Yesterday, Wednesday, our ship stayed docked in Rouen so that we could explore the town. This was another city that was pretty heavily damaged by bombing during the war so there are some old parts and some that were replaced in the 50s. With this company, you walk around the city in a group while wearing wireless receivers so that you can hear the commentary of the guide. So far, it's been great because they have hired very knowledgeable people. The only downside is that you look really touristy going around in a group with a leader carrying a sign saying Group 3!
Here are a few examples of what we saw in Rouen.
A lot of the oldest buildings that we are seeing were built with timber frames that were then filled with mortar and stone. Some are now covered with newer materials.
The picture below is of a building used during the black plague years to store all the bones of the dead. Over the years, the bones broke down, turned to dust and fell to the ground below.
Below you can see a portion of the church that was shot up during the fight for the city. The church was heavily damaged by bombing and later fighting.
This is one of the town clocks. Most of the towns have these community clocks because the common people didn't have their own clocks. Many of them are quite ornate.
After a morning of touring we were, of course, hungry. We had been told that there was a restaurant in town that was the oldest in France. Also, and of more interest to me, it was Julia Child's introduction to French cooking back in 1948 and led her to become a chef. The place is called Le Couronne, meaning The Crown. We had to go there and did. While looking at the French only menu, we hooked up with two brothers, one from Oklahoma and one from Texas. They were both very friendly and highly interesting to talk with. We ended up sitting together outside under the umbrellas as it started to rain. The lunch took over two hours as we talked about our countries, politics and how to properly cook a brisket. It was really a perfect French way to have lunch. Afterwards we walked inside to see all of the pictures of famous people from decades past who have dined there. If you are ever in Rouen, you have to eat there!
Our appetizer was langoustines wrapped in phylo and deep fried with a curry sauce.
This is a faux filet with chanterelle mushroom sauce. All of us who have had steak in France agree that the flavour is good but it's not the kind of steak we're used to. It tends to be thin and not as tender.
Grilled salmon with artichokes and a pepper sauce.
My dessert was a peach crumble with vanilla ice cream.
Marilyn had strong coffee along with assorted petit fours.
After lunch we ended up walking around some more to explore the city. We visited a number of shops, bought some wine and saw where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. I also noticed a team of what I believe were pick pockets in the most crowded area. They were walking back and forth behind people looking at bags and back packs. I watched them for a while but they didn't actually steal anything.
We always seem to be eating here. Maybe it's because we are always eating here! Everyone here says, "It's Paris, you have to eat." So, we are.
Dinner back at the ship had a bistro theme.
This appetizer is commonly found here and is basically a hard boiled egg with mayonnaise on top of a creamed vegetable salad.
These are the classic snails or escargots in garlic butter sauce. There will be more about snails in the next post.
We both had duck breast for our main course.
This was creme brulee with a little puff pastry on the side.
And, finally we have a fancy sundae with chocolate sauce.
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