Giverny Bike Tour

[French Mystique Tours]

A bike tour in Paris is great but a bike tour day trip from Paris to go biking in the French countryside is a good choice too. I like doing bike tours in Paris as much as I like doing bike tours as day trips from Paris to go biking in the French countryside. The destination for today's bike tour is Giverny but our journey begins in the medieval town of Vernon.

Human presence in Vernon dates back to pre-history but its first mention in writing occurs in the 8th century so like many other French towns it's been around for a long time. Due to its position on the Seine river upstream from Paris it was often the victim of invading armies starting with the Vikings in the 9th century, the struggles between Philippe Auguste and Richard the Lionheart at the end of the 12th century, continuing through The Hundred Years War with the English (when it changed hands a few times) and right through WWII when it was bombed by the Germans in 1940 and again by The Allies in 1944. It has nonetheless withstood the ravages of war and is today a pleasant town on the banks of the Seine river with a pretty little medieval downtown featuring many half-timbered buildings and cobbled streets. There are quite a few stores and shops and lots of pedestrian activity making it a lively place. On our way to Giverny we'll ride through the downtown where Vernon's medieval heritage is evidenced by its ancient church.




The church was constructed over time starting in the 11th century and terminating in the 16th century, although most of its original windows were destroyed during the bombings in WWII and have since been replaced. Not only the church will remind you of Vernon's ancient roots but you'll readily notice the abundance of half-timbered buildings crowding around it. Just next to the church is the building housing the tourist office, built in the 15th century and formerly the ancient café of the village.




There are several other old streets in the vicinity but Giverny beckons so let's cross the river and get on with the ride.




Alright, we'll start the ride in a minute but first there are a couple of other attractions to see. Here's Le Vieux Moulin (The Old Mill), one of the iconic images of the town. It's a good introduction to the subject of Monet since it was depicted in one of his paintings, titled The Old Mill.




The 16th century mill building is the only survivor out of five mills which used to rest upon the stone arches above the river. Most of the original 25 stone arches spanning the river have vanished and in any event a new bridge was built in 1860 a few meters upstream on the site of the present bridge.

Next to the bridge is The Tourelles Castle.



This medieval remnant dates to the end of the 12th century when Richard the Lionheart was engaged in a power struggle with French King Philippe Auguste. Richard gained control of most of the region today known as Normandy and after his capture of Vernon he used the town as a base for his future military operations. Richard also had a bridge built across the river, an extraordinary feat of engineering for its time. The old mill rests upon the remaining fragments of this bridge. The tower next to the bridge used to be surrounded by a moat but since the tower was litte used in military operations it was decommissioned around 1650. However, it sprang back to life in the 18th century when a Mr. Planter bought the castle and set up a flour mill around it. No small minded businessman, Mr. Planter here set up the largest flour mill in France, possibly in Europe, and was the sole supplier of flour for the French colonies in America. Being a miller was a dangerous occupation during the Revolution when bread prices soared and bakers and millers were often the target of angry mobs who would accuse them of hoarding and price fixing. Mr. Planter became the victim of one such mob that threw him in the river. Since he didn't drown they dragged him from the river and marched him into the town with the intent of hanging him from a street lamp, shouting ''A la lanterne!'' (roughly translated to ''String him up!''). He was saved at the last minute by the mayor, who cut the rope with his sword. Nonetheless, the Revolution was the death knell for the castle and it has remained empty and unchanged ever since, although damage sustained during bombings in WWII has been repaired.

I'll share some other historical anecdotes about Vernon with you before we leave the town but for now we'll get on the bike trail for the next few kilometers until we arrive at Giverny.






And here's Giverny.

[French Mystique Tours]

