Oh well. I am going to go for it. But bear in mind this is good natured complaining, I am of course, still enjoying myself immensely.
Okay so you check into your hotel. There is no elevator. This is a first world problem, so you decide to trooper it up the stairs with your bag laden with French philosophy books you really shouldn't have bought. Then you reach your room. It has a small single bed, a shower and a toilet in booths in the same room. No doors. This is a-okay because it is only going to be you in the room.
Then you see the window and realise that while you are sitting on the thone, you have a direct view into someone's kitchen. And they have a direct view up to you. Frantically you try to shut the blinds. Only to realise they are broken.
You then realise that the carpark beneath your window has six skips and six million flies. And you room has about 5 of those 6 million.
Ball bag.
Really I should be out seeing the sites, not describing my hotel room. But to be honest, I am having a pretty awesome time here, chilling out, watching numbers and playing interwebs. This is like, the first genuinely free time I have had for quite some time and I am loving it. I lay in the sun in a park for like, an hour today.
So anyways, I am sure you guys would much rather hear about the sight seeing I did, right?
Well. Eat your heart out, blogosphere. Sara's day two adventures in Rouen.
Interior of the Church of St Jeanne D'Arc.
Hotel Bourgtherolde. Very pretty former mansion, now a luxury hotel.
This is from the walls of the courtyard of the hotel depicted above. The images show the meeting of Kind Henry VIII of England and Francois I of France at the Field of Cloth of Gold. This was an all out diplomatic rave aimed at securing an alliance between the two young kings. The highlight of the whole affair was a wrestling match between the two kings. Francois won, but the English accused him of cheating!
View of the square from inside the courtyard of the hotel.
The grungy part of Rouen. Here I saw two goths walking along, literally chained together at the hip. I was very tempted to take a photo, but I am not sure how vicious the average Norman goth is.
Pretty little streets!
These pictures are of the Abbey Church of St Ouen. Very pretty. This is Flamboyant Gothic style. The Monastery at this site has been here since the 553. However, the original Church and Abbey got destroyed by Vikings (yes, true) in 841.
Here is one such viking, Rollo himself. Rollo was the great, great, great grandfather of William the Conqueror. He was a very clever Viking, who decided that rather than hanging out on a boat, he was going to carve himself a fat slab of France and live there. That fat slab became the Duchy of Normandy, and Rollo was Duke of Normandy number 1.
He is a descendent of all living European monarchs. He is also, interestingly enough a descendent of the Dukes of Aquitaine after William III. Hence, Eleanor of Aquitaine is related to him. What a small France....
A rock. It's a copy of a rock given our mate Rollo by the King of Denmark Haradra.
More pretty abbey shots.
The Hotel De Ville which is right beside the Abbey.
Inside the Abbey. The humans visible should give you a bit of perspective on the size of this thing!
Well that's it. I think I might go and search out some food now. Perhaps crepes. Tomorrow I am going to go to the Rouen cathedral and see if I can get inside to have a look at Rollo's grave. Then it's back on the train and off to Caen to see William the Conqueror's ducal court and the two abbey's he and his wife built.
1 comment:
Nice photos ! Keep them coming!
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