Paris to Normandy--Rouen, France

Rouen, France
M/S Bizet, Grand Circle Travel

Another busy day.  Our walking tour of Rouen started at 9 am.  To depart the boat we had to walk up on deck and down the plank due to the tides.  Our program director, Anne, meet us near the gang plank.  She introduced us to our local guide, Fred.

Look how this half timber home in the center dips downward.

The cobblestone streets were very difficult to walk on.

It's hard to believe these were circa 1400's. 

Look at how ornate these doors to the church are.

I thought this house was very nice.

 Photos just can't capture the size and the details of this church.

Some of the stained glass was removed before the bombing.

This stain glass was newer as the older ones are much darker.

Rouen dates back to the middle ages.  Rouen was an important capital from the eleventh to fifteenth century.

Before 9-11 you could walk through this government building to the square on the other side.  Now it is fenced.
We've noticed that France is much more proactive about terrorism than the US.  They even have clear plastic bags in their trash to be able to see into them.   

The Walmart of France.

The clock only has one hand as the people thought the hour hand was the only appropriate one.

This Joan of Arc church was built to resemble an inverted Viking ship.

The La Couronne restaurant is considered the best in Rouen.  It was built in 1345.

Joan of Arc was burned here.
Her clothing had sulphur on it so that she'd burn faster.

This view is from inside the Joan of Arch church.

We said thank you to Fred.  Anne bought some pastries for everyone to try.  We definitely haven't been without food.




We had some time to walk around the shops before our included luncheon at a local restaurant.

All of the passengers on board attended this luncheon.

I thought the lion artwork on the wall made it look like the lion was eating Bill.  Our meal was very good and the wine was excellent.  Yes, the bottomless glasses were also included.

By the time we walked back to the boat, we only had about an hour or two before we left for the home hosted visit.




The bus delivered us to different homes in a nearby town.  

Anne divided us up into groups of 7 people.  Our host was outside waving a US flag.

Here's a photo of the outside of the home we visited.

Our group had homemade apple pie with cider (alcoholic).

Bill really enjoyed this experience and had a hard time saying au revoir. 

I thought you might like to see the fire hydrants.  They have these covers over them to protect them from vandals.

I took this photo earlier in the day to show what they look like opened up.

How do you like this one seater pizza delivery vehicle?

Back just in time for the 6 pm cocktail hour followed by the 6:45 port talk.






Dinner was great once again but we were so tired we didn't go down to the lounge for the jazz music and dancing.  

Tomorrow we are taking an optional tour to the Cliffs of Etretat.

Turtle Safely........