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For years we've been visiting Anne's French cousin, Karen, and her family in Cergy, northeast of Paris (and they visit us in Dorset). These are usually short breaks of a few days, and although we pack lots in, it's never really occurred to us to put anything on the website. This visit seemed a bit more momentous, as it came after a long gap, due to Covid lockdowns, surgery and other problems. Going to France meant that we missed King Charles' coronation, but by the time the date of the ceremony was announced we'd reached the stage where we weren't able to rearrange some of the bookings, having already postponed them several times. As usual we travelled to Folkestone and stayed overnight near the terminus for Le Shuttle, so that we could get an early train. In fact when we arrived we were offered an earlier train, and then when we got into the boarding queue, they squeezed us onto an even earlier one. Monday 1st May An easy trip through the tunnel as usual, spot on time. There was very little traffic about as we left the French terminal, and we went straight onto the A16, heading south. We followed our usual routine of stopping at the Aire de la Baie de Somme. This has become a bit more 'corporate' and less individual over the years, but it's still nicer than most UK services (Tebay and Gloucester being the honourable exceptions). It's also about an hour's drive after leaving the train, so it's a good place to swap drivers. We had a baguette and filled the car (no noticeable difference from UK prices) and carried on south.
We found our hotel easily enough, but Karen and Robert hadn't mentioned that the schools were on holiday - Trouville is a holiday destination and it was a bit of a nightmare finding somewhere to park to check in. One we'd done this it was fine, as the hotel booking included parking in the underground car park right outside. Karen and Robert weren't arriving until the next day, so after unpacking we went for a walk around town. It's really pleasant and very well-kept. Both the High Street (which faces the river) and the beachfront are full of restaurants and cafés, all individually owned - not a chain in sight. We settled for an early dinner in a restaurant overlooking the beach. Tuesday 2nd May
Once they had checked in they had a quick lunch and then drove us across to Deauville. If Les wasn't having trouble walking we could have gone across on the tiny ferry. After looking at the grand villas in Deauville we went into the magnificent Hotel Le Normandy. Nobody seemed worried abut us wandering around the public areas inside, and eventually we made our way to the terrace garden where we had afternoon tea. We made our way back round to Trouville, and in the evening Karen and Robert took us to their favourite restaurant in the town, Les Vapeurs. After eating we walked back past the hotel to the beach, where we timed it perfectly to see the sun set. Wednesday 3rd May After a leisurely
breakfast Robert drove us down to Honfleur. Going out in the car is
quite amusing. Robert said he should drive, otherwise he and Karen
would spend all the time giving directions, and we wouldn't have
time to admire the scenery. Normally in Cergy we drive, as our
car has more room and we know our way around the area. In
their car Anne needs to sit in the front to avoid travel sickness,
Honfleur was very impressive, with all the very old buildings around the port/marina. It was sunny, but quite windy. Les was struggling to so we just walked down the side of the port basin and had a coffee. On the way back Les sat with Robert while Karen and Anne did some shopping. It would be great to come back another time if Les becomes more mobile. We got back to the hotel, retrieved our car from the car park, and then reparked it so that we could have lunch (another beachside galette) before setting off to Cergy. We didn't attempt to drive in convoy, but agreed that we would see Karen & Robert the next morning. After we'd checked into our hotel we drove down to the port in Cergy (used to be able to walk there0, and ate in our favourite restaurant. Thursday 4th May At breakfast in the
hotel we couldn't decide whether we were late, or the hotel w They took us to Lyons-la-Forêt, a fairy tale village set in one of Europe’s most beautiful, and Normandy's largest, beech forests - 11,000 acres. It's full of half timbered buildings and has a beautiful 18th-century timber-framed covered market. We sat outside in the square in glorious sunshine and had a drink, and then managed a short circular walk to see the best of the architecture, including a house where Ravel had stayed while composing some of his music.
