![]() ![]() ![]() “It’s a work of art in itself,” my husband observed. Monet’s sun-dappled property was breathtaking. ![]() Usually, our affable guide would have escorted eight customers in her tour van, but due to Covid we were alone. Our art tutorial then took a dramatic turn on a day-trip to his famous house and gardens in Giverny. We continued our Monet studies at the Musée d’Orsay, admiring a series of Rouen Cathedral façades that we’d just seen in person. At a pharmacy on the island, we paid €50 for required Covid tests and received negative results in 15 minutes. We transferred to a holiday apartment on the Île St-Louis, which offered a broad view of the Pont Louis Philippe and river traffic on the sparkling Seine. Because of Covid, “the French are discovering their own country,” our guide remarked.Īll too soon the MS Renoir cruised into Paris, where we bid her a reluctant adieu. We then joined throngs of excited French teenagers packed inside the château. Just as we entered the sumptuous gardens-as if on cue-the fountains danced to life. ![]() The crowning glory, however, was Versailles. In Rouen, our group roamed the majestic cathedral, then gazed up at the façade that Monet painted more than 30 times. Flower-filled Honfleur was enchanting, and sun-drenched Deauville looked like a movie set. We piled onto coaches for shore excursions. One evening featured live entertainment by a Normandy folk-dance troupe.Īs the MS Renoir glided downriver, we lazed on the deck and regarded the lush scenery, passing limestone cliffs and tidy villages that looked familiar from paintings by Renoir, Pissarro, Van Gogh, and especially Monet, who created iconic Seine images from a special boat that he fitted out as a floating art studio. Impressive gourmet meals (and gratis wine) were served daily I treated myself to endless baguettes with butter. Well, this long-awaited cruise was a dream! Our shipshape cabin had a picture window overlooking the Seine, and we felt utterly pampered. The elegant riverboat was about two-thirds full. Océane, a young English-speaking tour manager, kindly looked after us. Most appeared to be pushing 70 and solidly bourgeois. To our delight as dedicated art lovers, the life and work of the celebrated Impressionist would become a recurring motif of our adventure.Īboard the MS Renoir, we were the only Americans among the French, Belgian, and Swiss passengers. The waterfront museum showcased paintings by Eugène Boudin, mentor to the young Claude Monet. Our train from Paris to the Normandy coast had barely any riders. Still, the second arrondissement glowed in the golden light of late August. Though France was enjoying a respite from pandemic lockdowns, tourists in Paris were rare the Hôtel du Sentier’s owner divulged her dismay at running a business with so few guests. “We love it,” the masked flight attendant said. More than a year into the pandemic, our flight to Charles De Gaulle airport was virtually empty. As the global crisis lingered (and I turned 66), we twice postponed the trip. In early 2020, Covid-19 gripped the world and international travel imploded. ![]()
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