LUXOMME

Good morning!

I woke up this morning to this gorgeous view outside my window.



Miles and miles of grassy fields and fresh air. The peace and quiet here is amazing, it feels entirely different from Paris just two hours away and life is just so simple here. I never thought I would enjoy living in a place so calm and secluded, but as I get older I find myself drawn towards simpler things and a quieter life. 


But some things never change, and our mornings pretty much felt like this.

We picked up a car from Paris early yesterday morning and made the drive over to BnB we are currently staying at. It's on the cutest little farm where they DIY everything from their own eggs, to corn and even a large apple cider manufacturing plant!




Because we drove by Monet's Giverny Gardens on our way here, we decided to stop and take a stretch. The weather was wonderful yesterday; the perfect balance between hot and cold, with a little breeze.







According to our tour guide, Monet lived here with his wife and eight children. He spent much of his time developing the gardens surrounding the house and drew inspiration for his paintings from here. 

His house alone is quite impressive. The few rooms that were opened were filled with Japanese paintings, which were apparently one of many things that Monet collected. His studio was large and airy with scattered lounge chairs surrounding desks, and from his bedroom window, all you can see are rows and rows of unending flowers.





The sheer amount of time and effort it must have taken to create this little escape is absolutely astounding. How amazing would it have been to actually live here and be able to wake up every morning to a sea of flowers and a lily pond right behind.
















The bridge which Monet's "Water Lily Pond" is inspired from.










The timing of the weather was perfect as the moment we finished viewing the estate in it's entirety, the rain started to fall.

So we headed over to Rouen to visit the place where Joan of Arc was executed.






But instead, we stumbled into this overwhelmingly intricate Cathedral called Notre Dame de Rouen, which also reminds me somewhat of Chinese carved ivory.



Unfortunately, because it had been through a war, some of the finer details were rubbed or chipped off. They are currently doing restorations to both the exterior and interior of the Cathedral, and even brought the statues down for viewing before they are taken off to be repaired.






The architecture in all these gothic Cathedrals are amazing. I can't even wrap my head around how they designed and built these places.



It was time to check in at our BnB though and when we arrived we were greeted with a bottle of freshly made apple cider from their cellar! I personally don't particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol, so I ended up drinking more of the apple juice than I did of the cider, but both where good nonetheless. If Canadian border laws weren't so strict I might even try to sneak a few bottles back.




We stopped by a local restaurant for dinner and the streets were so quiet and empty. Apparently in France, most people take August off for vacation, so most places close and it almost becomes a ghost town.







We are staying in this place called Village Brocade and it reminds me alot of Kingston. Everything is so picturesque at night and because there's literally no one on the streets, and it almost feels  like you are living in a replica museum.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to end the night. Good food, great company and an absolutely memorable day.

naomi

I have this crazy obsession with mustard, so we stopped by Maille to pick some up fresh from the pump, and also to sample their range of flavors. My favorite; Raspberry Creme with Basil. 



They have a hundred different mustard's stacked perfectly side by side on the wall. It's almost like walking into a candy shop. Purchasing mustard almost becomes an experience, like buying a designer bag. They have mustard specialists on hand, a sample bar with biscuits and drinks, and when you finally purchase something, everything is carefully wrapped, packaged, and decorated with a shiny ribbon. 

But if you don't particularly like mustard, Fauchon is just a hop skip away and it's filled to the brim with the most delicious things as well. Pastas, pastries, terrines, and the fanciest desserts.



Because I woke up late that day I didn't have the chance to grab lunch, so when we stopped by the Galeries Lafayette to pick up a few bags, we also stopped by the food hall.

I read David Lebovitz's blog obsessively before I came to Paris and one thing he stressed over and over again was how amazing Bordier butter was.

So I had to try it out.



We got sidetracked by the seafood section when we saw fellow tourists sitting on tables devouring stacks of seafood presented like it was afternoon tea.. Of course we couldn't resist.

We slid onto some chairs, grabbed the menu, ordered with whatever little French I could still string together, and a platter was brought to our table a few minutes later.




The table beside us had a platter overflowing with king crab and lobster which was so tempting, but we couldn't since it was already quite late and we had dinner plans afterwards...


It's difficult to eat healthy at home sometimes, and even more difficult to eat healthy when you're traveling. My parents try to make it a point to go to the local market or supermarket to pick up some fresh fruit during our stay and this yellow watermelon caught my eye.

It's been years since I last had a yellow watermelon since they're not readily available where I'm from, but this one was the sweet, dense, juicy and absolutely perfect. I wish I had gotten a few more.

naomi.

One of the few things I remember from my first trip to Paris was the Chateau de Versailles. It was the first time I had ever been in such an opulent place. The gold gilded rooms, sparkling chandeliers and absolutely sprawling gardens. Everything was so ornate and so grand that it's almost seems unreal.

There are so many things to love about it, but I wish I could travel back to the 18th century to experience what it was like during the reign of Louis XVI. To see the hustle and bustle of the court, and to see how the Chateau operated while it was in use.

But of course, we started off our day at the trusty McD's for breakfast. 

People often stare when I tell them that everytime I go on vacation somewhere out of the country, I always try to fit in one of two meals at McDonalds. I love that the McDonald's in each country has their own special offerings that I can't get in Canada, and it's also comforting to have something so familiar in a place so foreign.

I picked up the McBaguette with Mustard beef, and a box of six macarons since.. I've never seen McDonald's carry macarons.

They weren't great.





The line to enter the palace was unbelievable. It started at the entrance and rolled like a snake all the way to the end of the parking lot. We spent about 50 minutes in the scorching sun just to get past security, and by the time we were through, everyone was exhausted.






These gold gilded doors reminded me of Givenchy's Fall/Winter campaign a few seasons back. Imagine having these in your house!




 The time and effort put into creating all these pieces of art, and the detail in all the trimmings and columns is absolutely dazzling. I don't know the slightest bit about artwork, but this level of intricacy in every inch of the palace is astounding. Plus, the fact that this was all done by hand... the accuracy and precision is unbelievable. It's really unfortunate that things aren't done this way anymore. Everything has become so mechanical and uniform. 





As expected though, by the time we reached the Hall of Mirrors it was well past lunch and my weak ankles were starting to give in, so we had to make another stop for drinks. Thankfully there was an Angelina's ahead of where we were, so we beelined it over.





 I still wasn't feeling 100% better from my cold so I opted for some soup instead of the Mont Blanc. I stole a few scoops from Chloe instead.




My Dad opted for the Tomato Gazpacho Soup and I for the classic French Onion Soup.

This was the first time I've ever had onion soup in France. The ones I've had in North America are more soupy whereas here, the whole bowl was filled with bread dripping in broth. 





And our last stop! The gardens!

I was extremely irritable by then since we had literally spent the whole day walking and my cough was getting worse. The gardens are my favorite though, I would recommend that you try and rent a golf cart if you can. You get to cover much more of the gardens that way, and you can focus on relaxing and enjoying the scenery instead.

All in all an absolutely wonderful day and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to come back again :)

naomi.