May 22: Le Havre, Normandy & Rouen
We got of Le Harvre, France at 7 AM and I had arranged a tour for my mom to the various Normandy sites. I thought she would enjoy it because she had mentioned an interest in Normandy many years ago. So, it was an early morning to get her hooked up with the rest of the tour. There were eight of them in the group, so they were able to go to some sites that larger buses cannot get to, such as the cliffs the servicemen climbed and the little church where the paratroop’s chute got caught on the steeple. She also got to see some of the preparations that are taking place for the 70th anniversary of D Day. The weather varied from sunny and nice to rainy and even some hail!
I got to sleep in – after taking care of things for mom. Then, I started some of my packing before heading to lunch then to a bus that would take me to Rouen. The drive from Le Havre to Rouen was nice. We crossed the Seine a couple of times before finally arriving at Rouen.
Our tour guide gave us quite a walking tour of Rouen and its various churches, the cathedral and charming streets.
It was while walking and taking pictures of these charming streets that I had a bit of a run-in with a concrete barrier. I lost and ended up on my bum in the middle of the cobbled street! I’m okay, not even a bruise! I think I may have bounced.
We continued to walk to the site where St. Joan of Arc was burned. There is now a modern church near this that has the most interesting roof and houses 16th century stained glass windows that were installed here because their original churches had been destroyed.
After our tour, we had some time to explore on our own. Of course, this meant finding a nice café for a coffee. The one I choose just happened to be playing hockey updates and had very friendly waiters. I was almost finished when the sky opened up and it started to rain. I pulled up the hood to my jacket and finished my coffee in the rain, then I ducked under the awning to watch more of the hockey scores and talk to other patrons who were keeping out of the rain.
Back on the ship, mom was waiting for me so we could go to dinner together. Afterwards, we just spent some time in our stateroom, packing up the last of our things and preparing to end this portion of our journey.
Travel, Photography, and Tarot 
Rhia, What beautiful photos of Rouen. I’m heading there this summer…can’t wait to see the Joan of Arc square.
I loved I Rouen — I felt a connection to this place. I’ll try to post more pictures soon.