Bonsoir! This is Alex checking in with a guest editorial. Today we rode 60 miles from Forges-le-Eaux to Bennecourt. The weather was perfect and the roads smooth. In the morning we chanced upon a Farmer's Market in Gournay-en-Bray. I bought some delicious seafood paella and proceeded to immediately demolish it. This provided sufficient fuel for the remaining ~40 miles.
Arriving in Bennecourt, we descended a steep road overlooking the Siene. I had not realized how white cliffs line the river here, creating a beautiful frame. Our accommodations for the night is a B&B which happens to be featured in the Claude Monet painting "On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt". The B&B is the brown building, and our room is the one with the large rectangular window (bottom left). Kinda cool!
Our B&B host is a lovely man, Alain, who unsurprisingly appears to be extraordinarily knowledgeable about Monet and his history. Sadly, we will not be visiting Monet's house and garden this trip, but look forward to it another time. Alain recommended a local Chinese restaurant, which we visited and ordered 5 dishes to share between us. The server asked if we wanted any "baguettes" with our meal, which I emphatically replied "Oui", hoping for extra calories. When he returned with two pairs of chopsticks, I was a bit disappointed, although they were still very useful! Learning new words every day!
Au revoir for now.
-Alex
