Watery weekend

We didn't know it was going to be quite so watery...

Here was the plan for the next weekend in Paris...meet up at Platform 22 at the Gare St.Lazare at 11.40 on the Saturday morning. Train to Vernon about 45 minutes from Paris into Normandy. There we bought picnic supplies in the market and picked up our bikes, courtesy of the Fat Tire Bike Tour Company (highly recommended). Picnic beside the Seine and then on to Monet's house in Giverny. We managed to visit the gardens, the house and get half way back to Vernon before the heavens opened. My jacket is NOT waterproof...

Sunday began with a visit to the Musee de la Vie Romantique in the Rue Chaptal. The house belonged to an artist friend of George Sand and the permanent collections are of her portraits and jewelry. Personally I was more interested in the decoupage wallpaper than George Sand's earrings. But most romantic of all is the pretty garden of hollyhocks and clematis. Hollyhocks are definitely the most romantic of flowers. I have seen photos of this house at other times of the year without hollyhocks and it doesn't look anywhere near as romantic. We chose the best week to go! There is a pretty conservatory and tea garden where you could undoubtedly have a very romantic breakfast or afternoon tea. But if you feel like a romantic pichet of rose then you will have to do what we did and go back to La Place Pigalle. Hollyhocks or rose...we chose rose on the Boulevard! Not quite so romantic!

And then we arrived at the Hotel du Nord...

The Hotel du Nord was the setting for Marcel Carne's 1938 film of the same name. However, he didn't film here - the whole set was reconstructed in the film studios of Boulogne-Billancourt. In the film two young lovers arrive at the Hotel du Nord with the intention of commiting suicide...Get the DVD to see what happens next.In this photo two middle-aged friends arrive at the Hotel du Nord with the intention of getting a glass of wine...Scroll down to see what happens next... Use this link to see the film set with the Hotel du Nord on the right. http://www.linternaute.com/imprimer/sortir/sorties/exposition/paris-au-cinema/9.shtml Even though the film was not really made here the Hotel du Nord was declared a "Monument Historique" in 1989 to prevent it from being demolished. The service was slow but there was certainly a lot of "atmosphere, atmosphere"...