Ted. Judy and I have been in Spain for two weeks now and I have been transferring the last few photos of France onto our laptop. Reliving some moments, I concluded that I still have a few comments to make about that country that we love so much.
Rouen My folks first visited Europe around 1965. My Dad had a business trip to France and my Mom was able to go along. There is no doubt that the stories of their first trip out of the US kindled my curiosity about the world. Several of those stories were set in the ancient Norman capital of Rouen. Rather than dropping by on our driving tour of Normandy, Judy and I waited and took a full day trip there by train. The town did not disappoint. The cathedral, so beautifully captured by Monet, the 1,200 wooden buildings and the entangled histories of France and England left quite an impression.
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| Cathedral |
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| Great clock |
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| Old street with no tourists |
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| Cidre & gallette (buckwheat crepe) |
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| Old house |
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| Richard the Lion Heart |
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| Rollo, Viking and first Norman ruler |
Sainte-Chapelle
Judy had visited Louis IX’s jewel box on a couple of occasions but I never wanted to fight the crowds to see another church. One benefit of traveling during a pandemic is the absence of tourists. I was spellbound.
Notre Dame de Paris
The old girl took quite a blow two years ago when the roof caught on fire. I was never a big fan but have to admit that seeing the effort being made to bring her back, better than ever did my heart good.
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