in a guidebook. Indeed I had one such experience this day but we'll get to that later.

Next up is the town of Vetheuil. This is one of the places in the area that is not really off the beaten path but is a secondary site. Monet lived here for a few years beginning in 1879 and produced roughly 150 paintings during his stay. His residence is still standing somewhere and his wife is buried here but I didn't look for either site. Here is what I see in the distance on my approach to Vetheuil.

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I've been talking for a while so now is a nice time to take a break and look at some pictures of Vetheuil.

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Here's the old wash house.

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Well, that was nice. We continue heading down to D913 towards La Roche Guyon, our next planned destination. We are driving along with the Seine river to our left and to our right are steep cliffs with brilliant white chalk/limestone outcrops. Wait, I see a sign for something. What's that? A troglodyte church.



From my memory, I believe the church was built in the mid 1600's. The locals were parishoners at the church nearby in La Roche Guyon. Feeling it was too far away they asked and received permission and funds to construct their own church. Here's the history sign, which offers English translation.







The church was locked while we were there but I imagine it must be open sometime. Here's a peek inside.

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That only took a few minutes so we continue towards La Roche Guyon. This is also a known secondary destination with some interesting history. I've got a lot still to cover in this report so I don't want to spend a lot of time giving you the history of the castle and village. If you want to learn more, here is a link to the official website of the chateau, in English.

www.chateaudelarocheguyon.fr/heading/heading19563.html

And here is the castle.



Although the front of the castle somewhat resembles a big house, the older part of the castle is to the rear and has spires, turrets and towers, hence, I have approved of it as an official castle. I mean, it even has the 12th century donjon on the hill behind it.

Time for a little stroll around La Roche Guyon.

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We didn't feel like driving all day and decided a climb to the top of the hill to visit the donjon would give us the leg stretch we needed. Inquiring at the admission office to the chateau we were instructed to take the stairs next to the church and after they ended we would come to some dirt trails. We were then told that as long as we didn't get lost, we might be able to actually find the donjon. That was helpful. Off we go to who knows where. Surely enough, at the top of the stairs the dirt trails begin and one has to make a choice. I know just what to do. The donjon is at the top of a hill so we need to take the steepest trail to get there. I'm getting that “I don't know about this” look from DW again. Did I mention that I am a dirt trail expert? Good thing the gradient of the trail was only 60% so I was certainly going to see the donjon. It was starting to look like DW wasn't, though. “Are you sure this is the best way to get there?” she asks. “Honey, it's just a little further, I'm sure of it”. Our individual senses of “just a little further” are somewhat different. After exchanging pleasant words and loving glances with one another for the remainder of the climb we reach a plateau. Still no sign of a donjon. I let DW rest while I continue further up the hill to see if it is at the top. I reach a paved road and still no sign of a donjon. Meeting DW back at the plateau she thinks we should just head back down. Oh no we're not. “I bet it's just a few feet down this trail next to us”, I state with sureness. She is not so sure but at least the trail is level. After about 100 feet what is that I see through the trees? Are those stones? And is that a tower? Ha, I was right! There it is! Now I'll climb the donjon and get incredible views of the valley below, my reward after a difficult climb. Unfortunately, the only door leading into the donjon is locked. No problem, I'll just walk around the front and I'll still get those views I'm looking for. Wrong! Not only are the trails around the front too steep but the hillside is completely forested and there are no views. Of anything. You'd think the women at the admission office to the chateau might have warned us that if we didn't get lost and made the 60% gradient ascent and finally reached the donjon that we couldn't go inside anyway and that trees blocked any views. Lesson learned. Always ask for that which you seek. Here is the disappointing photo DW took of me in front of the outer wall of the donjon.



I know there are stairs from inside the chateau that are supposed to be cut, tunnel-like, through the cliff behind the chateau that lead into the donjon. I'm not sure if they are open to the public but if you feel like visiting the chateau you could probably ask. Remember.....ASK! I think the chateau has a lot of interesting history and is definitely worth a visit. Luckily I live close enough to visit another time. Today is about enjoying the scenery and relaxing. We leave La Roche Guyon and the road starts going uphill. We turn right on the D100 in the direction of Cherence. Now we are ascending to the top of a plateau above the Seine, with distant panoramic views of the countryside. Here is what I see.





