Before heading to Chateau Chantilly for the event Concours d’Élégance by the end of September, we spent the Saturday afternoon in Gerberoy, in the department Oise in the Northern part of France. They say it is the smallest town in France and one of the most beautiful ones but actually, it reminded us more about some villages in the English countryside instead. In the Medieval ages, it was a fortified town situated on the border with British Normandy which suffered as a center of tension. Reconstructed later, this peaceful town has kept its medieval charm and character and it is nice to stroll its flowery streets.
Later, at the beginning of the 20th century, the post-impressionist painter Henri le Sidaner was impressed by the charm of this sleepy town so he decided to settle in Gerberoy. He built his Italian-inspired gardens laid in different color themes as he was not a big fan of French gardens where he missed some more nature. It was here that he decided to leave post-impressionism and oriented his painting style towards Intimism which shows more the sweetness of life. He also contributed to the renovation of Gerberoy, on his demand they decorated even public spaces with roses.
Our visit to Gerberoy started with rain. Shortly after parking our car just outside of the town, it started to rain. Adeline was enthusiastic as she could have finally used her umbrella, while we did not feel like walking under heavy rain and right after passing by a half-hidden place where they served crêpes, the consensus was quickly reached and we entered inside. 😀 We were welcomed by an elder French gentleman who brought us the list of all possible pancakes, teas, coffees, and juices. Another elder gentleman behind the counter prepared them.
We sat together with two other couples in the little cozy interior of a woodcraft atelier. Listening to the conversations between the local French hosts and Belgian visitors, we were enjoying our pancakes, hoping the rain would soon pass. And it did, at one point, right after Steven made his round in the search of cash to pay our pancake break. 🙂
We walked out and followed the curved street up the little hill, amazed by how pretty they made it here. It was the end of September and still many flowers were decorating the streets and houses – mainly roses and hydrangeas. For the rest, I let the photographs speak…
