We spent just under a month in France! We had an amazing time staying in Bernay which is in the Normandy region (even though we were only there for 3 full days.) Bernay is a very old French village and Edith Piaf the famous french singer lived there for a time as well. The 3 days we were in Bernay we hired a car and drove to Mont St Michel - an amazing historical monastery that is built on an island surrounded by a village. Also the island is surrounded in spots by quicksand. We also go to visit Claude Monet's garden in Giverny which was so inspiring and beautiful to see. Also one morning we woke to find that our entire street was lined with market stalls selling fresh produce, cheese, fruit, flowers, pasteries etc. We bought bits and pieces and has a picnic feast!
After Normandy we travelled south down through france to Aix-En-Provence which is not far from the southern border. We spent one night there before we travelled to Dommartine Les Quiseaux which is about an 1hr away from Lyon. We stayed for 2 weeks in Dommartine with a french family who we worked for. They were so friendly and hospitable and made us feel right at home. We worked on there farm doing gardening and cleaning. It was fun to be around 4 dogs, 4 cats, 2 horses and a very shy donkey. Marion our host took us into Lyon 2 times which was great as we were able to explore this great historical city.
After leaving our french family we headed to Paris where we spent a week exploring and seeing the sites - The Effiel tower, the Arch de Triomphe, Versailles (Marie-Antoinettes palace), Notre Dame Catheral, The louvre, and the Seine river. Paris is a very interesting city with so much to see. One day we ventured to Mont Martre the artsy part of Paris and walked past the Sacrecur, the moulin Rouge and looked at lots of art work! We got to catch up with our friend Annelise Demol that day as well which was a lot of fun!
Paris was our last stop before we left france, but I feel from our 3 and a half weeks we spent in the country we got a good taste of french culture, begets and Epoisses cheese!
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| Our first night in Bernay! |
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| Beautiful Bernay! |
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| The houses are so old they look a bit warped! |
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| Mont St Michel |
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| The Bernay Markets |
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| Our French Feast! |
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| Monet's Garden |
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| Aix-En-Provence |
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| This is the house we lived in for 2 weeks in Dommartine Les Cuiseaux |
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| ...and there were corn fields everywhere! |
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| Our little caravan |
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| Gardening! |
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| Bike riding |
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| Lyon! |
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| Lucky the Rotweiler |
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| The next door neighbours had a peacock |
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| Amber and Patrick (another volunteer) Cooking dinner |
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| Jess and Patrick having a jam session! |
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| Getting rid of the bugs off the ceiling! |
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| Amber and George with his swagman hat |
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| Me with one of George's guns |
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| Marion, Amber, Loretta, Armel, George and Me (this is the family we stayed with in France). |
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| Marion with her teatowel we gave her |
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| George with his beget and wine! |
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| Jess and Loretta near the Seine River |
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| Notre Dame Cathedral |
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| Every bakery in France looks like this! |
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| Eating Snails! They tasted like dirty chicken! |
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| The Louve |
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| Me with Mona |
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| At Verasilles |
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| A river rat! |
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| The Eiffel Tower! |
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| From the top of the Arc de triomphe |
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| Loretta, Annelise and Jess |
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| The Sacrecur |
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| The Moulin Rouge |
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| Waiting at the train station |
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| Last night in Paris! |
Such a fun post to read. It all looks truly amazing. I cannot wait to talk to you girls and get a whole bunch of tips from you so that I can do some more traveling too! (Snails taste like dirty chicken? That's hilarious!!) ;) That's neat that you've met other volunteers like Patrick! Have you met any other people volunteering at your same places? France and Paris look amazing. It reminds me of the good times Linds and I had while we were there! I might just have to put some pics on Facebook from our trip there over 6 years ago. :)
ReplyDeleteLove and hugs!
~Chlo
Hey Chlo, I would love to see some of your travel pics!!! Did you go anywhere else in France besides Paris. Paris is a great city. There are so many places to see there! No we haven't met any over Volunteers besides Patrick. Looking forward to a Skyping/facebook session sometime! Hope you are all going great! Love Jess
DeleteWe went to Paris, and Versailles as well! We went all around the palace, and Marie Antoinette's hamlet. :) I will have to put a few pics up on FB!
ReplyDeleteAre you going to Greece next?
Blessings!!
~Chlo