Preparing for Bastille Day in Rouen
(Kerplunk on Steroids)
Much less formal than Paris, the city of Rouen is a lively, beautiful place. Its narrow streets and alleys are filled with antique stores, art galleries and cafes that reminded us of New Orleans, sans the wrought iron. The parks and squares teemed with people, especially teenagers on parole from school and young couples very much at ease with public displays of affection.
We spent some time in the Cathedral Notre Dame, a gothic structure whose facade was immortalized by Claude Monet in his paintings (Please see our postcards when we return since my battery died there and had to be recharged.). We took the "little train that could" up and down the historic streets and observed the many bullet-nicked and gouged landmarks, but the most interesting drive-by was the Church of Saint Joan of Arc, a modern minimalist building. It is said that the church's architecture symbolizes the search for absolute geometric purity. Perhaps it symbolizes the acuity, exactness and certitude of Joan of Arc herself.
"My father always told me that we would go to France/We'd go boating on the Seine and I would learn to dance." Joni Mitchell
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