After my time spent in Giverny it was time to return to the coach and drive on to our next destination, a cider farm, called ”Le Verger de Giverny”. This was a surprise, organised for us by Justin, our tour guide. We were greeted by a very genial host and sat down to watch a video about the production of cider on the farm
Justin had told us that the business of attracting visitors had grown from a very small affair to a much larger enterprise. The video explained that three different types of apples were used and mixed together to give the distinctive flavour. These included the main medium tasting apple, a sweet apple, and a bitter apple, Most of the apple picking and sorting was done by robots, followed by the pressing. The cider was left to age in barrels, which also added to the flavour. Following the video we passed through a room with very large stainless steel vats holding huge quantities of cider. Following these the cider was aged in barrels, which also contributed to the flavour.
After the explanation on production we were directed to a different area, where there were tables and chairs and a very inviting looking piece of Normandy Apple Tart.
After taking our seats we were offered a variety of apple based drinks. The first of these was a plain apple juice, which I declined and instead accepted the cider, which was delicious. The third drink was the very strong ”Calvados”, which at 46% was not for the faint hearted . The apple tart was also delicious. You were able to buy direct from the producer, who also offered honey. I purchased three bottles of cider and a small tub of honey.
After our exciting and varied day it was back to Lisieux on the coach. We had a lovely view of the Seine, crossing the river at Vernon Chris had explained to us that people who lived in Lisieux were referred to as Lexiers A number of businesses start with Lex and the restaurant we ate at this evening was Lexus.. Looking out of my hotel room window I could see that the weather had changed and the night sky was very stormy with the beautiful lit church looking proud against the stormy sky. A dramatic end to a magnificent day
