Last days in Normandy

Nature's sweet breath blows

to cool my hot, tired body -

after the long climb.

After leaving Pont l'Éveque we zagged away from the coast in a south easterly direction. Travelling on roads all the way we rolled fairly quickly through villages and towns – Corbeilles, Pont Authou, Brionne, Le Neubourg, Louviers, Venables – and across to the Seine. 

Late afternoon, Pont Authou.

Heavy dew before another hot day in the saddle, Pont Authou.

Fewer cattle, more fields of canola with their vivid yellow flowers and slightly plastic smell. Days becoming quite warm now, cycling in shorts, the air is full of the heady richness of spring. At every turn and every village a different flower scent wafts. Occasionally we are treated to the shade of a forest – luminous green beech leaves crinkled like potato chips (that's crisps to those of you on the northern part of the planet), convoluted oak, multi-stemmed hazel and big drooping serrated chestnut leaves.

Everything is so green, yet we've only had two afternoons of rain and a couple of thundery showers since leaving Ireland. Finally, after a hill so long and steep I thought we would need the climbing gear, we swung around into the Seine River valley.

Chalky white limestone cliffs peek out from curtains of green overlooking the river, tall green poplars abound. And perched high above Les Andelys on a bend in the river is the imposing ediface of Château Gaillard. The now ruined, though partially rebuilt hillfort was built in the late 1100's (in an amazing two years) by Richard the Lionheart in partial imitation of Middle Eastern fortresses seen whilst on Crusade.

Our longest and hottest ride yet brings us down to the town of Les Andelys and we give ourselves the next day off to explore the castle on the hill and the old town by the river underneath. We camp that night under a tree shedding white cotton wool catkins and by the time we leave almost everything we own is covered in white fluff.

Refreshed after a shower, Château looming above.

Château Gaillard, seen from our campsite.

Château Gaillard is impressive, reconstructed with the original scallop shaped walls around the main keep in alternating lines of limestone and tufa. Locally quarried, we see much of this stone in the next couple of days in buildings around the area.

Part of defensive curtain wall,  Château Gaillard.

...And I wasn't anywhere near the no climbing signs (at least a couple of metres away)

Neil under the rebuilt tower.

Château Gaillard keep.

Leading out to the battlements.

View north over the Seine and Les Andelys, white cliffs in the distance.

From Les Andelys we head along the valley toward Vernon. As we come over the hill, out of a cool stretch of forest above the village of Port-Mort, a rural idyll opens before us – the shimmering blue Seine winding through lush green countryside enclosed by green hills on either side.

A lovely morning across the Seine river valley north of Vernon.

Unfortunately our campground is on top of the hills on the other side of Vernon and we end up pushing the bikes up the steep winding road in the heat of the afternoon. That's fine because we get to ride the bikes down unencumbered the next morning on our way to visit Monet's house in the village of Giverny on the other side of the river.

It is Easter Saturday and we are crammed into Monet's house and garden with tourists from all over the globe, most of whom are too busy taking photographs to watch where they are walking. The house is nice, not huge, but filled with many lovely Japanese wood block prints except for one room which is filled with Monet paintings (funnily enough).

It is the gardens though that most people come to see. The garden around the house is full of path ways laid out with flowers in colour symphonies. When we were there tulips were in flower, irises just opening out, there were many pansies, azaleas, lisianthus (I think) and many others I could not name.

Such striking colours.

Just one of many shades of tulip.

Looking across the flower garden to Monet's house.

But it was the water garden that we liked. Calm, even though there were hoards of tourists traipsing through, stands of bamboo, a huge old copper beech, bridges over waterways, including the oft painted Japanese bridge resplendent with purple flowering wisteria. Waterlilies there were none, but there were some beautiful Japanese maples.

The first mushrooms we've seen so far...

Water garden.

Lovely spring colours.

We topped off the morning far from the madding crowd with lunch on the terrace at a pokey little pizzeria just up the road. Pizza accompanied by a dazzling bottle of Norman cider – rich and golden, bubbles floating lazily to the top of each glass. Then an espresso each to get us back on the bikes.

Words - Gabby, Images - Neil and Gabby