Blogs from Rouen, Upper Normandy, France, Europe - page 4

Well I made it to Rouen just fine as you all know. The ride up was nice, rolling hills with wheat and corn. All the fields have scarecrows in them and the ones that didn't had crows in them. Lots of little towns and villages, about 5 or so km apart. They are all quaint with very old buildings and windy streets. Every one has a steeple. The farmers live right on the edge of town, they aren't in the middle of fields. A few towns had a big chateau surrounded by a wall and other outbuildings. The country is relaxing, even the cows lounge around. Maybe that is why the cheese is so good. It is pretty laid back here. We get in at 9 am, drink coffee til about 9:30. Then another coffee break ... read more

Our second stop on our "tour de France" was Rouen, way up in the north. Really I just wanted to go here to see cathedrale notre dame...the cathedral that Monet painted. It is my favorite series of Monet's. After a day on the train from Nice to Rouen, we arrived around 9 pm, took a taxi to the hotel and pretty much went to sleep. The next morning we woke up and headed out. It was raining...the weather never really cooperated with us the entire vacation. We quickly found the Cathedral and took many many pictures of the outside. I loved it a lot. We went inside when it started raining harder. During WWII, lots of northern French towns were destroyed by bombs. The citizens of Rouen took out the glass from the church's stained glass ... read more

Brittany and Normandy. The area was a hive of conflict in times past and was disputed over for nigh on 300 years by the French and the English. Sounds like a precursor for the Rugby semi finals but I'll come to that later. Brittany first up and on arriving, the architecture appeared to be plucked direct from the English rural scene. Hang on, England is part of Britain, I think. Britain/y! Put 2 and 2 together and...... this is all commencing to add up. The weather was also a bleak reminder of all things British just across the channel. Grey, foggy, windy and cool. There is a prevalence of any sport/passtime that is wind reliant. All manner of wind driven vehicles can be seen along beaches at low tide, and I do mean LOW tide. The ... read more

ROUEN - One of Rouen's claims to fame is that Joan of Arc was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in the central square (Place du Vieux Marche) in 1431. The futuristic 'Eglise Jeanne d'Arc' with its fishscale exteriour and stark cast-iron cross marks the site where Joan died. Rue du Gros Horloge - This main street is spanned by an early-16th-centuary gatehouse and the "Gros Horloge", a large one-handed medieval clock. Palais de Justice - This ornate palace is located on "Place Marechal le Fock", a stone's throw from my hotel. Cathedrale Notre Dame - The towering cathedral has a sparkling white French-Gothic facade and was the subject of a series of canvases by Claude Monet. At nightfall there is a free spectacle, "Monet aux Pixels", during which light is projected onto the ... read more

My final game in France was a good one. I pitched, we won 3-0 against Dunkerque. Josh, the other American, hit a home run and so did Eric Coutu, a lead-off bomb right down the left field line. I had 15 strikeouts in 7 innings the most I have ever thrown in a single game. And even though we made some errors I was happy to finish the game giving up no runs. After, we had a small barbecue at Jean-Luc’s house. We drank Heinekens and played a game of Cranium, a board game kinda like Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Taboo all in one (it was the France version, and all centered around French culture. I was totally lost). I regret that while in France I did not take more pictures. In fact, in most situations looking ... read more