Normandy - La Ferme Des Isles

Our next destination was the charming Ferme Des Isles located near Autheuil-Authouillet. We arrived in the late afternoon after a drive with a pit-stop for wine and calvados to be greeted by the charming Francois and Sylvia.

After a tour of the grounds and our room we met the Farm's domestic animals; two dogs (Jet and Dirty) and two cats (Gremoulin and Glowee) and both of us fell in love with them all.

After a chance to clean up and enjoy a beverage we headed off to a local restaurant for a very good dinner before returning to the Farm for a late night tipple and relaxation
in the garden.

The next day was a day of touring and rather than the normal dynamic duo this time we were a Terrific Trio!








The other guest at the farm was Ai, a young lady from Japan who was visiting France for three months but did not drive and spoke only a little English and French. Our host asked us if it would not be too much trouble to take her along should we go out touring and so we obliged.


We hopped in the car and drove off to Vascoeuil to visit the sculpture gardens and chateau.

It was well worth the visit as the sculpture gardens hold some very interesting pieces, the little museum to Michelet was quite cool, and the exhibition of the artist Roland Cat was fascinating.

On the way back we stopped for a crepe lunch (noting that the diminutive Ai has no trouble packing back the French food) and a visit to the ruins of Chateau Gaillard which was unfortunately closed for a visit but still accorded amazing views of the Seine.


Then it was back to the farm for some relaxation before enjoying a lovely dinner (salmon tartar being the star of the night) with our hosts and other guests (including Ai).

We enjoyed white wine and then calvados as the sun set on our last night in the Norman countryside.


After dinner, we all went off on a walk around the property with the dogs. It was a lovely stomp through the field of hay to the side of the little stream that runs through the property and then back to the farmhouse.

Our two nights at Ferme Des Isles were wonderful (albeit a bit hot in the non air conditioned room) and the hospitality of our hosts was exceptional.

We left Normandy having only seen a fraction of its treasures but excited to see Paris after a five year hiatus and on a night like no other!