A short ways on we see a rest area to our right that seems to offer promising views, like I had been seeking.





Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Although, it does kind of rub in the futility of my pointless climb to see the donjon when a nice easy drive in a car get's you the same thing in about 5 minutes. DW is looking at me like I'm an idiot. Got our photos, let's go. We pass through Cherence, which looks cute enough to stroll around for a few minutes but we are trying to make it to Gisors by the end of the day and we still have other things on the agenda so we pass by. You might want to stop in for a few minutes. We skirted around the next village of Villers en Arthies but on our way through we spy a chateau to our left, appropriately called the Chateau de Villers en Arthies. This is a chateau, not a castle. Here's a pic.

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We continue and go left onto the D142 heading north, a designated scenic road. I see 2 chateau's on the map and the first one is in a village called Villarceaux. We arrive at the chateau grounds and I can tell by the fact that it has several parking lots that it must attract a lot of visitors or be someplace where events are held. It is almost completely empty today. We arrive at the admission office and learn that entry is free. However, you have to take the 2 hour tour as unguided visits are not allowed. We are just in time for the 5:00 tour but we don't have the time for it. The history of the domaine goes back to the 11th and 12th centuries and some of these buildings still remain. Later additions included a manor house and French water gardens and later an 18th century chateau. Famous residents are Ninon de Lenclos, 17th century author, courtesan and patron of the arts. Another was the wife of Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon. Many concerts, plays and other events are hosted on the grounds. I'm feeling lazy today and with more writing ahead of me I'm just going to give you a link to the chateau's website. Sorry, it's in French but you can at least look at the photos. I was able to get a few myself and I must admit that this place was beautiful. An oasis of man-made beauty surrounded by natural beauty. I will definitely come back here some other time and do the tour. Here's the link to the website:

www.iledefrance.fr/villarceaux/

And here are some of the photos I was able to take.

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We leave Villarceaux and head north (can't find the route number on the map) but after a few kilometers the road intersects with the D171. We turn left on the D171 as I see a chateau on the map a short distance ahead. It is a private chateau and can't be seen from the road so we continue on passing through the small village of Chaussy. It looks cute enough to get out for a stroll and photos but it's getting late now so we turn right on the D142 until it meets with the D37. We go right in a northerly direction on the D37 and take our first right onto the D86, as I see a chateau in a town called Ambleville. Here is the chateau, which is adjoined to a church.





Both the Chateau de Villarceaux and the Chateau d'Ambleville have nationally classified gardens and if you are a garden lover then I think you might like to visit the grounds of both places. It was late in the day and the chateau was closed so this is the only photo I could get of the garden, which apparently is known for its unusual topiary creations. I would recommend Villarceaux over Ambleville but if you are limited on time then see Ambleville as the grounds are much smaller.



Here's a pretty country house adjacent to the square in front of the chateau.



If you want to learn more about Ambleville, here is a link to the town website. It does offer a poorly translated but understandable English version.

www.chateauxetjardins.com/

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We head back down the D86 and take a right heading north on the D37 with our next destination to be Saint Clair sur Epte. On the way we see a sign indicating something of historic interest. It's pointing the way to Pont d'Aveny (Bridge of Aveny). Well, if they put up a sign it must be worth seeing so let's have a look. We take a left down a small road and after about 200 meters we arrive at the bridge. Hmmm, where's the sign that is going to tell me about the fascinating history of this bridge that was so worthy of a sign on the road. I look around but see nothing and neither does DW.

Surely, this must be a trap. A tourist trap, that is, as I see a few other confused looking travelers wandering about aimlessly searching for history. So when I got home I looked on the internet to see what could be so fascinating about this bridge. “It was originally built between 1744 and 1746, replacing the former wooden bridge, and is a fine example of mid 18th century stone bridges. It was reconstructed from 1872-1873 and again in 1911. It was closed to traffic in 1993”. Wow, that's really interesting (insert sarcasm here). My Michelin map shows it as closed to traffic but cars are indeed crossing it from one side of the river to the other, so obviously it has been reopened. Here is a photo of the bridge in all it's fabled historic significance.