Giverny would have remained an inconsequential country village had it not been spied from a passing train by Claude Monet. Liking the view of the village from the train Monet moved to Giverny and rented a house in 1883. The house and grounds as we seem them today are far different than they were when Monet arrived. By 1890 he had acquired enough money to purchase the property and undertook its transformation. He renovated and expanded the house and had new work studios constructed. But his most notable achievement was the creation of its world famous garden, whose creation was personally supervised by Monet. In 1893 he bought a small piece of land across from the railway in front of the house and set about creating his equally famous pond. As for the gardens in front of the house, called Le Clos Normand (The Norman Enclosure), there were originally just a few flower beds and an orchard. Monet decided to transform it into a flower garden. Although flower gardens had existed around châteaux for centuries it was a novel concept for one to be found elsewhere at the time. Gardens at the time were considered to be a place for the growing of fruits and vegetables. At first, Monet and his family did all the work but as his income grew he hired up to seven gardeners. Monet chose the flowers himself obtaining them not just locally but from a wide variety of sources, such as catalogues and via requests to friends making journeys abroad to bring him new specimens. He was particular in his choices, preferring single flowers to double flowers and disliking dark colored flowers (he never used the color black in his paintings). To create his pond he had an arm of the Epte river diverted there, to the dislike of his neighbors who thought his weird flowers would poison the water. But he was set on creating a garden not only for his pleasure but for his inspiration. The vegetation around the pond took a few years to fill in but Monet was painting there almost exclusively by 1895. In 1901 he bought another parcel of land to expand the garden and pond. While the design of the garden is fairly straight and linear the design of the pond is full of asymmetries and curves, inspired by the Japanese gardens Monet knew from the prints he collected. The gardens and pond became his main source of inspiration and he rarely sought out another subject. Over time he added alleys and trees as well as new plants and flowers, making sure they would bloom year round. He was meticulous and demanding; everything had to be pristine. Today there are 100,000 plants replaced annually as well as 100,000 perennials. But you've heard enough about the pond and gardens so let's see some photos.




















It's now time to leave Giverny behind and get on with the biking portion of our trip. For the rest of the day we're mostly going to leave the history behind and just enjoy the beautiful country scenery of the Epte river valley. I could tell you all about what you're going to see but since I've got the pictures to show you instead that won't be necessary. The contrast with the crowds that can frequent Giverny couldn't be more stark when compared to the empty green vastness just down the road.




People are replaced by cows.




And the bustle of the tourist crowds in Giverny is once again starkly contrasted with the relatively empty streets typical of county villages.

[French Mystique Tours]

The rest of the day will find us biking through scenic countryside which is periodically interrupted by a village or small hamlets with just a few clusters of homes. From time to time I'll break up the ride with a story or a visit to a château, or village or other noteworthy attraction. But for now I'll present you with a pictorial display of what you can expect to see. Here we go.













If you want a baguette or a pastry this boulangerie would be a good place to get one, since it's one of the last towns with any sort of commerce that we'll encounter.




Because after we leave this village we pick up a dedicated bike lane and leave cars, stores and civilization behind.








Here's a pretty little village we'll visit along the way.

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Here's a pretty 18th century mill. You couldn't ask for a prettier typical French country scene than around the mill. There are a few old farm buildings around the mill bordering wide green pastures flanked by shady patches of forest. To top it off there's even a château next to the mill.








Moving away from the mill we'll pedal through the center of the tiny village, which couldn't look any more quaint.












After our village visit is over we once more pick up the bike trail and exchange beautiful village scenery for beautiful country scenery.




And once more back to a village.



Since I was by myself and in the mood for exploring, and maybe a bit of a biking challenge, I decided to summit the steep hill bordering the valley and maybe get a nice scenic view from the top. Plus, my map showed there was supposed to be a château ruin at the summit of the hill just above me. Hmm, scenic view and a château ruin? Sounds kinda nice so up the hill I went. Well, it was a real workout climbing the hill but it was worth it for the complete change of scenery and topography once my ascent was terminated. The lush river valley dotted with villages, pastures and forest yielded to a vast open expanse of agriculture stretching to the horizon.

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Now, where was this château ruin the map had indicated? I was sure I was in the right spot where it had been shown on the map but there was no trace of a château. I guess the cartographer was merely playing a joke on adventurous bikers to deceive them into undertaking an arduous uphill trek for nothing. Nonetheless it was still pretty up on the plateau. I turned back but just before arriving at the descent into the valley I spied an ancient looking stone wall curving along what could have possibly been the former ramparts of a fortified property. There was a gate in the wall and the door was open so perhaps this was the old château and its location had merely been mislabeled on the map. I didn't see any private property sign and the gate was open so I pedaled right in.



There were no château remnants but there were a few old farm buildings that appeared to have been renovated and perhaps were being used as a bed and breakfast or a bar/restaurant of some sort. There were a couple of cars parked out front and a family picnicking on the lawn and it looked like a pleasant little place to stroll around for a few minutes. Maybe I could even grab a café at the bar. That sounded nice, or would have, if I hadn't been trespassing on the private property of the somewhat bewildered looking home owner who informed that I was in his yard. Whoops. I guess this means he doesn't want to make me a café, or let me use his bathroom. I apologized and he smiled politely so I guess no great offence had been committed. It was a pretty enough place to have risked the offence anyway so I was pleased with my gaffe. At least I still got some nice views over the valley.








Back at the bottom of the hill I took a little spin around the village.












And back to the bike trail.

