Waiting to enter Monet's house
Lily ponds at Monet's garden
Rouen
La Bouille overnight stop
Foundation Monet to Rouen, overnight at La Bouille
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Day 4
The aire de camping cars at Foundation Monet in Giverny is free, there are a lot of motorhomes that use the facility so it's best not to arrive very late or you might be disappointed and have to move on. The space is fairly level, and well-used, the grass was very worn when we visited.
We expected a lot of people, but were surprised just how many there were and how many coaches turned up. There are separate entrances for people arriving in organised groups and individuals who just turn up. We fell into the latter group and joined a queue of about 30 people waiting at the entrance before the doors opened. Paying and entry is not quick, in fact it's rather slow and laboured. You enter via the gift shop, so be prepared to fight your way through people browsing the displays.
We headed straight to the house and went in there. What a good decision that was! Almost as we passed the doorkeeper she closed the entrance so no more people could enter the house until some left. Thereafter a long line of visitors stood outside waiting to pass slowly through the house. The gardens themselves are pretty, and maintained to a high standard, they should be, this is one of the most-visited sites in France so there should be no shortage of money. The paths in the gardens are rather narrow and despite being outside I found the whole experience claustrophobic, I don't like so many people close and pressing up to me.
The worst part of the experience was making our way through the underground tunnel that links the gardens on the house side of the road with the water gardens on the other side of the road. To access the tunnel you have to pass the tour group entrance on the inside of the walls, so if you are unfortunate and are passing when a party is arriving it is extremely crowded.
The water gardens are most interesting, but difficult to see unless you patiently wait your turn to move to the front of the crowds.
Personally I liked to see the place, but if I had known how crowded it would be then I would not have gone.
Prices of goods in the gift shop are high, as you would expect.
Normally we don't spend time in cities or at major tourist attractions unless there is something that we really want to see. Next on our itinerary was the cathedral in Rouen. Most big cities are difficult to drive around in a motorhome, and even more difficult is finding a parking place. The centre of Rouen is no exception. We often solve this problem by parking somewhere outside the city and travelling in by train. At Rouen we knew there was an aire on a small island in the river, so that's where we went.
Road layout changes made the final access hazardous and particularly difficult, however, we got there eventually thanks to google maps and the nice lady who gives us turn by turn instructions in English. After lunch we set off and walked to the cathedral via other old areas of the city, including the old plague cemetery where major renovation work is taking place. Space in the cemetery was limited, so previous burials were exhumed and the bones piled into overhead galleries. We moved on through the old streets and Gros Horloge, a massive clock over the road, to the cathedral.
A wonderful building, perpendicular gothic, massive columns rising vertically. Very impressive.
After the city it was a pleasure to move on the La Bouille and the aire de camping cars located on a mixed parking lot by the river next to the ferry. Free. Toilets across the road by the ferry terminal. Watching the ferry proved very interesting.
Summary of motorhome journey
Total miles |
mpg | average speed mph |
hours driven |
56.8 | 29.0 | 22 | 2:28 |
Totals for this journey |
|||
585.2 | 28.8 | 35 | 16:15 |
Rouen Cathedral
La Bouille
La Bouille small toilet block