LUXOMME

Good morning!

I woke up this morning to this gorgeous view outside my window.



Miles and miles of grassy fields and fresh air. The peace and quiet here is amazing, it feels entirely different from Paris just two hours away and life is just so simple here. I never thought I would enjoy living in a place so calm and secluded, but as I get older I find myself drawn towards simpler things and a quieter life. 


But some things never change, and our mornings pretty much felt like this.

We picked up a car from Paris early yesterday morning and made the drive over to BnB we are currently staying at. It's on the cutest little farm where they DIY everything from their own eggs, to corn and even a large apple cider manufacturing plant!




Because we drove by Monet's Giverny Gardens on our way here, we decided to stop and take a stretch. The weather was wonderful yesterday; the perfect balance between hot and cold, with a little breeze.







According to our tour guide, Monet lived here with his wife and eight children. He spent much of his time developing the gardens surrounding the house and drew inspiration for his paintings from here. 

His house alone is quite impressive. The few rooms that were opened were filled with Japanese paintings, which were apparently one of many things that Monet collected. His studio was large and airy with scattered lounge chairs surrounding desks, and from his bedroom window, all you can see are rows and rows of unending flowers.





The sheer amount of time and effort it must have taken to create this little escape is absolutely astounding. How amazing would it have been to actually live here and be able to wake up every morning to a sea of flowers and a lily pond right behind.
















The bridge which Monet's "Water Lily Pond" is inspired from.










The timing of the weather was perfect as the moment we finished viewing the estate in it's entirety, the rain started to fall.

So we headed over to Rouen to visit the place where Joan of Arc was executed.






But instead, we stumbled into this overwhelmingly intricate Cathedral called Notre Dame de Rouen, which also reminds me somewhat of Chinese carved ivory.



Unfortunately, because it had been through a war, some of the finer details were rubbed or chipped off. They are currently doing restorations to both the exterior and interior of the Cathedral, and even brought the statues down for viewing before they are taken off to be repaired.






The architecture in all these gothic Cathedrals are amazing. I can't even wrap my head around how they designed and built these places.



It was time to check in at our BnB though and when we arrived we were greeted with a bottle of freshly made apple cider from their cellar! I personally don't particularly enjoy the taste of alcohol, so I ended up drinking more of the apple juice than I did of the cider, but both where good nonetheless. If Canadian border laws weren't so strict I might even try to sneak a few bottles back.




We stopped by a local restaurant for dinner and the streets were so quiet and empty. Apparently in France, most people take August off for vacation, so most places close and it almost becomes a ghost town.







We are staying in this place called Village Brocade and it reminds me alot of Kingston. Everything is so picturesque at night and because there's literally no one on the streets, and it almost feels  like you are living in a replica museum.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to end the night. Good food, great company and an absolutely memorable day.

naomi

I have this crazy obsession with mustard, so we stopped by Maille to pick some up fresh from the pump, and also to sample their range of flavors. My favorite; Raspberry Creme with Basil. 



They have a hundred different mustard's stacked perfectly side by side on the wall. It's almost like walking into a candy shop. Purchasing mustard almost becomes an experience, like buying a designer bag. They have mustard specialists on hand, a sample bar with biscuits and drinks, and when you finally purchase something, everything is carefully wrapped, packaged, and decorated with a shiny ribbon. 

But if you don't particularly like mustard, Fauchon is just a hop skip away and it's filled to the brim with the most delicious things as well. Pastas, pastries, terrines, and the fanciest desserts.



Because I woke up late that day I didn't have the chance to grab lunch, so when we stopped by the Galeries Lafayette to pick up a few bags, we also stopped by the food hall.

I read David Lebovitz's blog obsessively before I came to Paris and one thing he stressed over and over again was how amazing Bordier butter was.

So I had to try it out.



We got sidetracked by the seafood section when we saw fellow tourists sitting on tables devouring stacks of seafood presented like it was afternoon tea.. Of course we couldn't resist.

We slid onto some chairs, grabbed the menu, ordered with whatever little French I could still string together, and a platter was brought to our table a few minutes later.




The table beside us had a platter overflowing with king crab and lobster which was so tempting, but we couldn't since it was already quite late and we had dinner plans afterwards...


It's difficult to eat healthy at home sometimes, and even more difficult to eat healthy when you're traveling. My parents try to make it a point to go to the local market or supermarket to pick up some fresh fruit during our stay and this yellow watermelon caught my eye.

It's been years since I last had a yellow watermelon since they're not readily available where I'm from, but this one was the sweet, dense, juicy and absolutely perfect. I wish I had gotten a few more.

naomi.