[French Mystique Tours]

One of the pleasures of biking in the French countryside is stumbling on one of the numerous anonymous châteaux that dot the landscape. Some have the appearance of those lords and ladies type medieval manors and others exude the stately essence of refined dignity. The latter was in evidence at the château pictured below.
















At various points in our ride I'll mention some places where we can take a detour to see some of the various attractions in the valley that are just a short distance from the bike trail. I've explored this region by bike and by car and have discovered a number of worthy detours and places of interest. One time while returning from the Norman coast with my wife we passed through this region to visit a particular type of ancient site in which I have an interest. Let me recount what happened on that particular day since the site in question is not far from the château you just saw. The following story will describe the events as they unfolded that day.

It was a gray and overcast day as the Mrs. and I pulled up to the château. Just across from the chateau we saw this sign.



An Allee Couverte (Covered Alley) is a type of dolmen. What is a dolmen you ask? A dolmen is a type of megalith and if you'd like to learn more about these ancient features then click on this link to a report I've written about them:

anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=france&thread=4008&page=1#78628

As a quick overview of megaliths, they are large stone constructions built during the neolithic period (about 4,500BC to 1,500BC roughly) and come in 2 basic types, dolmens (tombs) and menhirs (standing stones).

Back to the story. Clouds had been gathering in the sky all afternoon and now they were really starting to look dark and threatening with an occasional flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. The Mrs. pulled the car over next to the path where there is a sign for the dolmen. As soon as I opened the car door, and I mean that very instant, the rain starts. No problem, I've got an umbrella. Holding a piece of metal in my hand and pointing it skyward should keep me safe from all the lightning. The Mrs. gives me the “You're an idiot” look and wisely decides to wait in the car for my return. The trail leads uphill and into a forest. As I head uphill a small stream is building in the middle of the trail, increasing in volume every minute. I reach a point where trails branch out in every direction. And there are no signs to the dolmen (What would McGyver do?). I try a few different trails and after a few minutes on each with no luck I turn back. I'm getting wet. But I will not be defeated. Time to go on instinct. I pick the trail that I think will be the one and sure enough after a few minutes I find the dolmen. It's even got a sign (in French) giving the archaeological history.


I got out the camera to take some pictures and start snapping away. But I can't get a non-blurry photo. Then my cell phone rings. I know it's The Mrs. wondering just what on earth is taking me so long. I answer the phone and hear nothing. The connection has been dropped. Each of us tries the other several times and each time the connection gets dropped. Well, at least she knows I'm alive (but possibly critically injured after a lightning strike). Back to taking photos. I finally manage to get 3 reasonably non-blurry photos and here they are.







Photos taken, I'm now anxious to get out of the rain and back to the car. Uh-oh, which trail did I come in on? Well, looks like it's time to take the most direct route. I'm at the top of a hill and the car is at the bottom. I pick a trail that goes downhill and soon find myself in a field, which is not the way I came in. But over to my right I see the car and know I've made it. The instant I get into the car, I mean the very instant, the rain stops. At least I wasn't struck by lightning so my luck wasn't all bad. So ends a successful megalith hunt.

But there was still a bit more to see near the château that I had discovered with the Mrs. on yet another excursion to this area. The Mrs. and I were out on adventure of discovery in this region one day, randomly wandering around to see what sort of interesting sights, pretty villages and landscapes we might encounter. Along the way we saw a sign indicating something of historic interest. It was pointing the way to the Pont d'Aveny (Bridge of Aveny). Well, if they put up a sign it must be worth seeing so let's have a look. We took a left down a small road and after about 200 meters we arrived at the bridge. Hmmm, where's the sign that is going to tell me about the fascinating history of this bridge that was so worthy of a sign on the road? I looked around but saw nothing and neither did the Mrs.

Surely, this must be a trap. A tourist trap, that is, as I see a few other confused looking travelers wandering about aimlessly searching for history. So when I got home I looked on the internet to see what could be so fascinating about this bridge. “It was originally built between 1744 and 1746, replacing the former wooden bridge, and is a fine example of mid 18th century stone bridges. It was reconstructed from 1872-1873 and again in 1911. It was closed to traffic in 1993”. Wow, that's really interesting (insert sarcasm here). My map shows it as closed to traffic but cars are indeed crossing it from one side of the river to the other, so obviously it has been reopened. Here is a photo of the bridge in all it's fabled historic significance.



The bridge crosses the river Epte, which forms a large part of the boundary between the regions of Île-de-France and Normandy. This river and the land that it divides is steeped in significant history, which I will discuss shortly. Here it is.

