Scenes from the Seine

We sailed away from Rouen late last night, en route to Vernon for our afternoon excursion.

The scene outside our stateroom window first thing this morning
Fall colors
Limestone cliffs

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.

Château Galliard
Petit-Andely and Château Galliard
Adieu, Petit-Andely

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.

The Old Mill of Vernon
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.

In the carriageway at Château de Bizy
Petit-égayoir (pond to wash horses’ legs and hooves)
Decorating for Christmas

We were greeted by King Louis XV and his consort, who taught us how to curtsey in proper style.

Learning to curtsey
Bidding farewell

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.