Team Basil were up and off early to Rouen so we could get our sightseeing done before the forecast afternoon rain, which, in fact, never arrived. Getting out of La Bouille proved nearly as difficult as getting in, with all the roads heading to the motorway seemingly limited to vehicles less than 3.5 tonnes. So we took the slow road to Rouen, along the banks of the Seine which became increasingly industrialised as we approached the city.
Finding the Aire in Rouen was even more complicated. Sat Nav took us twice round some roads near the Aire before then directing us through some barriers, where we had to take a ticket, and into a car park. We immediately tried to exit the car park only to end up in a tug of war with the ticket machine, which didn’t seem to want to take our ticket nor give it back. Eventually the barriers opened and we finally found our way to a very well organised Aire (49.4482, 1.0571 €14 including electricity) set in the leisure area of Rouen’s port.
The only downside with the positioning of the Aire is that requires a 45 minute walk to reach the city centre. We immediately set off in unbroken sunshine on a walk which was entirely on the banks of the River Seine.
Our first stop was the Old Market Place, which is where the English burnt Joan of Arc. The square has now, in my opinion, been ruined by building a modernist church in honour of Saint Joan in its centre. It essentially cuts the square in half and is very incongruous in the context of the lovely half timbered medieval houses. It didn’t stop us from having a delicious coffee at a cafe, which when I went in to pay turned out to be a speciality coffee shop. No wonder it was such a good coffee.
Our walk to the Cathedral took us under the 14th Century Gros Horloge (Big Clock). It is apparently one of the oldest in France, with a mechanism dating to 1382.
The Gros Horloge
The front of the Cathedral is one of the most intricate and over the top Gothic masterpieces I have ever seen. It is almost like looking at stone lace. The Cathedral also boasts the world’s tallest spire but, typically, that is currently under renovation. The inside is much more restrained, although there is some beautiful 13th Century stained glass and for history buffs there is a tomb containing the heart of Richard the Lionheart and another the body of Rollo, the Viking who became the first Count of Rouen.
The Rough Guide says the medieval old town is one that Joan of Arc would recognise. I don’t know about that but I have rarely, if ever, seen so many half timbered houses in one city.
The intricate Gothic architecture was not confined to the Cathedral. It also adorned the Palace of Justice, St. Maclou Church and the Saint-Ouen Abbey. None of them were standard Gothic but instead were all nearly as elaborate as the Cathedral itself.
We concluded our tour with a visit to the 13th Century Aitre St. Maclou, which had started life as a plague graveyard, then became an ossuary, presumably for the bones from the graveyard and now is just a pleasant courtyard with the only reminder of its sombre past being grim carvings on the wooden beams depicted skulls and bones.
A long trek back saw two members of Team Basil a little weary while the furry third member immediately wanted to play fetch!
