Day 51: Rouen

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We head off to Rouen which is back past Paris and west. If you want to check out Rouen visit www.rouen.fr. Our strategy was to stay overnight, but we decided to do all our touring on foot and leave that evening. The main reason was the hotels were not to our liking and parking wasn’t readily accessible. Rouen is a large city by Billy’s scale at least two Maccas, and has some wonderful icon buildings scattered through the centre of the city.

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The countryside surrounding Rouen is surrounded by Normandy farmhouses and lush green pastures. The city has museums for Joan of Arc or Jeanne d’ Arc, and a huge cathedral from the early Renaissance period that we walked through with it’s huge ceilings and break away chapels within the church. The one wall was lined with statues of the numerous saints, and we jokingly suggested we should look out for Saint Kilda which Billy thought was a good game! Kimmy was tempted to stand behind a headless female statue for a photo, but didn’t want to get frog-marched by the seat of her trousers. Will quietly explained to Billy the confessionals, only then to have to explain what a sin is!

didn’t want to get frog-marched by the seat of her trousers

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The narrow streets are made of cobblestone and very old; traffic is either one way or blocked off with lots of people sitting out having coffee/drinks. We had a late lunch of pizza and salad and kept meandering through the quaint village houses and abbeys. The houses are medieval with half timber walls and shutter windows.

That evening we head through Caen, a medieval town and onto Bayeux for our hotel hunt with Billy wanting five star with a swimming pool and internet for carton network and talking to his sisters, and us, anyone who will have us. Our hotel is a two storey, Normandy mansion, with a central drive-way, colourful fragrant flowers flowing over the balconies and stairs with the room in the pitch of the roof which enabled Will and Kimmy to conk their head at least three times each. Visit www.hotel.dargouges.com for a look/see. The family suite looks like Laura Ashley decorated it with blue and white and more blue from roof to carpet. And no elevator so Will is really strong. Dinner at the restaurant called le Boucherie which means something like steakhouse. Entrées of the best preserved duck wing (“in all of our travel” says Will, and goat’s cheese salad, followed by “the worst steak in Europe” and a wonderful curried chicken.

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TOOL OF THE DAY

Us for parking in the Hotel de Ville car park, and going up to the Hotel de Ville and asking for a double room only to be told we were asking the City Hall for accommodation overnight. The receptionist laughed with us!! Or at us??