Our daughter Stacey is married to James Maule. When discussing the family history with his father and aunt this past summer they mentioned that the family originated in France but migrated to Scotland in the 16th century.
The town of Maule was established in 1521 so his ancestors were some of the early residents. According to his aunt the family were Quakers who were probably early followers of Martin Luther (1483-1546) during the Protestant Reformation.
Eventually they emigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania acquiring land as part of the original Penn Land Grants.
The family origins in France were chronicled by one of Jim's cousins, also James Maule. He visited the town as part of his research and actually met with the French descendants.
Since we were already planning to be in the neighborhood we decided that a visit was in order. We did not try to contact any Maule relatives but did take a quick tour around town.
Arriving on Sunday morning the town was abuzz with church goers, called to prayer by the incessant chiming of the bells.
Across from the church in the town square we found an ideal spot for coffee.
We went au naturale without a pastry since an elaborate lunch was in the offing.
Some of the locals skipped church and were out for an early morning ride. My choice as well although playing chicken with the weather is not for the feint of heart.
Reminds me of our biking group (and age appropriate) back in the Bay Area.
This bike caught my eye and ridden by the only female in the group.
No Pain, No Gain, an often quoted lament.
Coffee break is over and time to get back on the road.
Kim is smiling because the coffee was good and we were not biking.
Could not pass up Maule's famous Patissier.
ooh la la
One of these for me...
And a Fraise (Strawberry) tart for Kim.
Dessert after dinner or just dessert for dinner?
Found a business with the Maule name.
Real Estate office offering some lovely country homes, but not on this trip.
Maybe the Colorado Maule's will return to their roots some day?
Hotel de Ville - Maule town hall.
Off to our next stop across the Seine.
Made famous by the painter Claude Monet.
His bust but not by him.
And a famous photograph of the artist enjoying the serenity of his gardens.
We attempted to visit the facility back in 1986 on a day trip from Paris, but it was closed.
Today the house, gardens and museum were all open.
However as we drove into town we were surprised by the massive number of people with the same idea. The parking lots were overflowing. Figured that even for a Sunday the crowds were enormous.
Turns out that today was the second day of "Heritage Days" and admission was only 5.5 euros - about 1/3 of the normal admission fee. Our bad fortune and good fortune.
We opted to see the gardens and skip the house and museum. I am sure they would have been worth it, but our time was short.
Claude Monet noticed the village of Giverny while looking out of a train window. He made up his mind to move there and rented a house and the area surrounding it. In 1890 he had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint. Some of his most famous paintings were of his garden in Giverny, including "Water Lillies" which we have seen at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The gardens as expansive with an unbelievable variety of flowers.
Across the roadway the gardens surround several ponds.
The Lilly Pads still grace the surface.
But while walking along the garden path the forecast came to fruition and the rain started. You can see the rain spatted surface of the water.
And out came the rain coats.
Monet incorporated some boats in his paintings, although I think these are more recent additions.
A flower resembling the Columbine, the official state flower of Colorado.
Worthy of a photo but do not know its name.
And in true tradition there is a shop at the end of the proverbial garden path.
Kim taking a look around for something to buy.
But even if there was a "must have" the checkout line was way too long.
Some touring bikes parked outside in the pouring rain.
Glad it was not us.
Our next stop was the "old town" of Rouen and the famous cathedral.
Not the largest or most ornate in France, but famous for the multiple Monet paintings. The Rouen Cathedral series was painted in the 1890's. The paintings in the series each capture the façade of the Rouen Cathedral at different times of the day and year and reflect changes in its appearance under different lighting conditions.
Although the cathedral is a worthy destination our real objective was to have lunch at "La Couronne", the oldest continuously operating restaurant in France, dating back to 1345. Who even knew they had restaurants back then.
We had a memorable lunch on our first visit in 1986 and wanted to experience this Michelin starred restaurant once again. Unfortunately when we asked the hostess for a lunch table for two, her one word response was "impossible" with a heavy French accent. Oh well, c'est la vie.
So we opted for our second choice just a few doors down the square. A recent establishment just 117 years old.
Just our luck they offered one of Kim's all time favorites, sweetbreads (which sounds better than cow's pancreas).
But first we needed to quench our thirst.
Good thing they fill the old whisky and spirits bottles with ordinary water.
But the meal would not be complete without a bottle of Pouilly Fume for Kim. I am the designated driver.
My starter was a terrine of beef cheeks with all the fixings.
Her sweetbreads with potatoes in cream sauce.
And mine was a casserole of veal head (probably not exactly what is was in French) with assorted vegetables.
Manifique!
One additional historical fact. Joan of Arc was tried and executed (burned at the stake) in 1431 in the square across from the restaurant.
They built this monstrous memorial building that was not worthy of even one photo. Some things should just be left said. We do not remember anything of this size back in 1986.
Along our walk back to the car after a most enjoyable lunch.
Can not believe we passed this up for all that fancy French food. Maybe next time.
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