You've seen Giverny, now what? Here's an idea!

There is no stone source in the immediate vicinity of this dolmen so it is obvious that it took a great deal of effort to move these huge stones to their present location. How did they do that, I wonder?



Originally there would have been huge slabs of stone used as a roof structure for this dolmen. One large slab lies just to the side of this one. Many have been destroyed by farmers who considered them a nuisance in their fields and many more were destroyed by pagan hating Christians. Others were probably seen as handy building material. Anyway, undiscovered gem number 2 checked off the list.

After a nice picnic we head back to the road. Here is a view looking over a local village.



This “get lost” drive is turning into exactly the kind of country drive I was seeking. It feels like I'm living inside an impressionist painting. I'm listening to The Flaming Lips cd The Soft Bulletin while writing this trip report. It's the perfect audio compliment to the visual imagery swirling in my imagination. A lush aural symphony of dreamy soundscapes, gorgeous melodies and lazy, carefree lyrics (“Driving home the sky accelerates and the clouds all form a geometric shape. Suddenly, everything has changed”). On through the countryside we go.

Whenever you go to tiny, unknown villages there's always the chance that you have an interesting encounter with a local, especially when you're in a place where they don't see many, if any, tourists. I can't tell you how many times when I am in rural France that I have the “meeting the locals” experience. These are treasured (and often humorous) encounters. I love hearing them tell me about their local history and traditions that you just won't find in a guidebook. Indeed I had one such experience this day but we'll get to that later.

Next up is the town of Vetheuil. This is one of the places in the area that is not totally off the beaten path but is a secondary site. Monet lived here for a few years beginning in 1879 and produced roughly 150 paintings during his stay. His residence is still standing somewhere and his wife is buried here but I didn't look for either site. Here is what I see in the distance on my approach to Vetheuil.

Here's the old wash house.








Well, that was nice. We continue heading towards La Roche Guyon, our next planned destination. We are driving along with the Seine river to our left and to our right are steep cliffs with brilliant white chalk/limestone outcrops. Wait, I see a sign for something. What's that?



A troglodyte church.

From my memory, I believe the church was built in the mid 1600's. The locals were parishoners at the church nearby in La Roche Guyon. Feeling it was too far away they asked and received permission and funds to construct their own church. Here's the history sign, which offers English translation.







The church was locked while we were there but I imagine it must be open sometime. Here's a peek inside.

I see 2 chateau's on the map and the first one is in a village called Villarceaux. We arrive at the chateau grounds and I can tell by the fact that it has several parking lots that it must attract a lot of visitors or be someplace where events are held. It is almost completely empty today. We arrive at the admission office and learn that entry is free. However, you have to take the 2 hour tour as unguided visits are not allowed. We are just in time for the 5:00 tour but we don't have the time for it. The history of the domaine goes back to the 11th and 12th centuries and some of these buildings still remain. Later additions included a manor house and French water gardens and later an 18th century chateau. Famous residents are Ninon de Lenclos, 17th century author, courtesan and patron of the arts. Another was the wife of Louis XIV, Madame de Maintenon. Many concerts, plays and other events are hosted on the grounds. I'm feeling lazy today and with more writing ahead of me I'm just going to give you a link to the chateau's website. Sorry, it's in French but you can at least look at the photos. I was able to get a few myself and I must admit that this place was beautiful. An oasis of man-made beauty surrounded by natural beauty. I will definitely come back here some other time and do the tour. Here's the link to the website:

www.iledefrance.fr/villarceaux/

And here are some of the photos I was able to take.














We leave Villarceaux and head north and I see a chateau on the map a short distance ahead. It is a private chateau and can't be seen from the road so we continue on passing through another quaint village. It looks cute enough to get out for a stroll and photos but it's getting late now so we move on. I see a chateau on the map in a town called Ambleville. Here is the chateau, which is adjoined to a church.





Both the Chateau de Villarceaux and the Chateau d'Ambleville have nationally classified gardens and if you are a garden lover then I think you might like to visit the grounds of both places. It was late in the day and the chateau was closed so this is the only photo I could get of the garden, which apparently is known for its unusual topiary creations.



Here's a pretty country house adjacent to the square in front of the chateau.



If you want to learn more about Ambleville, here is a link to the town website. It does offer a poorly translated but understandable English version.

www.chateauxetjardins.com/

Let's get back to today's trip. I cross back over the Pont d'Aveny, reentering Vexin Francais and in a few minutes we reach Saint Clair sur Epte. This is an important historic town for 1 primary reason and this sign says it.



