~ ROUEN ~

A visit to Rouen has been on my "to see" list since our first trip in 2006.  We didn't make it then and it has been on every "to see" list since. I first became interested after seeing Monet's paintings of the fascade of Rouen Cathedral at different times of the day.

We finally made it to Rouen May 24,2017.  We took the train from Paris and arrived in Rouen in 45 minutes.The train station is just outside of the old city which is, primarily, a pedestrian area; cobblestoned with many timbered buildings.

Throughout history, Rouen has been an important city.  Located on the Seine river, it is a seaport.  It is also the capital of the Normandy region of France.

We opted to walk since it was downhill.  I had the small hand drawn map from Rick Steeve's Guide.  We followed it and first stopped at the Abbey of St. Ouen on the way to the Cathedral.  We passed by the Ceramics Museum, Museum of Fine Arts and the Ironworks Museum, which was closed until the afternoon.

Abbey St. Ouen

The statue of Napolean stands in front of the Hotel de Ville (city hall); adjacent to the Abbaye St. Ouen.
Founded in 563, it was an important Benedictine monastery. The abbey was sacked, destroyed and rebuilt several times during France's violent history.  No longer a place of worship, it was listed as a historic monument in the 19th century.  Today it is used for concerts and exhibitions.

gargoyles

The nave is very tall (108 ft.), higher than Rouen Cathedral and it is very bright inside due to the 3 tiers of windows.  The monks wooden stalls have been maintained as well as the ironwork.   The stained glass dates to the 14th century.

This stained glass was above the door leading out to the cloister.

Outside the covered walkway is a remaining part of the original cloister.

The renowned organ is massive.  It is housed in oak and is said to be the finest in France.

From the Abbey we walked a couple blocks to the Cathedral, passing many timbered buildings.  Did I mention all the cobblestones?

That is the spire of Rouen Cathedral.

This is the spire of St. Maclou which is behind the Cathedral

I loved the variety of architecture.  The alleys and streets were narrow and you could just imagine what it was like in Medieval times. Below is a narrow passage between two streets. There were small,pretty courtyards in there!

Rouen Cathedral

There is a large square in front of the Cathedral where you can find the Tourist Information booth, souvenir shops and some really nice cafes.  The one we chose, Paul's, had the BEST croque madam.  Woody had chicken with cider sauce.  A very good lunch.  There was also one of those little trains that take you around the area.  It would have been perfect since I had Achilles tendonitis and walking was becoming difficult; but it was booked through the afternoon.

 There was a lot of exterior restoration going on.  The statues of the Apostles (and others) had been removed from the facade and were placed inside the Cathedral.

The nave is tall and the interior quite bright with all the tall stained glass windows. This is a side chapel.

We had seen a replica of this carved stone stairway at the Architecture Museum in Paris.  Awesome!

The pillars were massive while appearing light and delicate. I am always reminded of Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth when touring a gothic Cathedral.

I don't think I got the best photos of the stained glass.A tripod sure would help!  I would love to see one of these incredible windows created and installed.

After the Cathedral, I wanted to see the Plague Cemetery.  My feet were screaming and I didn't know how much more walking I was going to be to do.  The plague cemetery was close by. It was built at the time of the Black Plague in1348.  Three fourths of the St. Maclou parish died and the small church cemetery had no more room for the dead.   So another cemetery was created next to the church and the victims of the plague were buried in communal graves.  Later 4 galleries were built around the cemetery to create a central courtyard. Three of these galleries were used as an ossuary during a later plague.  The 4th gallery served as a school.

The eerie decorations on the gallery buildings included skulls, cross bones and  grave diggers tools. From the 18th century, burials were forbidden in town centers.

After the cemetery we began heading towards the train station.  We stopped at the Ironworks Museum that had been closed in the morning.  It was small, interesting and free.  The museum was housed in an abandoned church.

Notice on the wall what appears to be the original "Swiss army knife".

There were several display cases of keys. Some were extraordinarily large.

The Ironworks Museum was the end of our Rouen visit as I just couldn't walk anymore.  It was very disappointing because there was so much that we did not see; i.e. the Gros Horloge (large clock), covered market, Joan of Arc church and museum.  You could easily spend a day or two in Rouen.   Maybe next trip.

~Trocadero~

The Trocadero is the area  in the 16th arr. opposite the Eiffel Tower. Sitting on top of the hill is the Place du Trocadero; a large square with 5 large boulevards radiating out from it.  An equestrian statue of  General Foch (WWI commander of the Western front) stands in the center and many fine cafes and restaurants surround the square.  The Cemetery of Passy is adjacent to the square on the south side.

This is a bustling square.  Several bus lines pass through it, the #6 and #9 Metro lines stop here, there's a busy taxi stand and because of the spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower, the tour buses are constantly passing by or stopped and parked.  With the 5 boulevards feeding into the sqaure, it resembles (a mini version) the large circle around the Arc de Triomphe.

 The name Trocadero comes from the historic Battle of Trocadero in 1823 in Cadiz, Spain; in which French forces aided Spanish Bourbon King Ferdinand in retaining his throne.  The first Palais was built in 1878 for the Universal Esposition; at this time is was called the Palais du Trocadero. The architecture was an unusual combination of Moorish and Byzantine styles. It was so unpopular with the Parisians, that a new Palais was constructed in 1937 for the World's Fair in a style more acceptable at the time. The name was changed to Palais de Chaillot for the village originally located on the site.

The neoclassical/ art deco building with its 2 curved wings separated by the 2-tiered esplanade is on the east side of the square.  The Palais houses several museums, including the Musee de la Marine (Navy Museum) and the Cite du Patrimonie et de l'Architecture (the architecture museum) which I will include in another post.

An array of fountains extend from the terraces down to the river Seine.  The Fountains of Warsaw, when working are spectacular; sequential towers of spray culminating with the 20 large water canons sending huge arcs of water in the center.  On each side of the fountains are gardens with beautiful walkways, small streams, ponds and bridges creating a peaceful, quiet bucolic atmosphere.  The gardens are planted with a variety of flowering trees (pawlonia being the most prevalent) which make the area beautiful in Spring and the perfect frame for the view of the Eiffel Tower.

The Palais, terraces and gardens are decorated with statuary; 8 gilded statues on the terraces, "Hercules" and "Apollo" on the 2 curved wings, the "Bull and the "Horse" at the head of the fountains and "Youth" and "Joie de Vivre" at the base of the fountains.   There are others around in the gardens and on the buildings and terraces.

"Hercules"

"La Jeunesse"

"Youth"

View of the Palais de Chaillot and gardens from the Eiffel Tower.

(photo from Wikipedia)

The terraces of the Palais are massive and accommodate a lot of people.  It is a favorite place for protests, demonstrations and celebrations (more about that in a later post).  There are also dozens of guys walking around hawking small Eiffel Towers hanging on large rings.   Beware!  Most of these guys do not have a license for selling, as we witnessed. When the police are present, these guys take off  en masse.

The best time to come to view the fountains and Eiffel Tower is at night.

  It's a real treat and most spectacular site!

We were lucky.  The Trocadero was on our daily itinerary....it is not to be missed.