Saturday, July 9, 2016
We have been so lucky to have all these sunny days, at a time when France has experienced so much rain as to have flooding, and when Normandy usually has a rainy climate.
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Mantes-la-Jolie with its Collégiale Notre-Dame/
Collegiate Church of Our Lady (1155-1350) |
The Viking Rolf was docked in Mantes-la-Jolie when after breakfast we boarded buses to take us into Paris to Château de Malmaison. This palace was purchased by General Napoléon Bonaparte's wife, Josephine in 1799, when he was away fighting in Egypt. He was miffed that she paid so much money for this place that needed extensive renovations, and supposedly this led to the law that women could not deal in real estate as outlined in the Napoleonic Code of 1804. (Apparently it wasn't until 1964 or 1979 when married women in France were free to purchase property without their husbands' permission.) However, upon their divorce in 1809, Josephine was given the palace as her own, and she lived there until she died in 1814.
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| Château de Malmaison (17C) (KSS) |
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This palace has gardens with flowers in it
(a few Viking visitors to Château de Versailles were
disappointed that there were no flowers in the "gardens") (KSS) |
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Classical statues on the façade including
the "Statue of Liberty" (KSS) |
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| Entry designed like a tent from Napoléon's Egyptian campaign |
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| Inside the "tent" |
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Classical statues preferred by Napoléon to
surround himself with all things Caesar |
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| Dining room |
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| A salon that looks like a military campaign tent |
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The library decorated with painted busts
of philosophers, such as Plato |
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| Josephine's bed desk |
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| Chairs with swan arms |
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| China set from Paris |
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| Personalized cups |
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Bonaparte franchissant le Grand-Saint-Bernard/
Napoléon at St-Bernard Pass (1801)
by Jacques-Louis David |
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Our guide liked to point out idiosyncrasies like the heads of
soldiers seen through the tail of the horse |
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| Napoléon's inlaid sword case |
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| Napoléon's bedroom |
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| Salon with paintings of Josephine |
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Painting of Josephine and her children during the visit of Tsar Alexander
by Jean-Louis (Hector Viger) du Vigneau (KSS) |
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| The music room (KSS) |
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| Tapestry loom (KSS) |
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| A peek at the back gardens |
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Stop and go traffic on the way back to
the Viking Rolf (KSS) |
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| Removable "Please Watch Your Head" sign |
After lunch, the Viking Rolf started cruising again, upriver to Le Pecq, where we had started.
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| The pilothouse is down to go under a bridge |
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| The pilothouse is back up |
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| Houseboat (KSS) |
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| Barge with living quarters (KSS) |
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| Boys swimming in the Seine (KSS) |
We arrived in Le Pecq at dinnertime.
Tonight we started dinner with
Escargots à la Provençale/snails in golden puff pastry and garlic-herb sauce, with a main course of
Jarret d'Agneau Braisé et Huile de Basilic/braised lamb shank with basil oil. Dessert was a Cappuccino and Caramel Cookie.
It was time to settle the bill and pack for departure tomorrow.
Next: Jérôme.
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