Author: Kristine Hughes

Cruising the Seine — can you think of a more beautiful place to be on a warm sunny day at the end of May? Our ship navigated the broad mouth of the river and about 75 miles of curving river from the English Channel to Rouen past an idyllic countryside of neat farms, lush fields and contented cattle, past villas and villages.

Approaching the Pont Gustave Flaubert; the vertical lift bridge across the Seine at Rouen opened in 2008. At the right is the distant steeple of the cathedral (see below). 

A passing River Cruise ship, which can fit under the bridges; we saw many of these vessels which can go at least as far up river as Paris.

Rouen being the principal city of Haute-Normandie, one might expect the half-timbered buildings — and there were plenty of them.  This one houses a Monprix, part of a large French chain, roughly comparable to Target in the U.S.

One of the city’s more famous sights is the Gross Horologe, an astronomical clock.  It reminds me that we found a McDonald’s nearby, which we were looking for to use their worldwide free wi-fi.  In the several French McDs at which we stopped, a separate coffee bar served excellent cafe au lait. Nice sipping while we caught up on e-mail.  But that brings up another question: How come ships and hotels so often charge exorbitant rates for their internet access?  And then are so slow it costs a bundle just to read a few messages — while good ol’ Mickey D’s has good wi-fi service (most places) free, whether or not you buy a Big Mac?

Rouen’s Notre Dame Cathedral (above) was damaged and almost half of the city was destroyed by allied bombing attacks during World War II.  Restoration is complete, but constant renovation and repairs are needed to keep the oldest parts of the structure, dating from the 12th century, intact.

The cathedral houses a tomb of Richard Coeur de Lion (the LionHeart) who lived from 1157-1199. Richard was King of England and Duke of Normandy; his heart is buried here though other remains are buried elsewhere.

Joan of Arc was tried and executed by burning at the stake in Rouen in 1431, not a claim to fame that is celebrated in the city.

Here is a cheerier note, taken at a flower vendor’s colorful corner.

Claude Monet painted the facade of the Cathedral over and over in varying light and weather conditions.

One of Monet’s paintings of the cathedral on a misty day hangs in the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Rouen.

The above view of the Rouen Cathedral in full sunlight (1894) by Claude Monet belongs to the Musee d’Orsay, Paris.

                                          The Courtyard restaurant of the Rouen Art Museum.

Coming soon: Visiting Monet’s Garden at Giverny

This view of Mont St. Michel (website) is such an iconic image, I truly feared that visiting would be rather anti-climactic.  Like seeing Big Ben or the Parthenon or the Grand Canyon, however, it was a new and fresh experience.  Well, yes there were hundreds of tourist buses and hordes of people from all over the world climbing the steep streets and filling the many shops and restaurants along the way.

And, dear reader, I did not make it to the top. Not even close! It was the worst day of my dreadful cold and though it may not look steep in the picture above, it exhausted my clogged lungs in no time at all.  I managed to find a lovely viewpoint from which I snapped the top — and the low tidal sands that stretch for miles all around the island.

Those coming down to join us in a cup of latte said it was quite lovely at the top, a monastery that is mostly empty other than hundreds of gapers.  The monks of the early 11th century suported William of Normandy in his conquest of England. In return, the order received an island off Cornwall, also known as St Michel’s Mount, which also draws many tourists.

In reviewing my photos, I am amused to see that I managed to exclude almost all the tourists. You’ll have to take my word for it — huge groups going up and coming down, narrow streets in which it seemed one could lose balance and tumble for ages if one wasn’t very careful. With all those people, one would have taken out a regiment on the fall.

Above, a couple of visitors try to get out of the way of the little front-end-loaders they use to take supplies up and bring the trash down.  After the French Revolution, the Mont was abandoned, then turned into a prison.  In the mid-19th century, many French intellectuals, including Victor Hugo, petitioned the government to return Mont St. Michel to its original purpose as a pilgrimage site. Would I be too cynical if I said that most of the ‘pilgrims’ seemed to be more interested in taking photos (like me) or buying souvenirs than any spiritual purpose?

Restaurants on the Mont are famous for their fluffy omelets.  But not a chicken in sight.

After it was all over, we posed with the Mont and a few of the coaches that filled the car park — next to a sign that said, loosely translated, “This parking lot will not flood today.”  The site is famous for its rapidly shifting tides and until the soon-to-be-rebuilt causeway was created, it was not unusual for people to be stranded on the Mont.

As we drove back to St. Malo, the Mont was always there, a sort of brooding presence in the mist.