Joan of Arc and Monet

Okay, I'm writing this on June 24th, but I'm going to be talking about our day in Rouen, which was Wednesday, May 19th. Apparently Rouen is a large industrial city, but our boat was docked on the north shore of the Seine near the restored historic area of the city and it was easy to walk to a variety of sites. We started with a guided tour that took us to the Rouen Notre Dame Cathedral, which Monet painted repeatedly in different light.

We had seen a half dozen of these paintings when we visited the D'Orsay Museum in Paris.

Surrounding the cathedral were many medieval structures including a secluded courtyard where the bodies of plague victims were gathered for burial. Skulls and crossbones were carved into the beams of these buildings as a kind of macabre reminder.

The cathedral was an important resting place for Richard Lionheart's heart and also was the site where Joan of Arc was declared a heretic and ordered to be burned at the stake in 1431. It is also a good example of Gothic Flamboyant architecture, and the nearby Palace of Justice is an even prettier display of this architectural style, as it has been recently cleaned. Many historic sites in France are covered with

hundreds of years of grime, and it is a treat to see one that has been restored so nicely.

An easy walk brought us to this medieval great clock and the historic market place which has a treasure of fine half-timbered buildings housing stores and quaint restaurants.

This area is also the site of a more modern church built in honor of Joan of Arc on the site where she died.

We had a very relaxed day, with plenty of time to wander and explore on our own. One charming thing that we saw was this dog who was babysitting this bunny who was leashed to his paw.