Day 4 Part 1- April 1

Speed train to Paris, car rental, Rouen,

Get up and leave by 6am for Paris…not an April Fool’s joke!

Pamela took the kids for a late lunch while the rest of us figured out the car rentals. Wow this took a VERY long time. McDonald’s was the best bet for kids. Crazy to be in Paris and eat McD, when we do not even eat there in the USA. Ha! The fries were yummy for sure.

Pamela, Nathan, and I traveled in one car while Randy, Joey, Zach, Josiah and Hazel took to the other car. Somehow in Paris traffic we were separated (imagine that), thus taking different roads out of the city.

Our path took us by Rouen, so we stopped and toured. Randy and crew continued to Etretat and hiked.

Rouen Cathedral- Painted by Claude Monet, destroyed during the Viking invasions in 841 and then partially, in 1944, by Allied bombings. Inside we heard a choir performing, sweet sounds throughout the halls even though we did not understand the French.

Choir voices heard throughout the church

Joan of Arc- a young shepherdess who has become the greatest heroine in the history of France, she was burned on May 30, 1431.

Resembles a dragon mouth more than a drain spout

Rouen is known for their half-timbered houses, narrow streets, bears on display, and a clock. Pamela and I thought we had the best kids with us for this stop.

The French used to put giant teddy bears out at cafe’s for people to sit with and not be alone

On our way back to the car we walked down beautiful brick lined roads and past the Palais de Justice. Battle scars and impacts from April 19, 1944, and again on August 27, 1944, just before the Liberation are scattered throughout the sides of the building. Also noted that the Palais de Justice served as a prison for the Gestapo and many Resistance fighters were tortured here in Rouen.

As we turned the corner of the building we noticed Legos. An art project started in Oct 2020. Like some art there are different thoughts on applying plastic to an historical building. I saw it as a way to enunciate and draw attention to the history that passersby may not fully notice nor grasp. The kids were more aware thus bringing great conversations amongst our group.

We all enjoyed our wet time back in history.

Meanwhile the guys and 3 kids hiked the cliffs of Étretat while we were in Rouen. Étretat is home to vertical cliffs of the Alabaster Coast and to Maurice Leblanc’s gentleman burglar, Arsène Lupin. Painters Courbet and Monet painted many pictures of these cliffs.