At lunch, we could have our choice of some savory crepes or a regular lunch buffet. I went with a buckwheat crepe filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and onions. There was some crème fraiche on top. Another new experience for me as I had only had dessert crepes before.
As we were having lunch, the ship set sail for Les Andelys, our next port of call. In the meantime, we had some time to lounge around or, in my case, to get caught up going through my photos and writing in my trip journal as well as lounging around. We also had a cruise briefing at 2pm to learn about what was coming up over the rest of the trip on the Seine.
Then there was a pastry demonstration at 3pm. They had an award winning French pastry chef named Julien Viniel on board to demonstrate making and filling some little round puff pastries with some delicious filling. I was recruited to act as his assistant. My job was to slice open several of the little round puff pastries and then pipe some of the delicious filling into them.
The Chef handed me a pastry bag, showed me how to fill it and then how to squeeze the filling out of it with the proper control. This involved winding the top part of the bag around the thumb of the hand it was in, while using the other hand to squeeze. As the bag became less full, it was necessary to push down further with the hand with which I was holding it and to rewrap the top part of the bag around my thumb. Worked just great. My little pastries were served along with some macrons.
Once the ship arrived at Les Andelys, there was a choice between a walking tour of the town or a hike up to the ruins of Chateau Gaillard. The chateau had once been the home of King Richard the Lionheart of England. He was also the Duke of Normandy and so had the castle constructed in 1196. The part of the village directly below the castle and next to the river was built at the same time and named Petit Andely.
The older part of town (Grand Andely) dates from the 6th century. No buildings from that time still exist.
Since I could see the town pretty well from the ship, I decided to take a third option which was to explore on my own. First, I took a few photos from where the ship was docked.
In the village, St Sauveur’s Church was begun in 1220 because the people in Petit Andely had grown tired of having to walk all the way to Grand Andely to attend church. The 17th century pipe organ was the oldest in France that was still in working order.
It was a very pretty little village that seemed like it could be a pleasant place to live.
Next time—St Wandrille de Fontenelle Abbey (the first of two we visited along the Abbey Road)
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