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And here's another attraction we discovered on the same day. Not too far off from the fascinating Pont d'Aveny is a little hamlet with a pretty château that you have the option of visiting. Here is the chateau, which is adjoined to a church.





The château has nationally classified gardens and if you are a garden lover then I think you might enjoy a visit. It was late in the day and the château was closed so this is the only photo I could get of the garden, which apparently is known for its unusual topiary creations.



Here's a pretty country house adjacent to the square in front of the chateau.




So now we can get back to today's bike ride and I'll pick up where I left off at the Epte river, about to rejoin the bike trail.








Just to prove my point about the abundance of châteaux that one stumbles across in the countryside here's another one.

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On a ridge above the plain to my left I spotted the ruins of this medieval donjon.

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Okay, it's time for another diversion. It's always hard to choose whether to enjoy the tranquility of the bike path in the countyside or the charm of the sleepy country villages that lie not far from its track. Here are a couple of places where we can stray from the bike path if country villages are to your liking. I'll recount for you now another of the travel adventures the Mrs. and I experienced while out on a previous excursion. A moment ago I had mentioned how this area was steeped in significant history. We shall now learn about said history as The Mrs. and I arrive in the village of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. This is an important historic town for 1 primary reason and this sign says it.




It says, “Normandy was born here in 911”. The Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte was signed here in 911. Charles III, king of France, granted to Rollo, chief of the vikings, the region now known as Normandy as a way of buying them off and having them cease their savage attacks on Ile de France. The river Epte was a major boundary between the 2 realms. Rollo married the illegitimate daughter of Charles and was thus his vassal. Not a problem for the time being since the Normans now turned their warring intentions to sleepy and backward England. The problem of the vassalage of the English kings to French kings would cause serious problems in a few centuries that would lead to The Hundred Years War but that's another story.

The village takes it's name from a monk (Saint Clair) born in England in 845. He was born of a noble family and fled a forced marriage, escaping with a friend to France in 866. He had been seeking a religious life and thus did not want to be married. His real name was originally William but he became Clair around this time, after becoming a charismatic priest. His charisma doesn't go unnoticed by the local women. One of them, a noblewoman, pursues him so he flees again, this time to a hermitage in the present day village. Furious at having been scorned the noblewoman sent soldiers to kill him. He was decapitated by her soldiers on November 4, 884.

After decapitation, so the story goes, he picked up his head and dropped it in a nearby fountain (decapitated people do the strangest things). There are more fanciful versions of the legend, each with a different twist, but these are the basic details. As for the fountain, ever after it was said to have miraculous curative power. Clair in French means clear in English and the specific function of this fountain was to cure vision problems (hence, clarity). Saint-Clair-sur-Epte has one other claim to fame. For 20 years it was the home of the famous, late French film actor Louis de Funes (my wife's favorite actor).

Let's visit the village of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte.












The last photo was of the village church and it was on the church doorstep where we had one of my favorite traveling experiences. Many people visiting France say they would like to meet and blend with the locals. I too seek out this experience and it was at the church where we had our first “meet the locals” encounter of the day.

The church was locked and the Mrs. was peering through the keyhole to catch a glimpse inside. We heard a voice calling out behind us from a distance. We turned around and saw a man approaching us from across the street. Are we in some sort of trouble? He kept talking as he approached but we couldn't understand what he was saying. We were fully prepared for an encounter with the village lunatic. His first comprehensible phrase did nothing to dispel this notion as he asked us “Qu'est-ce qui vous arrive”? Which translated to English means “What is happening to you”? What is happening to us!? I don't know. Are we melting from spending a long day in the sun? I look at the Mrs. but she is still in an unmelted state and so am I so what are we supposed to say? He introduces himself and come to find out, he is one of the deputy mayor's of the village. He is eager to share his knowledge of the church and the town with us. It was getting late now and we still had to get to our destination of Gisors but we couldn't refuse his hospitality. Besides, this seemed like it was going to be one of those encounters with the locals that I love so much. He then says, “Would you like to see the inside of the church? If so, you can ask for the key at the town hall, but that's closed. You could also ask another man who lives down the street but he's not home right now, or, you could ask me”. Of the 3 choices it seemed to make the most sense to ask him to use his key so we asked “Do you have the key on you?" he said “Yeah” and we thought “Great” and then he said “Let me go get it”. Off he went across the street and dashed inside a house, popping out again seconds later, key in hand waving it over his head for our approval. “Yup” we thought, “That sure looks like a key”. He opened the door and in we went to the gothic past. We then got about a half hour lesson on the history of the church, the history of the town and of Saint Clair. Here's a few pix.



