Best Of

As promised, here is my review of our recent Rendezvous on the Seine tour. It was fantastic; phenomenal TD’s and Scylla service, excellent food. Our CD was Lindsey; TD’s were Patricia, Kris, and Dan. (We had sailed with Patricia before; she saved our first Tauck trip in 2018 when we encountered a barge stuck in the Danube, stopping all traffic for days.)

We did a few things prior to the tour:

• Began with a walking tour of the Left Bank with Anne from Tours by Locals, then a little bit of shopping at the Bon Marché. In the evening we went to a concert at Saint Chapelle; violinists, cellist, and bassist performing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons among others. What a phenomenal setting with all that stained glass!

• Went to a beautiful Gregorian choir Mass at Saint Sulpice (the church featured heavily in “The DaVinci Code”), in both French and Latin Took the Metro to Montmartre. Never climbed so many steps, even with taking the funicular to the top. Sacre Coeur is a beautiful church. Amazing view of the city of Paris from that height.

• We took a guided tour of the l’Orangerie museum to see the Monet “water lilies” in the morning prior to the Tauck tour.

The first full day, the tour offered a bus tour of Paris or two walking excursions; it was raining in the morning, so we opted out. It cleared up late morning, so we walked from the ship to the Eiffel Tower. About a half hour walk from where the ship was docked.

Tour of Versailles - we had a reservation at opening time so no crowds. Our Tauck group had a private tour of the king’s and queen’s personal rooms, not open to the general public. Set sail for Rouen in the afternoon. Crepes Suzette after dinner that night.

Day excursion in Rouen. The cathedral is magnificent; it was heavily damaged by Allied bombing, 4 bombs inside, 3 outside. Then we visited the site where Jeanne d’Arc was burned at the stake, very moving. Had a few hours to explore the town on our own. Chef’s signature dinner on board the ship after we set sail for Le Havre. Excellent.

We docked in Le Havre overnight, then drove into the Normandy countryside. First was a visit to the Caen Memorial to see the exhibit on how the war affected the city and all of Normandy, not just the June 6, 1944, action. Very nice to see school children on a field trip. Then we drove to Bayeux to see the famous tapestry (which is actually needlepoint), depicting William the Conqueror’s invasion of England in 1066.

Drove to the Normandy beaches in the morning. Wow. What can I say. Viewing the cliffs and bomb craters at Pointe du Hoc. Walking on the sand at Omaha Beach. Viewing some of the 9,000 graves at the American Cemetery. What was very special was seeing all the houses and businesses in the towns displaying the flags of the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. The people there still very much appreciate the valiant effort of all the troops liberating them from the Nazis.

Chocolate extravaganza in the lounge after dinner that evening.

Good to have a leisurely day after two very busy ones. We docked in Caudebec-en-Caux and a few of us took a walk thru the cute town (another church!). Nothing open on a Sunday but of course we found a great patisserie. Optional bike ride along the river. Later in the day we visited the ruins of a Benedictine monastery at Jumièges dating back to the 7th century; fascinating.
The evening ended with a wonderful dinner at Chateau du Tallis. The owner talked about the history of the house and showed us his private museum of WWII memorabilia.

Today we saw IMHO the prettiest town in Normandy, Les Andelys. Some Parisians have second homes here. The church has an organ from the 9th century that is the oldest in all of France still being played. We saw the ruins of Chateau Gaillard, a fortress built in the 12th century by Richard the Lionheart. We learned quite a bit about him and his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine.
We then drove to a farm in Tilly where apple cider and Calvados are made, La Ferme des Ruelles. The owner has transformed it to be nearly off the grid; he expects to attain that by 2025 (before farmers in France are told they must be more energy-efficient). The herb garden is tremendous. A truly wonderful operation and a farmer with a great personality.
We then docked in Vernon (Vare-non).

Today was the icing on the cake…Monet’s gardens at Giverny where we had an exclusive early opening. (Interesting to see other tour groups (e.g.,AMA) walking thru the streets after we had left the gardens). Hard to believe Monet designed the layout and planted many of the flowers himself. Rows and rows of beautiful blooms, plus the water lilies which are just beginning to bloom. Perfect time of year to visit. Back for lunch on the ship; ice cream social after lunch. Then sailed to Paris to end the trip.

I highly recommend this tour!