Cemeteries, very, very fragile cars and more food porn

 Hey, all,

It's been quite a last two days, with "3" stops each day and several good meals and some weird stuff (strangers in a strange land and all). 

This is the American Cemetery at Normandy.  If you watch the news regularly, you will have seen ceremonies from here.  It is quite the thing.  Very moving to see all those graves and think of all those young men who died. ):  

But before we went there, we had breakfast in Bayeux (read the last blog) at a place called Selma Alabama's.  It wasn't even a block from our conveniently situated hotel.  Here's the highlight --

Somewhere under there is RR's French toast.  He said he'd never had that much whipped cream in his life. 😂

Then I wanted to see the cathedral there, which used to house the tapestry.  It was built by Odo (that's right,  O-d-o), who was William the Conqueror's half-brother and the bishop of Bayeux.  He commissioned the tapestry.   His cathedral ain't half bad, either. 

It is an amazing example of Romanesque architecture, started in 1076, so it's kinda old.  We struggled to get in (it didn't open till...well, Google said 9, a sign on the door said 10, but people were coming out...🤷

And, then, off to the cemetery.  

It was the first time we dealt with crowds -- there were busses and lots of cars in the car park.  I guess it shows you what being the best known site on the coast will do for you.  And it has one great scenic lookout spot.

You think you know how far it is, then people appeared on the beach who looked more like ants.  It's a loooonnng way up there.  About two long par 5's :)

After some discussion, we decided to head for Giverny, where we were staying last night and the home of Monet's garden.  

On the way, I let RR drive.  Which became a thing. 

First, you should know for the second day in a row, the car showed a low tire in the morning.  We filled the offending tire (right rear) at a rest area and, as RR drove, I looked up the MG ZS to see what one would cost in the states and found out you can't get one there!  And the Reddit that showed up called the car a disgrace to the famous brand, Chinese shite (are they made in China?), and said we were lucky to not have them on our road as they have a reputation for being "very, very fragile."  😗

After I awoke from my nap, the car started making a noise.  A warning ding! and a yellow idiot light came on.  We were the idiots.  Is it oil? Is it low gas? Is it windshield fluid (not that we'd used any)?  Finally, RR says "it looks like a coffee cup" and I look it up and it is a warning of a tired driver!!!  RR said he felt fine.  It says it does it once someone has driven for 2 hours straight.  Which seems lame, but there it was.  We made it to Monet's house and it has not yet reappeared. 

As strangers in a strange land, we parked in what was clearly the parking lot for Monet's house and looked around.  No helpful signs.  I went to the shop "Boutique -- House and Gardens" and got no one's attention so asked a woman outside, who spoke as much English as I do French. :). She pointed "down to the right". 

We did that and eventually got in.  We found the house, which has lots and lots of wonderful paintings -- Cezannes, Pisarros, and Degases, along with some of his own in his studio.  

Oh. I fogot: Renoirs. 

The highlight was the gardens.  We'd never seen such a full garden!  With so many colors.  This picture gives you some sense of it:

RR said he could see how it could be inspiring. 

Then we went through a tunnel (also unmarked) to the lily pond.  It was across the road (probably not as big a deal in his time).  The lily pond was much bigger than we expected, and full of lilies in bloom in several different colors. 

We made it to the shop, where I shopped and K said "It's hot in here, I'm going to wait outside" and made a vague gesture toward the exit door.  Or so I thought. 

I got out of the exit door and there was no K!  🤦 I knew immediately that this was trouble.  RR came out and asked where she was and I said I didn't know.  We waited.  I speculated that she had gone back out the in door and was waiting there.  (that turned out to be true). I thought she'd figure it out and have to come out our way.  I texted, but got no indication that she had gotten on their wifi. ):  RR seemed worried. In the end, I sent him in (though the tickets said explicitly no readmittance), he had the tickets on his phone, to see if she was where I said she'd be and, lo! and behold!  she was!!!  i was told it was my fault. :)

We then went to our hotel, which was only a few hundred yards away.  It was a converted 13th century stable.  Here's the courtyard --

We had trouble finding someone to check us in.  We decided to eat dinner there, which turned out to be a good idea for the food, but they took 2 1/2 hours to serve us.  In the end, they had 7 tables going at once and one wait person. ):

I had the mushroom risotto.

