FRANCE AND ENGLAND ---DREAM VACATION

GRAB A CAR AND DRIVE ALL OVER ENGLAND AND FRANCE! YUP. THAT WORKS FOR ME.

I was in Honfleur, France in 1989 for 30 minutes.  I waited until 2015 to return, although I kept thinking year after year that I would get there sooner. Things change between 1989 and 2015. The beauty is still there, but now, so are the tourist buses and the river cruises. I soon figured out that between the hours of 11-5 p.m., Honfleur is filled with day tourists. I left town each day at 10:30, after a wonderful breakfast, and returned by 6 for a delicious dinner.

I flew to London, met up with a friend, Gail Sackloff, and we took the EuroStar from St. Pancras to Calais. The rail station in London looked like it was about to be under a terroist attack. Most of the passengers seemed to be from the Middle East, and the security was very tight. It was unnerving.
Once we arrived in Calais, we took a wrong turn in our car and ended up in Sangette, the city now overrun by dangerous migrants who storm the train tunnel each night to stop the train system. Not easy times in London and France.

Dinner in Richmond on the Thames

St.. Pancras

My loft apartment at La Petite Folie Hotel

The patio

 La Petite Folie Hotel. So charming

Without tourists

Alley to my apartment

Good morning

Gorgeous without tourists

OFF TO MONT ST. MICHELLE:

Sister Mary Kishka

MONET'S GIVERNY:

THE FAMOUS LILY POND

Gardens

Gardens

Giverny Village

Monet's House

 

 

 

Monet's kitchen

THE MAGICAL SEASIDE HIDEAWAY CALLED ETRETAT ON THE NORMANDY COAST:

My new favorite place----drive miles through countryside on the Normandy coast and then you hit this.

My favorite meal in France was also in Etretat. It's a galette filled with ham, eggs, mushrooms and cheese

BACK IN LONDON TO EXPERIENCE THE COTSWALDS:

CASTLE COMBE----dating from 2500 BC!!!! It is the village where "Dr. Doolittle" was shot. Again, total magic for me. It is used for movie locations a lot, and one was being shot while I was there.

Back in Richmond with Gail Sackloff and singer Simon Bell, the saint who took care of Dusty til the day her cancer siege was over. Simon has a new EP called A BETTER DAY. Feel free to download.