Surprises

SURPRISES aren't all good. I was signing on this morning to say how excited I was to meet my friends soon in Dover and then write about all the surprises that yesterday held, and the captain made an announcement that because of very high winds we were unable to land in Dover! He said the winds were over 40 MPH and expected to get as high as 70 MPH and our safety was the greatest concern. We were close enough that I had already taken the pictures of the white cliffs from my balcony and my cell phone worked. I hated making that call, I had to call Diana to let her know that my ship was not going to make it in so to wave to me from shore! She and Alec drove hours to reach Dover last night to meet me today. Terry drove in 3 hours from where he was and it was going to be a surprise that I got to see him too. However, the surprise was for all of us, I was not going to even get in to see them at all. NOT all surprises are good! I am so disappointed and still in disbelief this is really happening. The passengers all understand but imagine the disappointment of not getting to see London and other exciting places they had so looked forward to. It was the first trip for many people. So almost 3000 people are wandering around disappointed. The captain also announced the weather was expected to be in Belgium tomorrow so we might not be able to land there either. That was not good news either, but we just had another announcement that they are going to try to get to Belgium tonight and dock so we can beat the storm there. The downside of that is that we have now picked up speed and the ship is really rough as we go through these rough waters at a higher speed. We had been going quite slowly to save us this rough journey. I had quite a day in France yesterday so I might just get back to my cabin and sleep through this part of the trip.

Yesterday, a dream day in France! I was met by my driver and the experience was nothing like I expe4cted! The taxi was a new SUV, nothing like the little old taxi cab I'd imagined. My guide spoke very good English with a wonderful French accent and was the nicest man. We took off for Giverny and arrived there just 10 minutes after the gardens opened. My driver knew a back way into the gardens which saved me from waiting in a very long line in the front. (just heard another announcement that we may not be going to belgium because of the weather after all!!!) So I entered the gardens with a minimum of waiting and the scent of the flowers was a great tease as I waited in line. The gardens were magnificent! More flowers than I remember and I loved knowing I could wander and photograph without my 1 hour time limit that was there the first trip. The beauty, the colors and the scents were a delight! Because it was Sunday the gardens were packed shortly after I arrived and it was the only thing that kept it from being a perfect day! But I was able to stroll along the garden and relish the experience. After a couple of hours I visited the gift shop and then left and found my private driver. He had found a little outdoor cafe where we ate a little French lunch together. It was wonderful having someone to speak French and translate for me, of course I am used to that when I am with César, but it was nice having someone else who could help me in France. He told me about a lovely garden behind the hotel where we were eating and I had time to go out and enjoy that as we waited for our meal. We ate out on the street and enjoyed watching the people wander by. The food was delicious and we ate and walked back to the car. My driver Franz, asked me if I would like to visit a monastery that was actually a working one, with monks there too. He said it was a way in the French countryside and I would never pass up an opportunity to see anything in the countryside! And so I was in store for quite a nice surprise! We had a gorgeous drive into a tiny village and we visited a monastery that was built in 600AD! The church was interesting, very old, very plain, nothing like the oppulence of the cathedral we had visited in Spain. There was an old monk praying and when we left we saw a young monk walking along. There are 50 monks of all ages at the monastery. We went in the little gift shop and a monk was running it and there was such a feeling of peace around him. The shop was filled with things made from monks at different monasteries. Evidently they used to sell their own products but now they have started selling other products from the other monastaries and the choices were amazing. I bought a tiny glass angel to take home and use to remember my first visit to a monastery. She is so sweet!

By the time we were through with that visit there really wasn't time left to go to the seaside town of Etretat but the driver told me he would still take me there. He was so pleased I had accepted his suggestion to see the monastery that he said the rest of the day was on him!! For 2 1/2 years he had offered that to tourists and I was the first who had been interested. So we drove more through the beautiful country and found a place to park near the beach, lucky us because it was so crowded! I walked along the boardwalk and enjoyed the cool breeze and the variety of people there. I stopped at a little outdoor cafe on the boardwalk and went in for a crepe. I ordered one that had butter inside and sugar on top, that seemed to be the way the people there were getting them and I decided the French would know best. Always do what the locals do?? So I sat and savored the delicious crepe while looking out at the lovely arch that Monet painted so many times. I tried not to take too long and after a little shopping, headed back to the car and we drove back to LeHavre. One last stop was the final surprise of the day. My driver took me to a spot where Monet painted his famous painting, Impression Sunrise. Do you know why that was important? A newspaper reporter wrote about that picture and called him an Impressionist and that is the painting that led to the term Impressionists for the painters who painted like Monet. I stood next to the sign on the street and Franz took my picture there. And then we went back to the ship. I felt so lucky, I was supposed to be on the trip for 6 hrs, but it had turned out to be 10 and filled with delightful surprises! Franz and I exchanged email addresses and I am sure we will stay in touch. He is a nice 50 year old man with a wife, yes, and 3 children and a grandchild. He gave me a European goodbye, a kiss on each cheek and we said goodbye. The manager of the Shore excursion office was there so I introduced them and Arcadieuz told the driver that I show up all over the world so the driver would probably see me again, everyone does. Cute!

After a nice dinner I went to bed early for my big day in England! Surprise again!

So from the sea, goodbye!