Vernon, Giverny, Deauville, Lisieux, Etretat

Last Friday was a holiday here. Thus, we had a long weekend. For this week, we decided to rent a car (at the project's expense of course) and drive through the French countryside. We went to the Normandy area. It was fun. We went to Vernon where we had a chance to feed swans in the Seine river. Then, we went to Giverny where Claude Monet was born. His garden is amazing. It has a collection of almost every flower you can imagine. It was wonderful. His water lily pond, where he based his famous "water lily" paintings was exactly as it was depicted in his paintings. Amazing. I loved it there.

We got lost on our way to Deauville and we asked some natives how to get there. We were advised to go through Lisieux to get to Deauville. When we arrived at Deauville, we learned that there's no more hotel room available. The place is good but were not able to explore it more. We ate dinner there and then left to go back to Lisieux.

As it turned out, Lisieux is the town of St. Therese of the child Jesus and of the holy face. She's also known as St. Therese of Lisieux. Imagine! I guess, it was through God's guidance that led us to Lisieux. We visited the Basilique and St. Therese's house. They are wonderful. Really amazing, actually. Imagine, we're walking in the same streets where St. Therese walked. We had a very good lunch in one of the restaurants at the town and checked-in into another hotel before heading off to Etretat.

Etretat is a really small but nice town. We didn't tour around the town but went directly to its famous cliffs. The view is spectacular. Beside the beach, there were two cliffs overlooking the sea, one at the left and one at the right. We went up the peak of the right cliff because there's a church there. There was a wedding at the time and it was nice to watch. The view is really, really amazing. It was well worth the climb. We went down a very rugged part of the cliff and I was afraid. Thus, I held on to Lito (one of the people I'm with) and I wasn't looking anywhere else. Going up, I arrogantly said that I will climb on my own because there are handrails that I can hold on to. However, somewhere in between, there was a part where there's no handrail to hold on to and I panicked. I shouted and I was laughing in my nervousness. I was hoping to hold on to Dran but he was way above me and too far from me. It's a good thing that Lito was right behind me or I don't know what I would have done. Well, it was an experience.

After that, we head off back to Lisieux and had a very good dinner. Well, I spent a lot but the meal was really, really good. The next day, Sunday, was spent also in Lisieux. We went to the crypt and to an exposition in the Basilique of St. Therese. We also went to Carmel where a replica of St. Therese is. Afterwards, we watched a diorama of St. Therese's life. It was very moving.

I really think that we were guided to Lisieux. It was not part of our plan but somehow, we spent a lot of our time there.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let's Go Europe!

One incentive of being in the GPS EMEAI project is having the chance of visiting European countries easily. The project is based in Paris, France and has been the focal point of our travel within Europe. Crossing the borders of two countries can sometimes be negligible that you won’t even notice it unless you see the sign that announces the new country’s identity. On the offhand chance that you find yourself in Europe, here are surely enjoyable places that should be included in your itinerary… Allez, Allez Francais! Paris has a lot to offer to tourists. There’s the famous Champs-Elysees, dubbed as the most beautiful avenue in the world. La Tour Eiffel in its towering presence. Arc de Triomphe, a work of art that symbolizes triumph even in defeat. Sacre Couer with its glorious overview of the city of Paris and the nearby Painter’s alley. Notre Dame de Paris, famous for its connection with a classic story. Chateau de Versailles, a castle that could be commended for its beautiful
Read more

Fear of Heights

Fear gripped my heart. My palms were sweaty and I felt cold all over. I was in Mine's View Park looking over Baguio's losing battle against urbanization. My friend asked me to step up to a rock no higher than one foot. But I was frozen in place. I can't seem to move without my friend's help. He held my hand and helped me overcome my fear. It is funny how something so easy seemed so hard for me to do. I envied the children I saw playing around without a care, without fear. I am afraid of heights. I cannot look down from tall buildings without feeling dizzy and cold all over. When I saw Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino in Devil's Advocate, daring life itself by standing at the ledge of a high building, boy, did I envy them ! There must be something about some people that makes them fearless in handling what I fear. When I was in New Jersey, we went to an amusement park there called Six Flags. There was this ride that they aptly call as the 'Dare Devil Dive' or D3. A
Read more

Paris Connection

Lost. That’s my first impression of Paris. I hear phrases and words that I do not understand and it’s making my head swim. I could be in twilight zone since my manager looks like an alien but, then I see a lot of beautiful people and I have to change my mind again. French, to a stranger, is a very melodious language. It’s so beautiful that you just want to hear it over and over again. Of course, this was not my tune on my first week in Paris. I felt like I’m being bombarded by words that’s making me feel smaller and smaller by the minute. When someone talks to me in French, I was literally out of words. I’d give them this blank face that’s probably very funny if I can only see it (yeah, I know, I look funny as it is). My first attempt of communicating in French was a disaster. I was trying to ask where the toilet is (Où est la toilette?) but I instead said “Thank you for your toilet” (Merci la toilette). Wow! It was so funny that I was laughing at myself so hard. It
Read more