The bridge crosses the river Epte, which forms a large part of the boundary between the regions of Ile de France and Normandy. This river and the land that it divides is steeped in significant history, which I will discuss shortly. Here it is.

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We cross the bridge, leaving Vexin Francais and entering Vexin Normand. At the other end what do we find but, naturally enough, the Chateau d'Aveny. Any bridge worthy of a name surely has a chateau associated with it. Here it is.



Just across from the chateau you will find this sign.



An Allee Couverte (Covered Alley) is a type of dolmen. Guess who is going to go find it? This one is also marked on the map so use your map to guide you there. I actually found this dolmen on another trip to the region so I'll describe what happened that day.

DW and I were coming back from a short weekend getaway to Etretat. I felt like doing a little megalith hunting so we got off the A13 at the Vernon exit and drove till we found the path leading to the dolmen. Clouds had been gathering in the sky all afternoon and now they were really starting to look dark and threatening with an occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. DW pulls the car over next to the path where there is a sign for the dolmen. As soon as I open the car door, and I mean that very instant, the rain starts. No problem, I've got an umbrella. Holding a piece of metal in my hand and pointing it skyward should keep me safe from all the lightning. DW gives me the “You're an idiot” look and wisely decides to wait in the car for my return. The trail leads uphill and into a forest. As I head uphill a small stream is building in the middle of the trail, increasing in volume every minute. I reach a point where trails branch out in every direction. And there are no signs to the dolmen. (What would McGyver do?). I try a few different trails and after a few minutes on each with no luck I turn back. I'm getting wet. But I will not be defeated. Time to go on instinct. I pick the trail that I think will be the one and sure enough after a few minutes I find the dolmen. It's even got a sign (in French) giving the archaeological history.

I get out the camera to take some pictures and start snapping away. But I can't get a non-blurry photo. Then my cell phone rings. I know it's DW wondering just what on earth is taking me so long. I answer the phone and hear nothing. The connection has been dropped. Each of us tries the other several times and each time the connection gets dropped. Well, at least she knows I'm alive (but possibly critically injured after a lightning strike). Back to taking photos. I finally manage to get 3 reasonably non-blurry photos and here they are.







Photos taken, I'm now anxious to get out of the rain and back to the car. Uh-oh, which trail did I come in on? Well, looks like it's time to take the most direct route. I'm at the top of a hill and the car is at the bottom. I pick a trail that goes down hill and soon find myself in a field, which is not the way I came in. But over to my right I see the car and know I've made it. The instant I get into the car, I mean the very instant, the rain stops. At least I wasn't struck by lightning so my luck wasn't all bad. So ends a successful megalith hunt.

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Let's get back to today's trip. I cross back over the Pont d'Aveny, reentering Vexin Francais and pick up the D37 heading north. In a few minutes we reach Saint Clair sur Epte. This is an important historic town for 1 primary reason and this sign says it.



It says, “Normandy was born here in 911”. The Treaty of Saint Clair sur Epte was signed here in 911. Charles III, king of France, granted to Rollo, chief of the vikings, the region now known as Normandy as a way of buying them off and having them cease their savage attacks on Ile de France. The river Epte was a major boundary between the 2 realms. Rollo married the illegitimate daughter of Charles and was thus his vassal. Not a problem for the time being since the Normans now turned their warring intentions to sleepy and backward England. The problem of the vassalage of the English kings to French kings would cause serious problems in a few centuries that would lead to The Hundred Years War but that's another story.

The village takes it's name from a monk (Saint Clair) born in England in 845. He was born of a noble family and fled a forced marriage and escaped with a friend to France in 866. He had been seeking a religious life and thus did not want to be married. His real name was William and he became Clair around this time, after becoming a charismatic priest. His charisma doesn't go unnoticed by the local women. One of them, a noblewoman, pursues him, so he flees again, this time to a hermitage in the present day village. Furious at having been scorned, the noblewoman sent soldiers to kill him. He was decapitated by her soldiers on November 4, 884.

