An impossible match.... First published February 3, 2018 High on the cliffs above the River Seine in Normandy is an imposing old château . Here history stretches back to the 11th century and the first Dukes of Normandy. Tancarville was home to Raoul I Fitzgerald, trusted friend of Robert, first Duke of Normandy. Raoul would
Seine-Maritime
All our posts from the Seine-Maritime region.
Monet’s unquiet heart, in Étretat
The Monet in the wardrobe, or
How Robert stole the beach at Pourville This post was first published in September 2014. After ten years of loving the Monet in the wardrobe, neither Robert Zwoliński’s passion or the colours in the painting had faded. Each time he locked the spare bedroom door at his parents apartment, pulled down the blinds
A wicked cab ride around Rouen, with Madame Bovary
First published December 2015 This wonderfully tinted 1918 photo is a postcard of Rouen cathedral where Madame Bovary, bored Normandy Housewife of Gustave Flaubert’s famous novel, behaved so atrociously that in 1856 the author was put on trial for obscenity. What on earth did he write?! This was his debut novel set
The torment of Baron Frefosse of Étretat – a Normandy legend
As well as a stiff breeze, the strongest sense of déjà vu will hit any fan of the Impressionists lucky enough to walk along Étretat's grassy cliff tops. Claude Monet’s paintings and drawings of the three natural arches Porte d'Aval, Porte d'Amont (Maupassant’s ‘elephant’s trunk’) and La Manneporte have been reproduced and loved across the