Paris to Normandy, Day 4 — Rouen

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Photos from Day 4, Rouen

Ah, Rouen, my favorite place. Loved the feel of this place, and the way the French pronounce the name. Some would say "Wahn," while others rolled an R at the beginning, and only rarely would you hear two syllables. We arrived here mid morning giving me a chance to ride on deck to watch our ship sailing under the Gustave Flaubert Bridge where we made a U-turn to dock facing back down the Seine. Of course, I wasn't able to get any great shots of it –the gallery has photo 4, but if the reader would like a few more, just ask or look it up online.

The tide clock in photo 5 was right outside our stateroom and there was a brasserie right next to it. Our group met our guide there and dialed our ear-sets to her number and headed out to conquer the town. After crossing the largest intersection in Rouen we walked some of the narrowest streets you could imagine. Many of the swaying buildings seemed standing only with the support of the buildings on their flanks. Rouen has the dubious distinction of being where Joan Of Arc was burned, and eventually we wandered to the supposed location of the deed.

Keep in mind that as the guide spoke I often wandered considerably from the group, and many other times I was distracted by my own level of appreciation, so I missed much of the stuff most find interesting. Don't get me wrong, I love history and never stop learning, but truth is always more captivating than conjecture. To me it was cool how a particular house swayed through gravity as it crumbled in much the same way a tree sways to the light as it grows, which seems much more interesting than if Marie Antoinette may have slept with Ben Franklin in the upstairs closet. On the other hand, if the house crashed to the ground while they were trying to secrete away, I would have heard that fact in my headset, so the casual reader can rest assured I'll give ya the good stuff when I get it.

We visited 2 churches in Rouen, Eglise Sainte Jeanne D'arc, and of course, Notre Dame –every village in France has a church named after Our Lady. The only outside shot of the Joan of Arc church in the gallery is number nine. The next 7 photos are from its interior and you can instantly see that this is the "modern" church of Rouen. As soon as I walked in the door I instinctively reached for the fisheye lens, which was the only way to capture this place with its waving lines and vast splashes of of lofty design. In photo 10 you can see our guide holding up her 3C lollipop, and, although I don't remember there being two groups in the pews at the same time, there is the 3A group next to us. Later I heard some complain that it was a waste of time to sit in the churches and listen to lectures of their magnificence when we could have been walking around enjoying it close up. Since I was never with the group, I didn't feel compelled to comply with the guide's suggestion to sit so never had such a complaint. Dan & Fran felt compelled to walk around this marvel a little on their own when our leader led us back to the streets. After a few minutes of weaving around our group I realized they weren't with us. I quietly mentioned it to our guide, but she was right, what could she do. They were in Rouen and our boat was docked down by the Seine –an easy pickle to chew through. Eventually they caught up to us before we made it to the Le Gros Horloge, the great clock, and when I whispered their arrival to our guide she raised her eyes and said thank you –probably not to me.

Page 2 of the gallery is where it starts inside Notre Dame of Rouen. I see there were no photos from the facade of the structure that made it to the gallery. The photos from the front show scaffolding and dust-catchers so they didn't make it. Without my normal way of shooting there were pretty much no good photos from this trip, but these galleries are more about chronicling the excursions. I can only imagine the wonderful photos that could have been obtained if I was invited to bring my tripod and could pick my time to be there. Wow, I wanna go back.

Photo 39 is a shot of the Joan statue with a beam of light striking her. In photo 40 you can see St. Peter sizing things up. There was a a whole line of saint statues along one wall and I was determined to capture people-less shots of each section. Photography is a great teacher of patience, and I was proud to almost pass the test, so I wanted to share the results with you here .

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Photos

Lost without a lollipop
Caught this quick scene while looking back for Dan & Fran