everything of value is defenseless
You get up in the morning with the expectation that the day will be a normal day. You make plans, whatever you want to implement on the same day. And then, suddenly, in a few minutes, the world stands still for a moment.
There is a message from the Netherlands that you are once again putting your feet on the ground and making you realize that France is not next door. My father-in-law, Erik's father, suddenly died. The moment we told him last year that we were going to emigrate, my courage was already sinking a little. He was no longer the youngest, and saying goodbye would probably have seen him for the last time. All in all it was goodbye then, a tear was left, and with a deep sigh I walked along the corridor back to the car with Erik. I knew that this could also mean one final goodbye.
One of the few situations that absolutely belongs to emigration is inextricably linked to saying goodbye.
And now came the message that we knew that someday would come. Only a bit earlier than hoped for. We had to think quickly about how we were going to arrange everything: in the week that the funeral would be, our youngest daughter also came to France. This would go on anyway. After all, I would also stay at home in France and Erik would only return to the Netherlands by himself and stay there a couple of days. We decided to rent a car in Lisieux for the trip to the Netherlands. That way Erik could also take some important things back to France. Not the circumstance as we would have liked it, but in that way the grief was partly turned into something that would be useful.
A list of things was quickly drawn up: large photo frames, Dutch mayonnaise, screws and brackets, special toilet seats ... It seemed like a list of nonsensical things when you compare it to a funeral.
Finally, the day we picked up our youngest daughter from the train station in Lisieux. She came with the Thalys via Paris Nord, and took the train from Paris to Lisieux. A great connection if you want to come to us by train from the Netherlands.
My daughter and I decided to 'discover' France a bit in the area in the coming days.
Because we needed groceries and were looking for vegetarian food for her, I decided to take her to the supermarket in Lisieux. And, even though she was used to it when she lived in Spain, this supermarket was a true Mecca! Of course the desserts again. But you can also indulge in the vegetarian area. I can recommend it to anyone. Especially the falafel with mint ..
It was my birthday on Sunday. That was also the reason that she would come to us in France for a few days. However, due to the circumstances it was a strange day. That is why we decided to give it a nice twist. In Lisieux a lot was closed that day, but the coffee bars were open and small restaurants. We walked into the center and found a very small creperie, with the appropriate name 'Petite Therese'. (My name is also Therese) We took the gamble and that was certainly good! Indeed 'tres petite' with only a few tables, and a small kitchen. But the woman who runs it knows how to make her crepes. They were delicious! I can really recommend this to those looking for a small but cozy place for a delicious crepe and pot of tea.
On one of the other days we went to Vimoutiers. That is how we noticed the sign 'Camembert' and because we both know the cheese of the same name, we became curious, so we decided to take a look. It is about 5 kilometers past Vimoutiers and can be reached via idyllic roads. But to say that it is a GREAT place, no. It is rather small. At the entrance of the village is of course the memorial of Marie Fontaine, who 'invented' the Camembert. The village has about 4 houses, a church, a museum with a shop (of course for Camembert products) and yes, a farm. Which, as they say, is THE Camembert farm. Seems impossible. Camembert is located all over the world, and will probably be manufactured somewhere in a mega factory. But it is a cozy very small village that is definitely worth a visit. If only for the road to it, and from there on back to Vimoutiers via winding and ascending roads.
Also a very nice place to go (certainly later in the summer) is Broglie. After Erik returned home a couple of days earlier, we went there to clear our minds. Broglie is just not in the Calvados, but in the Eure.
About 30 minutes away from us towards Bernay. A beautiful historic town, which is particularly special because of the water that runs right through the village and on which lies a beautiful park with various water gardens. With real rapids in the water it is a true spectacle. When the spring finally starts and the sun increases in warmth, this is a wonderful place to walk.
This week it was central that everything of value is defenseless. Some people are done with life. Want to go further than where you can't go. We must respect this, no matter how difficult it can be.
By the way: the gite is already hurrying up (despite all the setbacks we had) and it won't take long before all the rooms can be photographed properly. Let the guests come, the beds are almost made!
