Return to Rouen

Bon jour, mes amies,
I knew I had crossed the border from the Ile de France to Normandy when swans appeared in the Seine.  Then the landscape grew subtly more rugged with the occasional cliff of gray stone and the wooded hills and that deep, deep green.  I had a fancy that I was going home--even though, I am a Norman, I am not French.  No, I don't belong here, and I don't speak the language or, for all of my knowledge of history, understand the culture.
This morning I got some money from the ATM which features a rather endearing animation and hopped the metro.  I was squished in--not quite sardine fashion.  I took Line 7 to the closest stop I could get to Gare St. Lazare.  And as usual I came out the wrong exit, and as usual I got turned around, but I managed to get to the station and buy my ticket in time to board the train early and secure a window seat on the upper level.
The train was packed with tourists on their way to visit Claude Monet's gardens at Giverney.  And they are lovely and well worth seeing.  I went I think in 2004 from Rouen, which is a bit closer.  I went early, too, because I knew that coach tours would soon fill the gardens with crowds of people. Back in the day the stop was Vernon, and a shuttle bus picked us up.  Now the train station calls itself Vernon-Giverney, La Gare de L'Impressionisme, and three fourths of the passengers got out.  I wondered how on earth the visitors were going to enjoy the gardens packed with people.
But the rest of us went on to Rouen.  I walked down hill to the historic center using the towers of the cathedral as my guide.  It had been some ten years since I was there last, and things had changed, but I also recognized some areas.  My first stop was the Flamboyant Gothic Cathedral Notre Dame de Rouen, the focal point of the city.
As soon as entered I inhaled the musty scent of old stone.  Claude Monet loved to paint the facade, and if you are here in summer the city sometimes puts on a light show at night of how Monet viewed the facade in different seasons and times of day.  The church is wonderful with soaring vaults although the glass is not Medieval.  I paid my respects at the tomb of Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy.  He thought that receiving lush and fertile land for his folk was a fair exchange for giving up going aviking.
The historic center is largely pedestrianized and is simply beautiful--if you like half timbered buildings or those made of stone and narrow winding streets opening up into what the French call places.  Rouen is a city made for people not cars.  A lot of tourists come here, but the place is set up for its residents and not its visitors although plenty of restaurants and snack bars cater to us as well. Numerous bakeries and candy stores will tempt you.  Unfortunately cheese shops close for most of the afternoon.  I had a wonderful time just wandering around and occasionally poking into shops.  No one was frantic.  The shop keepers were lovely and patient with my extremely limited French.  I gave myself up to the enjoyment of a wonderful place.
Normandy is famous for its cheese.  The climate does not lend itself to wine, but Normans relish cider and other liquors made from apples and pears.  You are going to have to wait until tomorrow for a tasting and discussion of Norman treats.
Crazy Guy has disappeared.  I hope he's somewhere safe and not being crazy.