After decapitation, so the story goes, he picked up his head and dropped it in a nearby fountain (decapitated people do the strangest things). There are more fanciful versions of the legend, each with a different twist, but these are the basic details. As for the fountain, ever after it was said to have miraculous curative power. Clair in French means clear in English and the specific function of this fountain was to cure vision problems (hence, clarity). Saint Clair sur Epte has one other claim to fame. For 20 years it was the home of the famous, late French film actor Louis de Funes (my wife's favorite actor).

Let's visit the village of Saint Clair sur Epte.

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The last photo was of the village church and it was on the church doorstep where we had our first “meet the locals” encounter of the day. The church was locked and DW was peering through the keyhole to catch a glimpse inside. We heard a voice calling out behind us from a distance. We turned around and saw a man approaching us from across the street. Are we in some sort of trouble? He kept talking as he approached but we couldn't understand what he was saying. We were fully prepared for an encounter with the village lunatic. His first comprehensible phrase did nothing to dispell this notion as he asked us “Qu'est-ce qui vous arrive”? Which translated to English means “What is happening to you”? What is happening to us!? I don't know. Are we melting from spending a long day in the sun? I look at DW but she is still in an unmelted state and so am I so what are we supposed to say? He introduces himself and come to find out, he is (one of) the deputy mayor's of the village. He is eager to share his knowledge of the church and the town with us. It's getting late now and we still have to get to Gisors but we can't refuse his hospitality. Besides, this seems like it's going to be one of those encounters with the locals that I love so much. He then says, “Would you like to see the inside of the church? If so, you can ask for the key at the town hall, but that's closed. You could also ask another man who lives down the street, or, you could ask me”. Of the 3 choices it seemed to make the most sense to ask him to use his key so we asked “Do you have the key on you”? He said “Yeah” and we thought “Great” and then he said “Let me go get it”. Off he went across the street and dashed inside a house, popping out again seconds later, key in hand waving it over his head for our approval. “Yup” we thought, “That sure looks like a key”. He opened the door and in we went to the gothic past. We then got about a half hour lesson on the history of the church, the history of the town and of Saint Clair. Here's a few pix.



The stain glass window is a copy of an older one which was destroyed during bombing in WWII. One thing I discovered in doing some research into this region is that many villages in the area (including some that I visited) were damaged in some way during WWII. Some were nearly obliterated. The window shows the historic meeting of Charles III and Rollo the viking with the treaty being submitted to Rollo for his approval. Among other things we learned from our host was that church service is only held once every 3 months or so due to a lack of priests and the secular nature of French society. But service is still held because, in words spoken by our host while shrugging his shoulders, "Some people still believe in God".



The above photo is a statue of the patron saint, in post decapitated posture. To the right is our new friend, the deputy mayor.



Above you see the reliquary of Saint Clair with relics inside. Yes, that IS a skull you see through the little glass window.

Below is me with my new buddy, the deputy mayor. Geez, I look so proud, like I'm posing with Sarko and Carla.



After our tour was finished our friend told us where we could find the little fountain where Saint Clair tossed his head. The clock was running but he had won me over and this sounded like a great photo op. Besides, we wouldn't have even known it still existed if he hadn't told us. Off we went down the street, arriving a few minutes later at a small park. We got out the camera and aimed it at the fountain. But the camera was malfunctioning in a way that had never happened before. But just for a few seconds. Ooohh, spooky. Here is the fountain.



The 3 plaques you see on the fountain all post date WWII and were left in thanks from people who claim to have been cured of their particular maladies after paying a visit to the fountain. One plaque even proclaims 2 cures. Ooohh, spooky.

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It must have been around 7:00PM now so we really had to get moving. We got back on the D37 heading north preparing to take a side trip on the D6 to the village of Boury en Vexin, where I saw a chateau marked on the map. Here are 2 photos taken of and from the D37.