It says, “Normandy was born here in 911”. The Treaty of Saint Clair sur Epte was signed here in 911. Charles III, king of France, granted to Rollo, chief of the vikings, the region now known as Normandy as a way of buying them off and having them cease their savage attacks on Ile de France. The river Epte was a major boundary between the 2 realms. Rollo married the illegitimate daughter of Charles and was thus his vassal. Not a problem for the time being since the Normans now turned their warring intentions to sleepy and backward England. The problem of the vassalage of the English kings to French kings would cause serious problems in a few centuries that would lead to The Hundred Years War but that's another story.

The village takes it's name from a monk (Saint Clair) born in England in 845. He was born of a noble family and fled a forced marriage, escaping with a friend to France in 866. He had been seeking a religious life and thus did not want to be married. His real name was originally William but he became Clair around this time, after becoming a charismatic priest. His charisma doesn't go unnoticed by the local women. One of them, a noblewoman, pursues him so he flees again, this time to a hermitage in the present day village. Furious at having been scorned the noblewoman sent soldiers to kill him. He was decapitated by her soldiers on November 4, 884.

After decapitation, so the story goes, he picked up his head and dropped it in a nearby fountain (decapitated people do the strangest things). There are more fanciful versions of the legend, each with a different twist, but these are the basic details. As for the fountain, ever after it was said to have miraculous curative power. Clair in French means clear in English and the specific function of this fountain was to cure vision problems (hence, clarity). Saint Clair sur Epte has one other claim to fame. For 20 years it was the home of the famous, late French film actor Louis de Funes (my wife's favorite actor).

Let's visit the village of Saint Clair sur Epte.












The last photo was of the village church and it was on the church doorstep where we had our first “meet the locals” encounter of the day. The church was locked and DW was peering through the keyhole to catch a glimpse inside. We heard a voice calling out behind us from a distance. We turned around and saw a man approaching us from across the street. Are we in some sort of trouble? He kept talking as he approached but we couldn't understand what he was saying. We were fully prepared for an encounter with the village lunatic. His first comprehensible phrase did nothing to dispell this notion as he asked us “Qu'est-ce qui vous arrive”? Which translated to English means “What is happening to you”? What is happening to us!? I don't know. Are we melting from spending a long day in the sun? I look at DW but she is still in an unmelted state and so am I so what are we supposed to say? He introduces himself and come to find out, he is one of the deputy mayor's of the village. He is eager to share his knowledge of the church and the town with us. It's getting late now and we still have to get to Gisors but we can't refuse his hospitality. Besides, this seems like it's going to be one of those encounters with the locals that I love so much. He then says, “Would you like to see the inside of the church? If so, you can ask for the key at the town hall, but that's closed. You could also ask another man who lives down the street, or, you could ask me”. Of the 3 choices it seemed to make the most sense to ask him to use his key so we asked “Do you have the key on you?" he said “Yeah” and we thought “Great” and then he said “Let me go get it”. Off he went across the street and dashed inside a house, popping out again seconds later, key in hand waving it over his head for our approval. “Yup” we thought, “That sure looks like a key”. He opened the door and in we went to the gothic past. We then got about a half hour lesson on the history of the church, the history of the town and of Saint Clair. Here's a few pix.



The stain glass window is a copy of an older one which was destroyed during bombing in WWII. One thing I discovered in doing some research into this region is that many villages in the area (including some that I visited) were damaged in some way during WWII. Some were nearly obliterated. The window shows the historic meeting of Charles III and Rollo the viking with the treaty being submitted to Rollo for his approval.



The above photo is a statue of the patron saint, in post decapitated posture. To the right is our new friend, the deputy mayor.



Above you see the reliquary of Saint Clair with relics inside. Yes, that IS a skull you see through the little glass window.

Below is me with my new buddy, the deputy mayor. Geez, I look so proud, like I'm posing with Sarkozy or something.



After our tour was finished our friend told us where we could find the little fountain where Saint Clair tossed his head. The clock was running but he had won me over and this sounded like a great photo op. Besides, we wouldn't have even known it still existed if he hadn't told us. Off we went down the street, arriving a few minutes later at a small park. We got out the camera and aimed it at the fountain. But the camera was malfunctioning in a way that had never happened before. But just for a few seconds. Ooohh, spooky. Here is the fountain.



The 3 plaques you see on the fountain all post date WWII and were left in thanks from people who claim to have been cured of their particular maladies after paying a visit to the fountain. One plaque even proclaims 2 cures. Ooohh, spooky.