June 2, 2012 - Le Havre, France

June 2, 2012 - Le Havre, France

Our tour to Rouen isn't until the afternoon, so we had a leisurely breakfast and then finished packing. We managed to get everything in the bags. They are pretty heavy, but I don't care. We played an hour of party bridge with Don and Myrna and then had lunch.

Our tour to Rouen leaves at 1:30pm and we don't get back to the ship until 7pm. The drive to Rouen was about an hour (they said 1 1/2 in the brochure). We had a guided tour of the Cathedral, which was very impressive. It took over 300 years to build starting near the end of the 12th century in the gothic style. It is here that Joan of Ark was tried and then burned at the stake. It just so happens that this is the weekend they celebrate the anniversary oh her death. The old town is mostly walking streets and they were filled with people. When we were inside the Cathedral the organ was accompanying a choir which made it difficult for our guide to talk. It was a pipe organ and had an sound. As we left the Cathedral to see the site where Joan of Ark was imprisoned the clock struck 3:30. The church has a collection of massive bells that continued to chime for over 20 minutes. We stopped at the site (supposed) where burning took place and were able to see the flame that is only lit on this weekend each year. There is also a large semi modern cross erected on the site with greenery climbing up it. We then had an hour to shop (Don and I drank beer) and Evelyn found a magnet. We were across from a very modern church and a public square with stalls selling flowers, fruit, fish and other provisions. We all sat with an English couple from the ship until it was time to board the bus for the return trip. The old town was a collection of shops like Zara, Burberry, and Sephora mixed with pubs, cafes and tourist shops all in narrow streets with cobble stones and buildings dating back to the 14th century. Most of the buildings are multi story and the style is referred o as "half timber" which is similar to the Tudor style. The original city was walled and although very little of the wall remains, a small portion remains with a wonderful clock in it. And a sculpture of a Shepard and his sheep carved in the ceiling of the arch you walk through. It dates back to the 16th century.

It was a lovely tour. Our guide spoke understandable English with a lovely French accent. I got the feeling that she was local to the area. I think just about everyone dozed On the bus ride back to the ship.

We got back just before 7pm and I think our tour was the last to arrive. We had dinner in the buffet and said goodbye to some friends. The ship was supposed to leave at about 8pm. Shortly after there was an announcement from the bridge that a tanker was coming in with the help of tugs and once they cleared us we could leave. Rush hour at LeHavre..

Tomorrow we dock in Dover and then drive to London.



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Hal