It's October 5 and we are scheduled to drive to Rouen and drop off the car by noon. The drop-off sight is on the same road along the Seine that we were on when we got lost looking for the highway around Rouen a few days earlier. This time we came in on the bypass route and found the exit onto the road along the Seine with no problem. We arrived at the drop off at 11:30 a.m. and were back in the Hôtel de la Cathedrale by noon. Perfect timing!

Jan remembered seeing a salad restaurant across from the cathedral the previous week. There was a salmon salad on the menu for about $12 and we thought it would be a nice light lunch. Each of us got about a 3/4 pound filet of poached salmon on a bed of lettuce, with boiled potato slices, kernel corn, niçois olives and tomato. The salads and a pitcher of hard cider filled us for the afternoon.

That afternoon we walked around Rouen hoping to get a look at the Tower of Joan of Arc (below left). The tower is the keep of Philip Augustus' 13th century castle. Joan of Arc was held in the castle (which no longer exists) and threatened with torture in the tower. We had hoped to get a look inside but the tower was closed on Tuesdays.

During our exploration of the city, one of the doors from the church of St. Lo (below right)caught our attention. It was all that remained of the church after World War II. This and many other fragments of buildings scattered throughout the city serve as reminders of the extensive damage Rouen suffered during the war. Two major events were the burning of much of the inner city by the Germans shortly after Germany occupied France, and the Allied bombing of the city on April 19, 1944. The latter almost destroyed the cathedral. Large parts of the sanctuary were heavily damaged, and the bell tower caught fire. Some of the bells melted, and only the heroic actions of fire fighters who braved the flames to enter the bell tower saved that structure. The cathedral also incurred major damage by a tornado in 1999.

As you can see from the photos above, we were once again blanketed by clouds. In our visits to Rouen, we have only had one morning of sunlight. Finally in the afternoon the clouds broke and we could see the front of the cathedral awash with sunlight.

The west side of the cathedral was the subject for an extended series of paintings by Monet. His intent was to paint it in all types of lighting. The many statues on this façade along with the arches and towers give this side of the church a lacelike appearance.

The sunlight didn't last long, and we were off for an early dinner at a crêpery. We couldn't resite the Crêpe Tatin (apple crepe) for dessert. On the way back to the hotel I couldn't resist one last photo of the cathedral.