(Rouen, Normandy, France)

We’re living the good life in Rouen.  As predicted, we returned for dinner to La Crêperie Rouennaise, the same crêperie that we enjoyed so much the day before.  It was just as good the second time.  But I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself…

We started the day with a little shopping.  Some necessities, of course, but also some things that are too expensive or impossible to find back home.  For lunch, we found another winner:  the Listo restaurant, featuring food from Ecuador.  In addition to the “usual” fillings for empanadas, they had one with goat cheese and honey.  It was sublime with some hot sauce.

Next was a visit to the Musée des Beaux-Arts.   We didn’t stay for too long, but we made a point of seeing the paintings by Claude Monet.  He painted the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in Rouen at least 30 times, in addition to many other local sights.  Seeing vast amounts of art at once is not really my thing, but it’s different when the painting was made locally and is of something you’ve actually seen.  I took a picture but art photography rarely turns out well!

We also visited l’aître Saint-Maclou, which didn’t really mean that much to us as a name.  But it turned out to be a cemetery from the plague that was being restored, along with the surrounding buildings. It was kind of creepy to see bones just lying there, including one skull with an opened mouth.  There are certainly some macabre sights in Rouen, as you can see from the following picture…

We started the evening with a hike to the top of Mont  Ste.-Catherine, for a view of Rouen and the surrounding area.  This was more difficult than it ought to have been, which we blame on not waiting until at least an hour had passed after dinner.   It was only when we reached the top that I realized I would have to take pictures directly into the setting sun.

But the day still wasn’t over.  At nightfall, the Cathédrale de lumière sound and light show is projected onto the facade of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame.  The simulated burning of the cathedral was very impressive.  Once again, photos don’t do it justice….so here’s another quaint streetscape from earlier in the day…

We have one more day in Rouen before moving on to Bayeux.  As we will likely not have wi-fi access in Bayeux, there may be a bit of a break before the next post.