The stain glass window is a copy of an older one which was destroyed during bombing in WWII. One thing I discovered in doing some research into this region is that many villages in the area were damaged in some way during WWII. Some were nearly obliterated. The window shows the historic meeting of Charles III and Rollo the viking with the treaty being submitted to Rollo for his approval.



The above photo is a statue of the patron saint, in post decapitated posture. To the right is our new friend, the deputy mayor.



Above you see the reliquary of Saint Clair with relics inside. Yes, that IS a skull you see through the little glass window.

Below is me with my new buddy, the deputy mayor. Geez, I look so proud, like I'm posing with Sarkozy or something.




After our tour was finished our friend told us where we could find the little fountain where Saint Clair tossed his head. We were already running late but he had won me over and this sounded like a great photo op. Besides, we wouldn't have even known it still existed if he hadn't told us. Off we went down the street, arriving a few minutes later at a small park. We got out the camera and aimed it at the fountain. But the camera was malfunctioning in a way that had never happened before. But just for a few seconds. Ooohh, spooky. Here is the fountain.



The 3 plaques you see on the fountain all post date WWII and were left in thanks from people who claim to have been cured of their particular maladies after paying a visit to the fountain. One plaque even proclaims 2 cures. Ooohh, spooky.

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The Mrs. and I left Saint-Clair-sur-Epte and our new friend behind. It must have been around 7:00PM now so we really had to get moving. We got back on the road preparing to take a side trip to the village of Boury en Vexin, where I saw a chateau marked on the map. Here are 2 photos taken of and from the road.





For a small town, Boury en Vexin has a fantastic website. I printed out 14 pages of town history to take with me and it covered the history of the town and region from 5,000B.C. through to the present. The website is in French but if you want to have a look here is the link.

pagesperso-orange.fr/mairie-boury/boury8.htm


Here are 2 photos of Boury en Vexin.





The next photo is of the Château de Boury-en-Vexin.



The château was built in 1687 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, architect for Louis XIV, and is cited as an example of pure classical French architecture at the apogee of the 17th century.

Let's fast forward again to today's bike ride and rejoin the bike trail, where we one again encounter an anonymous château, although somewhat hidden behind a fence.








And after fastforwarding it's time to rewind once more to the previous journey undertaken by me and the Mrs. when our destination for the day was the medieval town of Gisors, which is the end destination of today's ride. Here is Gisors in the distance.



Gisors has a rich history first coming to prominence when William the Conqueror's son constructed an artificial mound and built a motte and bailey type fortress to protect English claims in the Norman region. It underwent various modifications through the 15th century before being made useless in 1599 due to improvements in artillery.

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We were also too late for a visit to the wonderful looking church of Saint Gervais-Saint Protais. While technically a church its architectural splendor is more akin to a cathedral. Originally constructed prior to the 14th century it was damaged during The Hundred Years War and restorations and additions began in 1497, continuing to the end of the 16th century. It encompasses both gothic and renaissance styles. Here it is.






Gisors was the home of Pablo Picasso from 1930 to 1936 but like the other attractions in town, his former studio was closed at the late hour of our arrival and we couldn't visit. One of his most famous paintings, Guernica, was partially created here with its remainder being finished in Paris. The town also has a supposed Templar connection made famous in “The Da Vinci Code” as a place where the Templar treasure was hidden, supposedly under the keep. And, the secret organization of the Priory of Sion was supposedly formed here. Not my kind of thing but if it's your kind of thing then maybe you'd like to visit.

I found Gisors to be a place where the past and present are completely intertwined. Ancient half timbered buildings with neon signs and chinese restaurants and such. It was nice and pretty but not like in a museum kind of way. It was still being lived in and seemed like a lively place. Now I've seen many posts on the travel forums where people are concerned with what is fashion appropriate when visiting Paris. You need have no such concerns when visiting Gisors as it was obvious this wasn't a concern of the locals. Acid wash jeans and Members Only clothing just seemed to be catching on, blending nicely with the myriad of t-shirts I saw emblazoned with misspelled or out of context English words that obviously had no meaning in the English language with which I am familiar. Do the words “Go / Team / All-Pro / Number 86” mean anything to you? Me neither. But they apparently mean something to the residents of Gisors. Must have something to do with The Da Vinci Code. Sorry I wasn't bold enough to take any photos of the locals. But I got some nice pictures of the town.













Our day has now come to an end so we must head to the train station in Gisors for our train ride back to Paris. Our bike tour day trip from Pairs to go biking in the French countryside is now over so that is all there is to show you today. Hope you enjoyed the ride. We'll head back to do some biking in Paris, sort of a mini bike tour in Paris, on our way to return the bikes before we part company.