We sailed away from Rouen late last night, en route to Vernon for our afternoon excursion.
We sailed past our first port of call, Les Andelys, and got to see the town and Château Galliard (Richard the Lionheart’s fortress) from the river.
We reached Vernon during lunch; Diane and I took a quick walk into town and saw The Old Mill at Vernon that Monet painted in 1883, as well as Vernon’s Liberation monument.
Our afternoon excursion took us to Château de Bizy, a not-so-modest castle about 2km out of town (they call it “Little Versailles”). The owner, a sixth-generation descendent of Suchet, Marshal of the Empire and 1st Duke of Albufera, still lives there (she’s 92 years old); the castle hosts lots of visitors and events throughout the year (there’s a bridal show next weekend if you happen to be in the neighborhood), and they are currently decorating the castle for Christmas.
We were greeted by King Louis XV and his consort, who taught us how to curtsey in proper style.
They also had cider, apple, and cheese tastings for us, but they weren’t very photogenic. :-)
We are back on the ship, sailing to Paris for one more day of sightseeing.