Day 23 - Giverny and Rouen (Le Havre), France

Today is about Monet and Baroque art.

My original plan was to book something to get me to Rouen. It just so happened that there was this Money visit also included. Not being much of a Monet fan I didn't give much thought to that part of the day. The day is a very long 11+-hour trip where we'll visit Monet home in Giverny then head over to Rouen, home to Joan of Arc and the gothic Rouen Cathedral.

In the theater awaiting departure	Some of the beautiful countryside	Farming is nearly done for the year
All sorts of animals live here	To get to Monet's you have to walk under a bridge from the parking lot	Just getting to his place is pretty
Flowers are everywhere	Neighbors take their property lines seriously	The two-halves to Monet's property. The Japanese garden is on the left, house on the right
Walk more stairs to get to the Japanese garden	He diverted a local stream into his property to make this a reality	Neighbors fought him doing that, fearful the plants would kill vegetation

If you come here come very early. We had the place nearly to ourselves

I was in the Japanese garden for nearly an hour and a half. Truly it was surreal.Let's go check out the other garden and his house.

		His 'driveway'

I can see why he'd not need to travel far if this inspiration was just outside your front door.

Yes he really did have his own gallery
		last

Rouen. The capital city of Normandy. Monet was a big fan of painting scenes from the town.

Buildings built before 1600 could have a facad that extended out, after 1600 couldn't because the sun was being blocked from the extra stuff		The old city wall. There use to be  huge door to keep folks in / out
The clock tower / city wall had such  beautiful decorative relief work under the arch	No minute hand but at the bottom displays the day of the week
Looking at the underside of the clock	Started in the 12th century and represents high gothic architecture	More than 500 pieces decorate the exterior, some have been removed
Each of these figures are over 7' tall
This use to be wood but flames from a fire outside burned the wood out. Eventually they made a new roof, out of stones	Original stain glass from the 1200's	Stairs to the library
Example of some of the exterior pieces that have since been removed. They were replaced with replicas that were lighter	A WW2 bomb landed at the foot of the left pillar but didn't explode. The steel at the top of that pillar weighs as much as the Eiffel tower	Reflective garden for the monks / priests that use to live there

We got lucky and are here the second of two days of the local food fair.

Have to eat a crape	Freshly made candy	Local band keeping everyone entertained while eating / drinking

Rouen is also famous for being the spot Joan of Arc was tried and found guilty of being a witch (because she wore pants) leading to being killed by fire three times. Joan was just 19 when killed.

Recently built church for Joan		Inside her church
The spot they believe she was burned	Over the bridge and to the ship

This is our final stop within France. If you've only ever been to Paris you've not seen the real France. Next time visit one or more of these amazing towns to really experience what this country has to offer.

Tomorrow - sea day, then two-days in Oslo, Norway.