Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Norman invasion

Maybe in a future post I'll get into some of the shenanigans we got up to in Rouen (nothing quite as scandalous as the infamous Dijon trip, but we do like to keep things interesting), and I'll share with you how I discovered the world's worst hangover food. But for the moment, let's just take a minute to enjoy beautiful Rouen.

And Rouen is beautiful! We picked it off a dwindling shortlist of places that are not tooooo far or expensive to get from from both Metz and Tours, but Liz put a small cat among the pigeons shortly before we turned up by saying that she'd heard from everyone that it's a bit crap. Well, everyone was wrong! I can't comment too much on what there is to do (we ate a lot, drank a leetle bit, walked around, saw the cathedral and the markets and I went to the Beaux Arts museum), but I can show you some photos and let you judge for yourself. Personally, I loved it!

There was meant to be a group of us going, but for various reasons it ended up just me and Liz. Of course that didn't stop us having a lovely time :)

Rouen cathedral from the side (the front being covered with scaffolding)

Look at those blue skies and fluffy clouds!


Chapel in the cathedral



The tomb of young Henry, brother of Richard the Lionheart. Have you ever seen such nostrils on a sculpture?

The Grand Horloge


Me and a church I don't know the name of

Rouen is full of amazing medieval buildings


The spot where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake


Okay, you can't see much of the street, but you can see the John Rocha dress I bought in the sales quite well :D





Cute old-fashioned shop sign

Could you be (could you beee) the most beautiful church in the world?

Liz and me in front of St Maclou

St Maclou
We had church in a half-timbered medieval restaurant overlooking the square with the church above. Featuring ooey gooey delicious camembert, so much better than from the supermarket!

So, Rouen, what do you think?

18 comments:

  1. Lovely - and St Maclou church looks amazing.

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    1. Really pretty, although the inside has some ugly modern stained glass

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  2. The colored light reflected on the wall of the chapel is so beautiful!

    Nice dress—very feminine and pretty. I like the bow and subtle pattern.

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    1. Thank you, I thought at first it might come off a bit funereal, but there's quite a lot of detail in the lace which stops it looking too severe, hopefully

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  3. I really like Rouen. it was one of first French towns I visited on a school exchange years ago. Totally neglected to look up the statue's nostrils though. I'll have to go back.

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  4. Your friends said that they thought Rouan wasn't worth visiting? I can't believe that! I also loved Rouen and I thought it was really pretty.

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    1. Not my friends I think, Liz's friends, but yep, luckily it was too late to be put off

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    2. I hope Liz tells them she disagrees.

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    3. Liz spent *quite* a lot of the weekend in bed ha ha!

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    4. I better learn how to spell Rouen!

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  5. Seeing all your photos of the churches and cathedrals in Rouen reminds me of how Stephane and I were confused about which one was THE cathedral. We originally mistook the unidentified church as the cathedral, then St. Maclou (which is lovely!) and then finally got it right. It looks like you had really good weather while you were there!

    You were in my thoughts when I visited the BibliothĂšque nationale yesterday. I'm trying to think of something that I can research so that I have a legitimate excuse to spend more time in their reading room. It's incredible!

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    1. Ooh I'd love to read all about your trip!

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  6. Looks amazing and what great weather!

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  7. "Me and a church I don't know the name of" Priceless.

    As usually, these pictures are fantastic! I love the tabs you added to the top with your favorite spots in Europe and in France! Good for you.

    So I have a question: why did Liz put a cat in a lot of pigeons? Where did the small cat come from? I'm sure there's a story there! :)

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  8. Thanks! Ha ha, you don't have that expression by you? It means to upset things or stir up trouble. I would have liked it better if she'd brought a little cat along :)

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  9. It looks beyond beautiful and picturesque. Even though the south of France looks nothing like this, your photos pulled at my homesick heartstrings a bit.
    And I have to say, those nostrils are pretty darn impressive!

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    1. Aw, I bet! Once Gregory's with you and you're setting up your new life I bet the homesickness will fade a bit. :)

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