For a small town, Boury en Vexin has a fantastic website. I printed out 14 pages of town history to take with me and it covered the history of the town and region from 5,000B.C. through to the present. The website is in French but if you want to have a look here is the link.

pagesperso-orange.fr/mairie-boury/boury8.htm

I've been writing this trip report for hours now and I'm too tired to recount some of the historical highlights of the town so I'm leaving that up to you if you want to see the town website.

Here are 2 photos of Boury en Vexin.





The next photo is of the Chateau de Boury en Vexin.



The chateau was built in 1687 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, architect of Louis XIV, and is cited as an example of pure classical French architecture at the apogee of the 17th century.

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Okay, next up is Gisors. Here it is in the distance.



Gisors has a rich history first coming to prominence when William the Conquerors son constructed an artificial mound and built a motte and bailey type fortress, to protect English claims in the Norman region. It underwent various modifications through the 15th century before being made useless in 1599 due to improvements in artillery. It was closed when we arrived so we had to make due with photos through the fence.







We were also too late for a visit to the wonderful looking church of Saint Gervais-Saint Protais. While technically a church its architectural splendor is more akin to a cathedral. Originally constructed prior to the 14th century it was damaged during The Hundred Years war and restorations and additions began in 1497 continuing to the end of the 16th century. It encompasses both gothic and renaissance styles. Here it is.





The town has a website in English and here is the link below.

www.tourisme-gisors.fr/Welcom-to-Gisors,143,0,772.html

[frenchmystiquetour]

Gisors was the home of Pablo Picasso from 1930 to 1936 but like the other attractions in town, his former studio was closed at the late hour of our arrival and we couldn't visit. One of his most famous paintings, Guernica, was created here. The town also has a supposed Templar connection made famous in “The Da Vinci Code” as a place where the Templar treasure was hidden, supposedly under the keep. And, the secret organization of the Priory of Sion was supposedly formed here. Not my kind of thing but if it's your kind of thing then maybe you'd like to visit.

I found Gisors to be a place where the past and present are completely intertwined. Ancient half timbered buildings with neon signs and chinese restaurants and such. It was nice and pretty but not like in a museum kind of way. It was still being lived in and seemed like a lively place. Now I've seen many posts on the travel forums lately where people are concerned with what is fashion appropriate when visiting Paris. You need have no such concerns when visiting Gisors as it was obvious this wasn't a concern of the locals. Acid wash jeans and Members Only clothing just seemed to be catching on, blending nicely with the myriad of t-shirts I saw emblazoned with misspelled English words that obviously had no meaning in the English language with which I am familiar. Do the words “Go / Team / All-Pro / Number 86” mean anything to you? Me neither. But they apparently mean something to the residents of Gisors. Must have something to do with The Da Vinci Code. Sorry I wasn't bold enough to take any photos of the locals. But I got some nice pictures of the town.

[frenchmystiquetour]

Having finished in Gisors and running out of daylight it was time to head back home. We headed east out of town on the D151 and passed through the town of Trie Chateau. Time for 2 quick photos from the car.





And this is our goodbye photo to a fantastic day of “getting lost”.



Next, we took the D923 to the D153, crossed the D915 and picked up the D53 to the D43 and then reconnected with the N14 back to Paris.

Now, I took my first photo at around 11:30AM and my last photo around 9:50PM so this was not a short day. If you are visiting Giverny you won't have time to do everything I did in one day. But you don't have to. Get your Michelin map out and pick and choose. I would even encourage you to go to some of the many other small villages in this area I didn't explore and find your own mayor, your own mysterious rocks, your own decapitated saints and your own locals in acid wash jeans. Opportunities abound whenever you decide to just get lost in France.

[travelluver]

OMG - what a fabulous report!!! Thanks for bringing back fond memories of the Normandy that was my home for 1 1/2 years -

[frenchmystiquetour]

Thank you travelluver. Did you spend much time exploring this area? Where did you live? I don't know if people are aware how close rural France truly is in relation to Paris. I bet you miss Normandy a lot. I love all parts of France but Normandy is the easiest place for me to visit because I live just outside Paris. More Normandy trip reports to come.