On To Rouen

Rather than simply return to Amsterdam the way we had come, along the coast, we chose a more southerly route, at least in France, passing through Rouen, Amiens, and then Lille. For most of our European tour this summer, we had thought we would spend some time in Paris, visiting a few sights that we had missed last summer--the Picasso Museum, which was closed then, and the Fondation Louis Vuitton, which was not yet finished--but when it finally came time to decide and set a course, the temperatures in Paris were going to be in the 90s, and, well, there is always more to see in northern France. So we drove to Rouen and found a campground there, Camping l'Aubette, in St. Leger, a ten minute bus ride to Rouen center. Unfortunately, there are no aires in or near Rouen, but, without electricity, Camping l'Aubette was only 10E a night. Though we had visited Rouen at least a couple times in past years, we spent two days there and saw a good bit we had not seen before, especially the Musee Beaux Arts and the Abbey Church of St. Ouen. The latter, especially, was a revelation. But first, some scenes around Rouen.

It's another halfie-heaven, the old town; not quite a high as Rennes
but a bit more prevalent

Most pix thus requiring no further comment

Resto interior

A resident spots us, gets our attention, then waves, applauds, and
blows us kisses...

Zero lot lining near the top

An occasional Art Nouveau sneaks in

Leaning in

The old, large and very flamboyant palace of
justice

Which saw some action in WWII

The famous clock

LaSalle monument

Rouen ups the ante in the mannequin-pis sweepstakes

In the lovely charnal house

Thus

And thus

Pretty old town

Presided over by the hatless Emperor

On the bus ride back to the campground, our bus driver announces
the bus is defunct; ten minutes later the intervention babe shows
ups, opens the hood, and pulls out the shards of a drive belt; we
waited 20 minutes and caught the next bus