Rouen (not ruin)(since 1940's anyway)

We left Doudeville for the bright lights of Rouen. For back story I have been reading Mark Twain's complete works off and on for a while now and had got to his Maid of Orleans treatment only a week or two ago. Today I got as far as Joan being captured and locked up in... you guessed it - Rouen! How's that for a coincidence? So there were a few Joan D'Arc connections during the day.

J gets us off to a great start with a healthy lunch

It was stinking hot - the thermometer is still reading 28 C at 9:30 pm. We wandered along the Sienne past converted dock sheds full of people enjoying life, and lines of barges and the odd cruise boat. 

Reggie at home in a marina

LaSienne

Rouen is an ancient town but suffered heavily during the war both during the German advance and their retreat. It is a curse as well as a blessing to have bridges over a major river river run through one's city. Result? Much of the city had to be rebuilt after the war, and there is still evidence in the form of fragment impacts in building walls. However, there is still much to like.

The cathedral

Joan of Arc's own little corner. None of her here though, as the English burned her body for 9 hours before throwing her ashes in the Seine just so there'd be no relics!

St Maclou church

Love this stereotypical French scene

The horological tower - 14th C

The cross here marks the exact spot Joan was burned. The 1970's church replaced one destroyed in 1944.

The windows were rescued from the destroyed church. It is a rather nice modern church, very open inside. It is a departure from tradition though, so apparently feelings were... mixed... on opening.

Some interesting architectural features. The towers lift a section of the main road bridge, though I'm not sure it would lift very often now, as there are fewer docks.