Off this morning in groups for a walking tour of Rouen, the capital of the English king during the Middle ages. We were lucky to have Fred, who was well versed in the city’s history, despite being an Englishman. It was a much more pleasant temperature for a walk and a bit overcast.
The architecture is so varied in this city from the very old middle ages to gothic to the new buildings that were constructed after WW II. The cathedral and it’s spires dominate the landscape. It is no wonder that it was a famous subject for Claude Monet.
From every vantage point the cathedral that was heavily damaged during WW II affords glorious views. It is massive and ornate.
Inside the cathedral the statue of Rollo is a copy since the original was destroyed in the war. Rollo was Richard the Lionheart’s ancestor and the first ruler of Normandy.
The statue of Richard the Lionheart contains only his heart. The rest of him lies at Fontevraud Abbey with the remains.
The recumbent statue of William Longsword also sits in the cathedral.
Leaving the cathedral we walked down the Rue du Gros Hortoge, the street of the large clock. In 1527 the town leaders decided that there should be a public clock in Rouen. And so by 1529 it had been erected. It really is massive and well decorated. Below the dial is an indicator of the days of the week as the chariots pull the day. The ornamentation on the underside of the arch is just as interesting.
From there we continued down the street to the Old Market. I just love the European markets and could get used to shopping like that.
Past the market was the Church of Jeanne-d’Arc and the monument to where she was burned at the stake.
With a bit of free time before lunch we wandered around the town and did some window shopping. Did stop in to McDonald’s to download a book on my Kindle and uploaded some photos.
We happened on a structure that looked like a bell tower. It was a good thing we met Fred who explained that it was what was left of the Church of Saint André.
By this time it was lunch time so we headed back to Restaurant Le Rouennais, where we had an included meal.
After lunch we had a bit more time to explore Rouen before we could get into the Jeanne-d’Arc church.
The church was finished in 1979 and is quite modern in its design. The stained glass windows are quite impressive in that they came down from the ancient St. Vincent’s church. The last window shows the horrible death of St. Vincent as he is crushed under a press.
We headed back to the ship and got ready to head out for the home hosted visit. We went to the home of Francoise. She lived in a very modest home with a beautiful backyard. We were lucky to have met a couple of cousins, both teachers, and some neighbors. She made declicous strawberry ice cream and cookies. Francoise is a painter and she showed us some of her work. Loved the Venetian cats. The conversation was good despite the language differences. One idea that did come across was that the French people perceived our President as dangerous and that they were hopeful about theirs.
Back to pick up the rest of the group as Guillaume waited patiently for another group to appear.
Just a short amount of time to clean up before dinner.
Tonight we enjoyed:
Smoked salmon and potato pancake
Asparagus a la Flamande
Duet of Lamb rack and Lamb Kofta
After dinner we enjoyed a “crooner,” Roberto Colletta. He was better than Evelyne, but will probably be destined to just perform on river cruise ships.
Bedtime!
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