Canoeing along the Eure

The Eure is a left-bank tributary of the Seine, and it's the main river that flows around where we're staying, in Fontaine-sous-Jouy.

So yesterday, we decided to rent a canoe and see the river up close. There's a canoe rental place not five minutes from here, and the fellow was super helpful and nice. He drove us to Ménilles, and got us launched. From there, we were on our own.

The route took us past Vaux-sur-Eur and Chambray, and gave us a glimpse of some really beautiful houses. Unfortunately, the camera was in a water-tight bin, strapped down to the canoe, and I couldn't access it until we portaged. Probably a good thing, as we got very wet. In fact, by the end, we were thoroughly soaked!

We saw lots of wildlife: herons, ducks, geese, swans, and little creatures that looked like small river otters. We were also treated to the wonderful sounds of the local birds all along the way.

We passed under bridges (one so low that we had to lie down in the canoe grope along the underside of the bridge with our hands -- but to be fair, that wasn't really on the route because we were the tiniest bit lost at that point), along picturesque riverbank foliage, under low-hanging weeping willow branches, and (to our horror) through a little stretch of rapids.

Returning to the rental place involved positioning ourselves at the mouth of a narrow (only slightly wider than canoe width) concrete chute, pulling our paddles onboard, and hurtling down it like we were on a waterslide. Yes, that part was verging on what one might call "too much of an adventure."

But all's well that ends well, and we had a great time!

Exploring on foot

**I've changed the permissions so anyone can comment -- you don't have to be a registered user.**

Yesterday we explored the area on foot -- the previous day's driving tired us out for the road! We walked along the narrow streets to some grain fields where poppies are sprouting up, then in the late afternoon, we walked the other way, on a path along a stream, winding up in the town of Fontaine-sous-Jouy, where we saw the church and city hall. 

The entire time, we were serenaded by a chorus of birds. The air is full of birdsong here -- it's so wonderful to hear. The one that makes me laugh is the Tourterelle turque (Streptopelic decocto), which begins his call with a "Woo Hoooo." We also love the Rouge-gorge (Erithacus rubecula), which, upon checking a birding site, turns out to be a European robin. All my British readers will laugh at me for thinking it was so exotic -- but we don't have them in North Amerca! Our robins are a bird of an entirely different feather.

My absolute favourite is the cuckoo -- it really does sound exactly like the clocks! The cuckoos sing almost constantly here. I feel like I'm in a fairy tale!

  

Honfleur and Juno Beach -- Canadian connections

Honfleur
Yesterday we visited Honfleur -- a cute little harbour in Lower Normandy. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain organized an expedition that founded what we know now as Quebec. Honfleur thrived on trade with Canada.

Its beautiful little wooden church, Église Sainte-Catherine, is the oldest wooden church in France. It was built in the second half of the 15th century by local axemasters from the naval yard -- without using any saws! The timber church resembles a ship turned upside-down, and the wooden belfry is situated across the street in Place du Marché.

Juno Beach

On June 6, 1944, the Allied armies from Britain, Canada, and the U.S. began Operation Overlord -- the invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed on Juno Beach. Some 14,000 young Canadians stormed ashore in the face of fierce opposition from German strongholds and mined beach obstacles. They raced across the wide-open beaches swept with machine gun fire, and stormed the gun positions. In fierce hand-to-hand fighting they fought their way into the towns of Bernières, Courseulles and St. Aubin and then advanced inland, securing a critical bridgehead for the allied invasion. The victory was a turning point in World War II and led to the liberation of Europe and the defeat of Nazi Germany.

We visited the Juno Beach Centre and took a guided tour, which included going down into the German operations bunker, through a tunnel, and into a German observation bunker. We also stood on the vast beach of fine sand, trying to imagine the unimaginable scene that took place on that very spot 71 years ago.

Canadian Cemetery

We were tired after the tour and walking through the many exhibits, but we still wanted to see the Canadian Cemetery in Beny-sur-Mer. We had to ask directions from some locals, but we found it, and I'm so glad we persevered. It was a peaceful place, and an emotional experience.

It is the final resting place of more than 2,000 Canadian servicemen, 19 of whom remain unidentified. Most were members of the Canadian 3rd Division who fell during the landings and the Normandy bridgehead, and the majority were killed between D-Day and the capture of Caen on June 18, 1944. It is also the final resting place of one French and four British servicemen.

A visit to Rouen

Aître Saint-Maclou
From the Latin "atrium," or central courtyard of a house, which designated a cemetery in the Middle Ages, this is one of the last medieval necropolises in Europe to be found in a city centre. Its origins date back to the Great Plague of 1348, which killed three-quarters of the neighbourhood's inhabitants. The buildings, constructed at the beginning of the 16th century are decorated with death motifs.

Cathédral Notre-Dame de Rouen
There has been a church on this site since the 4th century. Construction on the current building began in the 12th century. It suffered many fires, was struck by lightning four times (1284, 1625, 1642, 1822), damaged in a hurricane (1683), damaged in the French Wars of Religion (late 16th C), bombed by the British Royal Air Force (April 1944), bombed by the U.S. Army Air Force (June 1944), and damaged by a violent wind storm in 1999.

We also saw the Église Saint-Maclou, another example of the "Flamboyant" style of Gothic architecture, and the Saint-Ouen Abbey, which seems to be falling into disrepair. There's a sign on it that says to watch for falling stones, and there's plenty of vegetation growing from its spires, eroding the beautiful stone work. 

Quaint and pretty, everywhere you look

Yesterday, we explored the little towns around us. This is the bakery at Chambray. They were closed, but I stared through the window with great interest at a great array of beautiful pastries. 

The countryside is lovely, with gentle hills and lots of fields of grain and goodness knows what else. We had quite an adventure getting back to the house, as we had neglected to take the exact address with us for the GPS. The guidance system took us to the centre of Fontaine-sous-Jouy, but we weren't quite sure which edge of town we were supposed to be aiming for. 

As a result, we drove through lots of teensy streets and saw lots of charming buildings. Eventually we found the landmarks we needed to get home! 

Twisty is quite happy with us, and gave me enthusiastic headbonks and rubs. She curls up on the back of the couch near my head, and seems quite content with her temporary humans. We went out and said hi to Lancelot and the other horses. They enjoyed the distraction, then happily went back to grazing after we left. Lancelot is very popular -- the mares seem to love his company!

It's very restful at the house -- the constant birdsong is wonderfully soothing. At night the frogs sing for us. Today we are off to Rouen. More photos and tales tomorrow!

This is Stacey and Emmanuel's lovely house in the country. That first window on the left is our bedroom. It's just beautiful here, and the birds are chirping like crazy today, after a night of thunder, lightning, and heavy rain.

We met Twisty and Lancelot last night. Twisty is the adorable kitty, and Lancelot is the horse. You'll see in the photo that he is wearing a bug mask to protect him from insect bites. Part of our routine will be to change that mask every three days and to rub him with a solution that soothes the itch.

Twisty welcomed us with a nice gift of mouse. Fortunately, we saw him before he came through the cat door. Stacey told me to just say "no" to him, and it worked! He stopped, devoured the whole mouse, then came in. What a good kitty!

Sunrise on top of the world

What a day of travel! We left the house at 11 on Wednesday and didn't get to my cousin's house in Fontaine-sous-Jouy until the early afternoon of the next day. The flight was nine hours, but standing in line at the airport to have our passports stamped took forever, getting the rental car took forever, and so on and so on.