La Vie en Rose in Bernay : February 2016

“I want to tour you around Bernay”, said Bagets. So off I went one fine Saturday.

Bernay is 50 km from Rouen, about less than an hour via train. What’s so special about this small city? Sing with me: Quand il me prend dans ses bras, il me parle tout bas. Je vois la vie en rose. Sounds familiar? Who sang it? Yes, Edith Piaf. Apparently, Bernay is the city where she grew up in. You can even check it out for yourself in the movie “La Môme” starring Marion Cotillard.

Bagets took me around the city à pied (by foot). We walked along the main and busy street of Rue Thiers. There was a long stretch of vendors the whole Saturday morning selling food, clothes, accessories, even mattresses! I was tempted to buy strawberries because they looked oh-so good! I tried to restrain myself because at 11h, it was really not the time to eat just yet.

We escaped the crowd and went through the narrow streets to find the ancient laundromat. No one goes to do laundry here anymore but they still keep it anyway. I cannot imagine how they did laundry here in winter! It must have been freezing cold to do so!

Further uphill, Bagets showed me where he went to school. By a park bench, we sat down for a while. Though it may seem just like half an hour walking, my flat feet needed some rest. It was also time to appreciate the view from the top and the sunny day.

Going back down to the city, we went past a small park. No one was around and so we made believe we were kids and played a bit of cache-cache behind the trees.

It was now noon and I don’t know why, instead of proceeding to a resto for lunch, we opted for a café instead. We were back in the train station to get a café across the street.

The next stop was at the old conservatory of Bernay, now closed and unoccupied. Shame. It was such a nice building. See, this is what I like about small cities. No one’s barely around that I can fool around and no one would even notice – which is exactly what I did. Okay, it was not really foolish, just a bit of a jump shot and pretending to open the door (when I can’t even get in!).

And then finally, lunch at Le Clos Normand. I’ve been here seven months and I don’t think I haven’t tried anything normand yet until today. Lucky enough for Bagets, when he comes to visit me in Rouen, he gets to eat Asian and I don’t get to try the local cuisine? Not fair, you say? I agree, which is why I was all about trying a typical normand meal.I rarely get through a three-course meal. How is it that as early as the entrée, I’m already full? I did get past the main course without finishing it (felt so guilty, I wanted to take it home with me) and straight to the yummy dessert just before the resto closes at 14h.

The Saturday market was over by now but Bernay was still alive with music bursting out from the speakers on the streets. That was so cool!

There is also a Benedictine abbey in this part of town. Of course, I would not miss it! Beside it is a lovely park.

Baget’s mom was picking us up so we could spend the rest of the day in their home. It was also the first time I’d get to know his family. We bought bread to bring home, walked around some more and took a look at his other school while waiting for his mom.Although there really wasn’t much to see in Bernay, I’d choose the humble city of Bernay over Paris anytime.