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Saturday, September 30, 2017

Giverny

The town of Giverny has a population of about 500. The town swells during the day as tourists invade. When the Fondation Claude Monet closes at 6 pm, the town empties and you have it all to yourself.


Restaurants and shops are everywhere. They're packed with visitors during the day but are empty at the end of the day.






Rue Claude Monet is the main street in town.


Leaving the Fondation, turn left and walk down Rue Claude Monet. 15 minutes later, you'll come upon a white church--the Eglise Sainte-Radegonde.


In the churchyard, you'll find a memorial to seven British crew members who died when their plane crashed nearby on June 7, 1944. The memorial says "Their sacrifice led to our liberty today."


Walk up the small hill to find Monet's simple grave.



2017 05 21

Friday, September 29, 2017

Fondation Claude Monet

Claude Monet lived in his home in Giverny for 43 years until his death in 1926. He designed the gardens and water gardens that were the inspiration for his paintings.


Admission to the home and gardens is €9.50 for adults. You can buy combo tickets with the Musee de Impressionnismes in town for €16.50, with the Marmottan in Paris for €20.50 or with the Musee de l'Orangerie for €18.50.


To bypass the long line, buy your tickets online and use the Group Entrance or if you're buying a combo ticket, buy the tickets at the other location. This line was at 3:30 in the afternoon. Last admission is at 5:30 pm.


Beautiful flowers in the garden. The flowers are at their best April-July.




You can find chicken coops on the grounds. This chicken had feathers on its legs.


The grand alley covered with trellises leads to Monet's house. It's lined with flowers.


You can see Monet's paintings everywhere.


Monet's house is open for touring.


The living room is filled with copies of Monet's paintings.


Take the pedestrian tunnel under the road to reach the Water Garden.


Japanese Bridge featured in many of Monet's paintings.


The gift shop occupies the studio where Monet painted his water lily masterpieces that now hang in the Musee de l'Orangerie.


One word of advice. Enter at 4 pm and stay until it closes at 6 pm. For about 10 minutes at the end of the day, the crowd clears out and you can have the gardens all to yourself.



2017 05 21

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Le Petit Giverny

Our home base in Giverny was Le Petit Giverny. It's located right next to the group entrance for Fondation Claude Monet.




There are only 4 rooms. We had a spacious room and it was charming. Wifi was free and worked well. There is no air conditioning so it might not be the best if you're going in the summer.


The bathroom was huge and the shower had good pressure.


There is a restaurant on the premise. We had a free welcome glass of wine but didn't have any meals there so couldn't comment on the quality of the food. There were a lot of tourists eating lunch if it's any sign.


There is a parking lot on the premise so it was convenient. Breakfast is €12. We didn't get the breakfast because you can pick up a croissant at a local bakery for €1.



2017 05 21

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Roadside Fraise

A little further down the autoroute, I saw a sign for "Fraise" and made my husband get off. We came upon this little truck selling strawberries from Cergy-en-Vexin. There were many people picking up crates of strawberries.




We got just a basket--€3.80 for 500 g (a little over a lb). The strawberries were so sweet.



2017 05 21

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Leon de Bruxelle, Cergy

At CDG, we picked up a rental car and drove north toward Giverny. We hit some traffic in Cergy, just 40 minutes north of CDG and decided to have lunch. There were a few restaurants and we chose Leon de Bruxelle. There were a lot of people there and none of them looked like tourists. Just my kind of place.




The Manneken Pis greets you at the entrance. In Brussels, you'll find the same bronze statue. There are many stories about the statue but the one I heard in Brussels was that there was a wealthy merchant who lost his son. When his son was found, he was urinating in a garden. The merchant was so grateful, he had a fountain built featuring his son when he was found.


Anchois Marines--€6.20. My husband thought he was ordering fried anchovies (which we loved in Croatia) but he was actually ordering marinated anchovies. These were good though and not fishy at all.


There was a 2-course menu for €16.90. It's a Belgian restaurant and mussels were the featured item so of course, I chose Moules a la Mariniere--mussels in wine sauce. There was 800g or nearly 2 lbs of it. So good and the sauce was delicious.


My mussels were served with Frites--crispy on the outside. Don't ask for ketchup.


My husband ordered Les Moules "Cote Sud"--mussels over pasta. The pasta was well cooked and al dente.


Dessert was the 2nd course. Gaufre au Sucre--just a plain waffle with powdered sugar.


Creme Brûlée--this was a much better dessert. So creamy.


The restaurant was filled mainly with locals out for a Sunday lunch with family and friends. At the table next to ours, there was a family celebrating their grandmother's birthday. The restaurant staff sang "Joyeux Anniversaire" to her. I love eating with locals. Makes me feel like I'm a part of the local scene. It was a great way to start a vacation.



2017 05 21

Monday, September 25, 2017

Traveling to Normandy, Brittany & the Loire Valley

In May, we visited Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley. We flew from SFO (San Francisco) to ORD (Chicago O'Hare) then on to CDG (Paris Charles de Gaulle) on American Airlines and returned from CDG through LHR  (London Heathrow) back to SFO on British Air. We were so surprised that we had minimal delays each way. Our flight from LHR to SFO was especially nice. It was an Airbus A-380 and felt so roomy despite over 450 passengers on the double-decker plane.

At SFO, we picked up Andale burritos for the flight to ORD.


A Supremo Burrito was $12.10. Next time, I'll plan ahead and get a salad from Trader Joe's.


In Chicago, we did find this vending machine from Farmer's Fridge selling salads in small jars. Didn't look like a lot of food in each jar though. I think Trader Joe's is still better.



2017 05 20

Sunday, September 24, 2017

El Coqui

My other go-to place is El Coqui, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Santa Rose. It's located at 400 Mendocino Avenue.


I tried the Pollo Al Horno (their signature dish) for the first time--$16.50. I loved it. The chicken is so tender, it falls apart. It's served with rice, beans, avocado salad and plantains.


Picadillo with Scrambled Egg--$14.50 + $1.75 for the scrambled egg. This is what I usually get. Still love the beef sautéed with sofrito.



2017 09 13

Saturday, September 23, 2017

Shanghai Gardens

My latest favorite Chinese place is Shanghai Gardens, located at 20956 Homestead Road in Cupertino.


Bean Curd with Vegetable--$5.95. This is an appetizer. It's not a big portion but I liked the flavors.


Special Fish Gluten with Seafood & Pea Leaf--$14.95. The fish gluten is a big puffy hollow ball.


Braised Pork Leg in Brown Sauce--$17.95. This was so tender--fell apart with just a fork. It had a nice sweet flavor.


Chef Zhao Special Tofu--$10.95. This was okay. Not too exciting in the flavor category.


Eggplant with Hot Pepper on Sizzling Plate--$10.95. The eggplant was tender but it was too spicy with the jalapeños.


Sauteed Snow Pea Leaf--$12.95. This was a little coarse.


Sauteed Shanghai Vegetable--$10.25. This was much more tender.


Meatballs in Clay Pot--$11.95. The meatballs were soft but the brown sauce was the same as the braised pork leg.


Pork Wonton Soup--$5.95 for a small bowl. It would probably serve 2-3.


Shanghai Pan Fried Juicy Pork Buns--$7.55. These are good. There's a lot of juice inside so bite carefully.


Green Onion Pancakes--$4.50. This would be good if it didn't have so much green onion.


Prawn Chow Mein--$8.95. The noodles were good but it needed just a little more flavor.


Shanghai Rice Cakes--$9.95. The rice cakes are good but some may find them a little too sticky.



2017 09 03 & 16