Dinner in a train station

My parents were here for their 45th wedding anniversary so a dinner out on the 13th was in order. After much debate and suggestions from colleagues, we ended up eating dinner in a train station. It is quite a feeling when you get dropped off for dinner and literally start walking towards the Gare de Lyon . . .because that's where everyone wants to celebrate their wedding anniversary. See how fancy it is with the trains the background!

Before

In good news - there really was a restaurant. Le Train Bleu, yes is in the train station but, is actually quite ornate and fancy. It really gives you the feeling of what train travel must have been like in yesteryear.  

And after!

We of course started dinner with a little coupe de champagne because it was after all a celebration!

We went full on French style and ate all the things! 

Amuse bouche

Foie gras

And last but not least, desert! Mille-feuille caramel

A Day in Brittany

While my parents were here a few weeks ago I took a day off so we could head to the coast. We took the train to St. Malo which is where the tour started. Then we headed to Mont Saint Michel and ended in Dinan before heading back.

St. Malo

St. Malo is a port town which became famous for corsairs. Basically they were authorized to raid and seize ships on behalf of the French crown though I doubt the crown would admit to it :) 

It is surrounded by a wall that you can stroll around to see the city as well as the seaside. a you can tell by what we are wearing, the weather was a little breezy in the morning.

Heading to the top of the wall

And for my fellow Canadians, this is also the town that Jacques Cartier sailed from to discover our fine nation.

While this was called Quebec Place, dude in the middle had nothing to do with Quebec or Canada

For lunch we sampled some of the local fare. Brittany is known for cider and galettes (a crepe made with buckwheat). The galettes are stuffed with all sorts of tastiness! 

Mont Saint Michel

After lunch we were off to Mont Saint Michel, apparently the second most visited church in all of France after Notre Dame. And in full disclosure, it is actually in Normandy not Brittany but then my blog title would have been a little complicated . . .

Mont Saint Michel is actually an island commune with a hand full of residents - around 40 - and a boat load of tourists! The tide varies quite a bit so it's not always accessible though it was looking a little dry when we were there despite the biblical proportions of rain that fell as we were leaving the Abbey. 

The first church was built on the site in 709 at the request of the Archangel Michel. In 966, at the request of the Duke of Normandy, a pre-Romanesque church was built. And then others came along ad added to it here and there.

Uphill, and then uphill some more

And did I mention there are a few stairs

Part of the original walls of the Abbey

The dining hall

What's holding it all up - ok, some of it

Dinan

After getting soaked, we headed to our last stop - Dinan. Dinan is a quaint medieval town with a church, clock tower and little small streets. I would tell you more but to be honest, we didn't see much. The torrential rain returned so after walking around 2 minutes and standing under a tree getting soaked for 10, we headed to a bar for the rest of this stop!

The clock tower

A much needed beverage!

Hanging with the fam

We have family that lives in the north of France in a small little village a stones throw away from the Luxembourg border. It is not often that they get visitors but on Sunday we arrived in full force. It was a day of firsts - first time my parents rode the train in France, first time they took Uber and first time to visit the fam!

We traveled in true European style - by train. 

Gare de l'Est

And we spent the day doing what you do when you visit family in Europe - eat and drink (and take a walk to the cemetery of course).

The weather was amazing and all and all, a great day!

Gardens in Giverny

My parents arrived a week ago so I've been a little behind in posting. Last weekend we took the opportunity to get out of Paris both days. Aside from the hellish traffic we sat in on Saturday (3 accidents occurred simultaneously), it was nice to get out of the city. 

Our first day took us to Giverny where one of the most famous painters lived and worked from 1883 until his death - Monet. Claude Monet had two passions - painting and gardening. Giverny allowed him to do both. The two large gardens that make up the residence were designed by him. He even paid the city to have the river run directly through the property so that he could keep the gardens green.

The more famous of the two gardens is the water one. This is where he painted his water lilies over, and over, and over again. However, no where in the garden will you find the blue purple water lily flowers because they don't exist. As Monet aged, his eyesight began to fail him and he could no longer see colours in the same way.

The infamous water lilies

In behind his home that he shared with his second wife, Alice Hoschedé, is the second garden. This garden he planted in rows of colours so that he could observe them and then try to replicate their shades in his art. Monet's need to analyze colours was said to be both a joy and a torment for him.

One of the views from the window.

Monet is buried in his family tomb at a small church down the road from where he lived in Giverny.

And for those that know him, Joe finally is making an appearance in the blog! He has been to Paris so many times that he doesn't go out much there but when we head out to a new location, he definitely comes along - bags and all!

Joe hanging out in the water garden