Our flight from Chicago was very smooth and we landed in Paris at least an hour earlier than the scheduled time. We both had 2-3 hours of sleep. We had no trouble contacting the van service to take us to the Gare St. Lazare. The van arived earlier than we thought. After picking up three more people, we were off to Paris. It turned out that we were the second last of the people to be delivered, so we got a ride around Paris that allowed us to see parts of the city we had never seen.

One of the more interesting sights was the old railroad viaduct that runs along the Avenue Daumesnil. The top of the viaduct is now planted with trees, while each of the arches is occupied by an upscale store. What we didn't know was that this viaduct is called "La Promenade Plantée" and has a walking path as well as many plantings. This viaduct once had a track that led to the Gare de la Bastille, which has been replaced by the Opéra de Paris Bastille.

The top of the viaduct.



The stores we saw from the van.
These photos and others are found on www.promenade-plantee.org

We got to the Gare St. Lazare in time to catch the local 12:04 train for Rouen which arrived at 13:34.

The Hôtel de la Cathedrale in Rouen with it's large clean rooms and windows that open on a quiet courtyard filled with plants is always a welcome sight to a weary traveler. After a brief cleanup, we were off walking around Rouen. We had been there before so had a pretty good idea where everything was, but restaurants change in three years. We searched for a crêperie that was open in the evening, since we wanted a light meal.

It was still too early for supper, so we walked down the Rue du Gros Horloge (litterally the street of the big clock). This is one of the main shopping areas in Rouen, and about half-way down the street you find the big clock. It is set in a Renaissance style stone arch that spans the street. The street ends at the old market. This is the site of the very modern church, Saint Joan of Arc. Its stained glass windows came from the church of St. Vincent which was destroyed during World War II. The old market is also famous as the site of the execution of Joan of Arc. The traditional location of the execution is marked.The market is covered by a roof that echos the lines of the roof of the church.

Supper that night consisted of Crêpes Forestières (ham, mushrooms, egg) and a tomato salad. We knew the tomatoes were fresh, because a delivery of tomatoes arrived just before our salads were made! After supper both of us were tired, so we slept from 8 p.m. until 8 a.m.! At breakfast Jan made the acquaintance of Misou, the calico cat.

We had a few hours before we could pick up our car so we walked through the old buildings around the church St. Maclou. One of the buildings just caught my eye. It was one of the many timbered buildings in Rouen, but this one seemed different. Maybe it was the open courtyard or maybe the orange palm in the window. This building houses the studios for École Regionale des Beaux-Arts. Only after we left Rouen did I discover that the courtyard actually was the burial ground for the plague victims in the 14th century. There are estimates of 100,000 plague deaths in Rouen during that century.