For many years I have wanted to visit the town of Vernon to see the old half timbered house on the old bridge. Today we went there for a visit.

There used to be six mills across the bridge and they used the natural flow of the river to run the mill. Later on a dam was built further up the river and it killed off the mills. There is work being done to renovate the old bridge. in old times it was protected by the tower.

Vernon was a very cute little town with an old church, cute Town Hall and lots of half-timbered houses. There was quite a bit of renovation work going on.

I love this sign because when I first began to learn French the text book had the tourist office called the syndicat d’initiative. You don’t see it very often today. Mum and I laughed because our textbook was also based on Dieppe!

Vernon also has a lovely chateau, the chateau of Bizy. We popped in for a visit.

The château has had an interesting history, like most châteaux. During the revolution it was completely torn down and the current château is rebuilt in a new spot. Louis-Phillippe 1er, King of the French (rather than King of France) and second to last French monarch spent a lot of time at the chateau. The chateau is also connected to Maréchal Suchet, one of the famous generals of the Napoleonic wars. He became the Duke of Albufera. His family and the Bonaparte intermarried and so there is quite a bit of history. The current owner is a great, great granddaughter of Suchet.

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We also visited a second château on the way home. Another one I have wanted to visit for many years. The Chateau Gaillard at Les Andelys. It is now in ruins but set atop a hill with a commanding view of the river and the plains in front of it. It was stunning! We didn’t get to walk around it but just the view was amazing.

I have been working my way through a French series called « Les Rois Maudit » by Maurice Druon for many years (The accursed kings in English). It all about the history of the Kings and Queens of France and is a truly epic series.

Part of this true story is set at Chateau Gaillard. It is where Marguerite and Blanche de Bourgogne were imprisoned and Marguerite died.

« The Tour de Nesle affair was a scandal amongst the French royal family in 1314, during which Margaret, Blanche, and Joan, the daughters-in-law of King Philip IV, were accused of adultery. The accusations were apparently started by Philip’s daughter, Isabella. The Tour de Nesle was a tower in Paris where much of the adultery was said to have occurred. The scandal led to torture, executions and imprisonments for the princesses’ lovers and the imprisonment of the princesses, with lasting consequences for the final years of the House of Capet. »

From Wikipedia