RR had the sea bass, which he said was perfectly grilled.

K had the duck.   

We were all amazed at another great meal. 

Pear with ice cream dessert. 

And then today: we started at 8 o'clock, not finding anyone in the hotel common spaces.  🤷  The place around the corner was supposed to be highly rated, so we tried it.  No one appeared.  We heard people in the kitchen but our calls of "bonjour". got no response. ):  

Then back to our hotel, where finally someone appeared and told us to sit and they'd get to us in a few.  We ended up having a delightful Continental breakfast and it turned out to be with the room -- gratis!!!! joy joy.

Then off to another cemetery. 

But along the way we decided we needed gas.  RR said it was his turn, so he got out and started.  I went looking for bottled water.  It turned out to be a good looking pastry shop, so I was stuck in a line a few minutes and came out expecting RR to drive.  He said "I can't get it to work."  We both tried.  It kept rejecting his card.  Finally, we gave up and went looking for another station.  To get there, I had to do two, yes, two roundabout switchbacks (u-turns) and get on the highway for just a moment.  

This time the machine would take his card but they had  no 95 or 98 octane gasoline.  ):  RR said "let's put 5 gallons of 85 in it till later".  We did.  (shhhhsshhh). This turned out to be almost half a tank!!! (it's a hybrid)  Later, the check engine light came on.  Very, very fragile, remember? :) 

Our destination was the cemetery at Somme, also run by the Americans.  We were literally the only ones there!!!  RR commented on the discrepancy and disparity.  

About 1,800 Americans are buried there, killed in our first action of WW1.  

From there we crossed pretty French farm countryside, and wondered at the piles of root vegetables in the fields and even saw picker with it's wagon full of them.   We speculate that they are turnips, though they may be sugar beets.  K is still not sure they aren't potatoes.  Anyway, an interesting nuance of the local culture. 

Then to the Somme 1916 museum, which purportedly had a trench, which RR wanted to see.  It didn't really; it has a tunnel built later with the museum bits within.  They have lots and lots of artifacts and made the most of the setting in terms of trenches.  We exited into a beautiful garden and found our way back to the car. 

During the museum visit we saw a film on the war in the area and they noted all the cemeteries and memorials within a 5 mile radius of where we were: Albert.  I wanted to see the one.  You'll see why from this pic --

It commemorates the thousands of men from the British Empire who disappeared during the war. It was built by a famous architect, who said it was shaped to point to heaven, as these men would be going that way.  It has a tremendous view north? across the farm landscape.  

It was now after 5 and we were not near Saint Quentin, named after some 3rd century local, where we are staying the night.  

I once again went with the google and found a place for dinner -- most of the other nearby places were fast food types.  RR was ensconsed in the bar with a pint and wondered about eating there, but they specialized in pizza -- lame for our last night in France. 

K and I found the place in mind, which turned out to be Lebanese.  The guy who greeted us asked if we had a reservation and seemed concerned we didn't. There was literally no one in the place!!!! 😂😂😂 We sat and waited.  I had to ask for menus.  RR didn't show up.  I ordered a half bottle of Lebanese red and he brought it fairly quickly.  I still didn't have water.  RR walked by, ignoring our store front.  I had to chase him down. 🤦

In the end, we all had the Lebanese plate, with variations.  RR's was the biggest, so here it is:

From the bottom (as best I can): gherkin, hummus, garlic cream sauce, tabbuleh, green salad, haloumi, that ricey stuff, a fig leaf stuffed with rice, and a salad with peppers and cucumbers. 

And I am caught up. 

I hope we have no more car adventures tomorrow, as we give it up at 2 o'clock.  Until later...bon soir.