Rouen

Friday, July 10

Today we took off for Rouen, where Joan of Arc met her demise in 1431.

The historical capital city of Normandy, Rouen is located on the Seine and is currently the capital of the Upper Normandy region. It was one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe and served as seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages. Rouen was also one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the eleventh century to the 15th century.

Our morning started w/ Claire sad to leave the hotel, declaring the place fabulous (she loved the pool).

En route to the train station we had croissants and juice, sitting outside at a cafe. I must say I’ve gotten used to eating w/ a whiff of cigarette smoke regularly coming my way (the plight of the sidewalk café eater in France).

We took a short train ride from Deauville to Lisieux, then an hour ride to Rouen. The kids were excited to ride in first class (a bit nicer than India’s first class train ride).

Before long we hit Rouen, a seemingly bustling town on the river, were pointed toward the hotel Mercure (near the Cathedral) and headed down Rue St. Joan of Arc. A few minutes later we found the lovely Palais de Justice, which was once the seat of the Parlement (French court of law) of Normandy, then the hotel.

There we ditched our stuff, bought sandwiches and a delicious quiche and sat next to the Palais for lunch.

We then headed to the tourist info office for a map and spent some time in the Rouen Cathedral, which Claude Monet spent three years painting (he did 28 paintings of the facade).

Rouen Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen) is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral, the seat of the Archbishop of Rouen and Normandy. The building boasts a “butter tower,” which was erected in the early 16th century. Apparently butter was banned during Lent (how they got that edict enacted in France is beyond me) and those who did not wish to forgo butter donated money to fund the tower. Love how religion operates...

Like Deauville, Rouen has a little tourist train so we boarded that and took a ride around Rouen – hit the high points. It’s a lovely city, at least the old parts of town – cobble stone streets, several old churches (though damaged during WWII much restoration has been done). The old timber-style houses were preserved; they line the narrow winding streets of old Rouen.

After our train ride we found the Musee des Beaux Arts and looked at dozens of French paintings. The highlights were the Impressionist exhibits – a few rooms of works by Monet and his peers.

It was delightful to have just walked by the Cathedral, then see one of Monet’s paintings of it.

After perusing plenty of art we worked our way out of the place, which is big, and headed to the old market area (Place du Vieux Marché), where Joan was burned at the stake.

It’s a pedestrian area now, w/ lots of shops and cafes, a covered market area that extends from the modern church built in the 20th century and dedicated to Joan. The form of the building represents the pyre on which Joan of Arc was burnt.

Inside, the church is lofty, with a lovely ceiling of wood in the shape of an upturned boat. The windows are fabulous – they are 16th century stained glass from St. Vincent’s Church, which was destroyed during WWII. (The glass had been placed in safe storage in 1939.)

Next to the church, where Joan's death occurred, is a monument and plaque surrounded by lovely flowers.

After spending some time in the church we wandered through the market – fruits/vegetables, cheese, meat, fish, flowers, then the kids hopped around on the old stone foundation of St. Vincent’s, located next to the more recent St. Joan of Arc.

We then made our way to the Gros Horloge (big old clock tower) in the center of the old part of the city. It is an astronomical clock (dating back to the16th century) though the movement is considerably older (1389).

We bought tickets to go up – and were led through by the voice of a ghost on audio guide (he haunts the bell tower).

Great view of the city from the top. While we were in the bell chamber the clock struck six and scared us half to death. I’m sure our ears will ring for another month.

We then wandered back by the church and surrounding shops, checked out the antique area (Rouen is well known for its antique shops, we were told) and eventually made our way to the hotel.

Ava fell asleep so I parked the stroller in the lobby, where Claire and I caught up on the news (this hotel is more modern, with TVs in the lounge area, flat screen computer for guest use in the lobby, etc). We regrouped for dinner, got a restaurant recommendation from someone at the hotel and headed to a part of town we hadn’t yet visited.

Very quaint, tucked in amidst old narrow pedestrian passageways, half-timbered houses above, shops/cafes below. We saw several Indian, Afghani and Oriental restaurants but we wanted French. Our restaurant was in a great space, had a nice traditional feel to it and was warm, cozy, wooded.

Our waiter recommended steak for the kids, which they were all over until it appeared, a big hamburger patty cooked on the outside, raw in the middle.
They ate some of the potato, no sale on the beef. I can’t say I blame them.

And I failed on French dinner #2 – I ordered the veal (even though the waiter told me English people don’t like veal). My definition of it is different than what I was presented with – it was very rare and tasted like an organ meat that I don’t like.
My potato/olive dish was excellent though, as was the veal sauce.

We ordered another entrée – chicken – and it was devoured. Came w/ a delicious cabbage/carrot dish that I loved. The chicken meat was very dark and very tasty, unlike the typical bland white bird.

After wandering the area a bit we stopped at a charming little patisserie for dessert, ice cream for C and A, espresso for me. By this time it was 10:30 so we decided to push on for the outdoor light show in front of the cathedral. There we caught the tail end of the free village concert, then plopped down with 50 other people to await the 11:00 light show – it was cool – 15 minutes of different lighting techniques making the church façade appear painted in bright colors, pastels, metallic, speckled, dripping like an oil painting, as though it was underwater, etc. One effect made it look like the statues on the front were spinning.

Back at the hotel, cold and tired (must remember more clothes next time we do summer in Normandy) – but happy – we were asleep in minutes.