Friday 5th May After breakfast we drove to Karen's and then we all went down to some newish shops on the outskirts of Cergy. We bought some chocolate in an artisan chocolatiers , and the bought some flowers for our visit to Karen's son and daughter-in-law. We had lunch in a typical family-run French restaurant in Longuesse. It seems to have two names - Restaurant Aux Randonneurs and Chez Marco, the latter added when the current owner took it over. It seemed to be just the husband and wife and one member of staff running the whole thing, but it was very good - evidenced by the fact that it was full on a weekday lunchtime (although it was in the school holidays). Why can't we have restaurants like this in the UK? As we were leaving the patron pointed out the collar doves that had made a nest on the bracket of a lantern on the front porch.
Back at Karen & Robert's we all decided that we'd eaten so well during the day that we didn't want much, so Karen made a simple salad with cheese and we just sat and chatted. Saturday 6th May (Coronation Day) We drove to Karen's after breakfast and then Robert drove us to Abbaye de Royaumont. This is about 40km northeast, effectively going all the way along the Oise, so a pleasant drive.
Being French, it has an excellent café/bar, seemingly run by a single person, so we started by having an early light lunch, and then spent the rest of the day slowly pottering around the buildings and grounds. Back at Karen's we debated about where to go for a meal. In the end we settled on a relatively new restaurant in nearby Neuville-sur-Oise. "Monsieur Orbicole" is in part of an old chateau. It's extremely smart, but it's very friendly, and the prices are surprisingly cheap considering the very high standard of the food. We certainly couldn't get that standard of food at anywhere near the price at home. We'll certainly be going back there on future visits. It's a shame we didn't take pictures of our food, but it didn't seem quite right. Sunday 7th May We checked out of the hotel in Cergy after breakfast, and drove up Karen's. We had coffee and said our goodbyes and then set off for the drive back up to Boulogne. Pretty uneventful drive, with stops at a couple of Aires. Oddly, the one where we stopped for lunch doesn't come up on the car's satnav. In Boulogne many of the restaurants were closed, but we eventually found Le Gambetta, a small husband-and-wife run café/ bar, where we had our last galettes of the holiday. We were the last customers to leave, and were talking to the wife and it turned out that she knew Karen's village really well, and knew their road. Back at the hotel we could get English TV for the first time during the holiday, and we manged to watch an hour-long programme of highlights of the coronation on the BBC News channel. Monday 7th May Breakfast and straight to Cite Europe for a browse around Carrefour. We were unsure about what food items we could bring back with us nowadays, so we limited ourselves - pointlessly as nobody checked, or even asked us at customs. A quick baguette for lunch and then it was onto the train and then the long drive back to Dorset. |
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On
this visit Karen & Robert had suggested meeting at Trouville-sur-Mer
(hereinafter called Trouville), one of their favourite places for a
short break. This meant that we left the A16 and headed southwest on
the A28 and then the A29. We went almost to Le Havre and then
crossed the mouth of the Seine on the wonderful Pont de Normandie
After
an excellent breakfast in the Mercure we took a walk along the
riverfront, stopping for coffee by the ferry terminal. We continued
to the river mouth and then along the beach, and had a quick
lunchtime galette at a beach café. We walked back to the Mercure
through the back streets and waited in the lobby for Karen and
Robert to arrive. 
which
means Les has to get himself into the rear seat. The only way he can
do this is by laying on his side and shuffling across until his left
leg is fully inside, and then sit up. This is normally OK, but
time-consuming when Robert drops us off in traffic (to avoid Les
having to walk too far). 
asn't
very busy, as we almost alone in the restaurant. We drove to
Karen's and sat chatting before heading out. 
We
drove to Achères to visit Karen &
Robert's elder son, Benjamin, his wife Sharzad and and their son
Shayan for the afternoon. We saw their very impressive house, and
had tea sitting outside in the courtyard/ garden. 
In
the UK we're used to ruined abbeys stemming from the dissolution of
the monasteries, but this lasted until the French Revolution, when
it was closed. It was bought by an industrialist who converted the
remaining buildings into a cotton mill. In the 20th century it was
bought by a wealthy industrialist, and in the 1960s became a private
cultural centre. The main abbey has gone, but various buildings
remain and are well-preserved. There are a few rooms where people
can stay, and it acts as a venue for events.