Adventure in Normandie

Driving along yesterday I saw several long lines of cars queuing for petrol. I didn’t know what was going on but thought it might be best to get some fuel.

It turns out there is a fuel shortage in France due to a strike of oil refiners.

The effects are being felt particularly in the northern parts of France. Petrol stations are not being refuelled so that is why there are long lines.

Well, I have a full tank now, I paid €1.90 a litre. I am not doing the conversion…

Fingers crossed this is resolved quickly! 😁

Arriving at the end of summer, we experienced some lovely weather and it has gradually become cooler and is quite chilly some mornings.

My morning walk through the village after walking the kids to the bus has given me some lovely scenes.

I am going to miss this view soon!

Our village is called Ambourville and it is part of a two village municipality so often it comes up as ‘Anneville-Ambourville’. They are separated by about 10km. Importantly, there is a boulangerie – patisserie in Anneville!

Our village does not have any shops but it does have a Mairie or Town Hall and a part-time Mayor.

We also have a small church.

There are lots of lovely traditional half-timbered houses and thatched roof houses. A few people like us have bought older places and done them up. There are also some of the new triangular houses you see everywhere.

You can walk through the village in about 10 minutes but then there are little lanes that take you down to the river and you can walk along there.

We don’t exactly have a chateau in the village but we do have the manoir de templiers. An old manor house that may have housed some knights Templar. I haven’t been able to find out much about it.

I was lucky to get to visit this château about an hour from the house.

Built in 1485, it had been remarkably well restored and maintained and is now owned by the state.

It was very well furnished with rooms of different styles over the life of the chateau, with a focus on local Normandie traditions and culture.

And look, an old painting of the Rouen gros horloge!

It’s Normandie so there were lots of apple trees and I couldn’t resist tasting them! They were falling to the ground and just left there.

There are a lot of events occurring in October to support breast cancer awareness in France. They are calling it pink October. I drove past this display of support which is pretty original.

Rouen is the nearest large town to the farmhouse. I had some business with the bank so Sebastian and I headed in and had a walk around.

The Cathedral of Rouen is famous for being the object of a series of paintings by Monet which I have always loved.

It’s pretty amazing in real life.

The other big thing that Rouen is famous for is that it is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. There is a great museum of her life and trial.

The story of Joan has had an interesting change of reception over the years. Nowadays she is considered a true heroine. This plaque is on the wall of a memorial near the old marché.

Another iconic site of Rouen is the gros horloge or big clock.

There are lots of old charming half timbered houses in the old part of town.

I can highly recommend a visit to Rouen! The area down by the river is also very nice with shops and restaurants.

I have been so busy I haven’t been keeping up with the blog! I have been working on the house and garden during the week and having fun on weekends!

My biggest task has been to finish a new path from the road to the front door. Although there is landscaping expertise in the family, it’s not my specialty. However, we have all got stuck in and after digging it out, adding roadbase and sand, now we have a great new path!

I also put in a new letterbox!

When we lived in France before, my job often had me in the former Western Front. Amiens is a town I know very well and I love it! It’s the gateway to the Somme battlefields. Estelle and Lavinia and I made a quick trip to visit friends while the boys hung out in Paris.

Catching the train around is so easy and mostly, more relaxing. We took a train from our nearest station at Oissel to Paris and then Paris to Amiens.

The Amiens Cathedral is actually the biggest in France, bigger than Notre Dame of Paris! It’s other claim to fame is it’s rapid construction. Commencing in 1220, it was almost entirely complete 68 years later. The facade is truely magnifique and you can still see some of the paint on the statues at the front as it all used to be painted in medieval times.

The inside is as amazing as the exterior and it has some beautifully carved stalls. During the First World War it received a few shells and some damage but was largely saved from destruction.

In 2018, we held a joint ceremony (British, French, Canadian & Australian) inside the Cathedral to mark the Battle of Amiens and the last 100 days of the war which ultimately led to allied victory. That was a memorable ceremony. General Monash fans will know of his important role in this battle and how he considered it one of the most important events and he commemorated it every year.

It was nice to walk through the familiar streets of Amiens, stop in a favourite cafe for a drink and have dinner with a very nice group of friends!

I think I have mentioned how we live on one side of the river and the nearest large town and kids’ school is on the other side. So we regularly take the ferry. It’s a fun experience as you line up, drive on, wait the few minutes to cross and then drive off. Sometimes you can wait a while in line and you don’t want to arrive at lunchtime when the ferry has a break!

There are eight ferry crossings near us and ours at Duclair is one of the biggest and can take buses and large trucks. Every year these ferries carry 3 million vehicles across the River. They are an important source of transport in the region and we rely heavily on them.

It was therefore quite surprising and inconvenient that when the school called me today as Louis was unwell, that there happened to be a strike on the ferries. I have not been able to find the reason for the strike or how long it will last. (Apparently the ferry has started again tonight).

France is known as a champion striking country. From revolutions to May 68 to the ‘gilet jaune’period that we lived in, it is a common feature. Already several of Lavinia’s school teachers have been absent on ‘grève’, with her being allowed to go home early. I also heard of some flights being delayed at the airport due to a ‘go-slow’.

France is a very socialist country and some think this is the particular link between protesting and strikes and ensuring elected representatives respond to the people. Protests and strikes are certainly covered and even regulated in law. When a big protest is called, people do come out in large numbers. Strikes in France are often across multiple sectors and can easily become generalized. The gilet jaune movement started out as a protest against fuel prices and ended up including a huge range of complaints, complicating the Government’s ability to respond.

The Figaro said that since 1789 there have been 16 constitutional breakdowns, always following a civil war or military defeat.

Other articles suggest that protesting and striking is more than a right but is a tradition.

I vividly remember my first mass protest in Paris. We flew back from Australia as the Charlie Hebdo attacks occurred in 2015. Days later I attended an enormous free speech rally with my friend Estelle. It was an amazing experience! Literally thousands of people standing and walking together with a feeling of true solidarity. It was very uplifting!

So anyway, today I had to go the long way around and got to experience the grandeur of the Pont de Brotonne! It is pretty high to allow the big ships to go underneath.

With my other labourers returned home or at school I had to import one!

This one is young and pretty fit but prone to socialising so I need to make the most of his muscles before he escapes to Paris!

He was pretty excited to rediscover the house and garden as we had been only four weeks ago! Eeek, we have been here a month! Half way through!

Seb did a lot to help Todd in the early days of the house project and is keen to contribute again during the Australian school holidays (a little bit extended for him 😁).

We took him to see the other kids’ school and soccer ground of course!

My amazing workers have left 😞. It was lovely to have company and Mum and Dad did a huge amount of jobs around the house. Although the house is in surprisingly good condition after 3 years, there are still lots of maintenance tasks to be done. Despite their mature years and various ailments, they often worked through lunch with only a flan or baguette as nourishment!

It is lovely to be able to share the experience of this old house and discovering Normandy with my very first French teacher and my school Principal 😁.

Their skills at cracking open a walnut or cracking open the locked drinks cabinet were unrivaled! They got me started on the big path project and kept us fed, watered and clean clothed.

In French we say, “bon rétablissement”. Good luck on your recovery. No more early morning school starts and working through lunch. ❤️