In June of 2007 I had 4 days of my schedule unexpectedly open up while I was traveling in Europe. I was in Paris at that time and I decided to take the train somewhere new to go off and explore for a few days. After looking around online at my different options I decided to go to Rouen for a few days. Being a fan of Impressionists paintings I was sold at seeing the Notre Dame Cathedral of Rouen in which Monet painted a series of during different times of the day. Rouen is the capital of the Upper Normandy region of France. It is a quaint city located on the Seine river with beautiful gothic churches, cobblestone streets, and half-timbered buildings. I arrived by train in the afternoon, checked into my room, and found the nearest outdoor café to take some dinner, drink wine, read, and relax. I took a walk along the Seine and then made it an early evening and headed back to my room. I woke up the next morning and headed over to the Rouen Cathedral and to my luck and surprise the town was celebrating Normandy day in the church square. They had Bavarian beer, hard cider, huge pans of paella, fresh baked breads, baked apples, lemon tarts, etc… There were rows of wooden picnic benches set up with the locals dressed up for the festival in traditional clothing and a band playing music and dancing around making everyone cheer and laugh. I grabbed a beer, a plate of paella, and a lemon tart and sat down with the locals and joined in on the festivities. I thoroughly enjoyed myself that day. After everything died down, I continued walking through the city and found the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. I found a local restaurant down a side alley and enjoyed a relaxing dinner before I made my way to bed. The next morning I went to the Musée des beaux-arts de Rouen in which amongst other artists I saw one of Monet’s paintings of the Rouen Cathedral. I continued on to the Musée de la céramique. My mom paints porcelain and I thought I would stop to take some photos of the pieces for her to enjoy. I wandered around the city some more, did some shopping, and stopped at another café to enjoy some wine, read my book, and watch the people walk by. I made my way to bed and took an early train back to Paris the next day. My little side trip to Rouen was just what I needed, some time to relax and breathe.
