Rouen

I need to start with a bit of an apology.  This trip was (and is) about the impressionists, and I expected to include a lot of photographs of impressionist art.  But the museums seem to (almost) all have "no cameras" signage, and I can attest that they take that seriously.  So we're doing our best instead to go where the impressionists went to "do their thing."  And one such place is Rouen (pronounced Roo-Awn).  If you've read Madame Bovary, the name should sound familiar.  It's the second most populous city in Normandy, just behind the major port city Le Havre.  And it's where Monet set up shop for two years to study light, about which more below.

For this visit, we set aside our deeply ingrained sense of individualism, ripped the Rouen pages out of the Rick Steves guidebook, and followed his walking trail.  The first stop is a remarkable structure built in 1979 to honor Ste. Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc).  To refresh your memory, Joan was burned at the stake in 1431 at the age of 19 for trumped-up charges of heresy, but really for her efforts to run the English out of France during the 100 Years War.  Her case was later re-opened and she was made a saint in 1920.  Whatever your position on that topic might be, you should appreciate a quote on the walkway approaching the entry to the church, attributed to André Malraux, an early 20th century novelist: "O Joan, without a grave and without a portrait, you who know that the tomb of the hero is in the heart of the living." (my translation).

Here's the church from the outside.  It was received with great dispute when it was built,

but the complaints were somewhat reduced by the integration of 12th century windows from a church destroyed during World War 2.

The location of the church was carefully chosen.  Just outside is a garden marking the spot where Joan met her end.  She wasn't alone, exactly.  During the reign of terror of the French Revolution in the late 18th century, over 800 people met their end here.  I think its current use is better.

Our walk from this church took us past the Palace of Justice, seen here from a few blocks away (like a lot of large buildings in France, getting a good view is a challenge):

But it's seeing it up close that gives one a sense of history.  These are wounds from World War 2, that are probably being left as an intentional act of preserving a memory of what can happen when nations stop cooperating.

Continuing down the street we reach one of the landmarks of Rouen, the Great Clock.

The movement was completed in the 14th century, and was a remarkable feat of engineering.  The timing mechanism is on the level one story above the clock, with a system of pullies that drove the actual display.  Besides the hours (and not minutes--notice there's only one hand) the phases of the moon are shown above the clock and the day of the week below the VI at the bottom.

The clock tower as connected to the bell tower, which rises another several meters above the street:

We climbed (that's WE BOTH climbed--Anita usually passes on these opportunities!) the 100 steps up through the clock and the bells up to the viewing deck at the top.  And this is why:

The Cathedral of Notre Dame, Rouen, is the tallest church in France.  If you look at it and think "giant lightning rod", you wouldn't be far wrong.  If you want details, check out Wikipedia, but for an overview, just understand that between lightning, hurricanes, wars, and high winds, this cathedral is just a great work in progress.  One of the historical figures who figures into the spirit of the cathedral is Richard Lionheart, and his lion heart is here.

The facade of the cathedral is a marvel of delicacy.  In fact, the name for this style of architecture is Flamboyant Gothic.

If you think about it for a few seconds, you realize that as the sun is shifting throughout the day, the play of light across this facade offers an incredible opportunity for the artist.  Oddly enough, Claude Monet had a similar idea.  In 1892 and 1893, he stored a few dozen canvases and ten easels in the second floor on the left side of the current information center (below), and every day he brought down ten canvases, lined them up side by side, and as the day progressed, he moved from one canvas to the next capturing the current moment's light on the facade.  Finally, he boxed up the whole set of 30 or so, took them back to Giverny, and finished them up.  To see a collection of them, click here.

Monet's temporary workshop, second floor left:

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Rouen.  I know we did.  Tomorrow we expect to see Fontainbleau, one of the most sumptuous chateaus in France.