The 'Gros Horloge', Rouen, FRANCE

Woke up a little before 08.00.  Took it easy.  Parking had been free yesterday because it was a holiday, and my host didn't even know why (but AW said it was most likely due to the celebration of the end of WW2 with the capitulation of Japan in Aug 1945), but today I had to pay for my spot, so by 09.30 I was at the parking meter.  It's four hours at dirt-cheap prices, but the fifth hour means a jump to 25 euros.  My host explained that the local government just doesn't want people parking for hours and hours at the same spot.  Okay, no problem.  I paid from 09.30 to 13.30.

By 10.00, I had checked out.  Walked to the city centre.  Admired the old medieval structures.  By 11.30, though, not having had much of a lunch the previous day, nor dinner, nor breakfast, I was anxious for a meal.  The restaurants would open precisely at 12.00.  To kill time, I took shots of this huge medieval clock, entered and explored the Notre Dame de Rouen, and sauntered along the Rue-Saint-Romain.  When I took regular day trips to France 12 years ago, it was because I had gotten into some kind of 'Gothic phase', which meant visiting as many Gothic structures as I could.  Not into that phase right now, but was feeling nonetheless nostalgic.

Promptly at 12.00, I returned to the restaurant I'd earmarked earlier, and ordered a huge 350-gr. steak -- three meals in one!  Polished off the salad but could only eat 2/3 of the steak as it was super huge, and ignored the French fries, and then ended with a chocolate mousse.  Two glasses of fresh orange juice and a glass of water rounded off things nicely.  Afterwards, I visited the Vieux Marche, the Old Market Square, where Jeanne d'Arc was burned.  I cannot get her story out of my head.  The country she fought so hard for abandoned her.  Cowards all!

a summer fire
she cried out to her god
but it did not rain

There's a church there now, Eglise de Jeanne d'Arc (what else?!), but it was closed.  I suppose it's standing on the spot of the burning.  Can't help but wonder how that would have looked like today, had it been preserved.  It must have been an embarrassment as well.

By 13.45, I had climbed back up the hill to my car.  Left immediately, found the A28 heading towards Amiens and Paris, took the exit indicating Lille.  Not as many toll booths as yesterday as I did not any more pass near Le Havre.  Despite the three glasses of drink at lunch, I did not need a toilet stop.  I did, however, refill my tank and buy a little birthday present for Flynn, who'll be turning 9 next month.  As I'd had a good night's sleep, I didn't need to nap either.  The only irritation was half an hour of traffic jam close to Antwerp.  By 19.10 I was home.  It did help to have an overnight at Rouen.

Extra 1 -- Notre Dame de Rouen
Extra 2 -- Vieux Marche (you can visualize the burning, if you wish)
Extra 3 -- A house more than 1100 years old, owned by a Frenchified Viking (the French king granted Rollo -- yes, him -- the dukedome of Normandy but he started out as count, and William's dad Robert later became the duke).  It appears to have been well-preserved.  To clarify, Rollo didn't own this house; it was one of his men who had it built.

Thankful for a very full day!  Too tired to have any appetite for dinner, although AW did ask.  Instead, cooled down and then went to bed at the usual time, which was past midnight.