France 2019: Part 2 - Normandy to Rouen

We left at 8 am this morning, heading to Étretat to see the famous cliffs that so many artists have painted.  We drove over the Tancarville Bridge (at left) over the Seine near Le Havre.  It is known as the "new" suspension bridge completed in 1959; then in the 1990's the cables and shoulders were completely replaced. 

Arriving at Étretat it was windy, cloudy and drizzly but we walked along the seafront (English Channel) and took pictures.  The classic, most-painted view is the one at the right. 

Below are three different impressions of that view!  Claude Monet (left) and Gustav Courbet (center) that we saw at the Musée D'Orsay earlier in the week.  On the right is one by Eugène Boudin that we saw in Le Havre later this afternoon!   Impressionism, remember: they aren't supposed to look the same but the rock formation at the right of the cliff is unmistakable.

More pictures - to the left is the "other" direction on the beach.  There are some paintings done of that view, that include the church up on the cliff, but not so many.  This one is facing northeast, whereas the ones above are facing southwest - does it have to do with the best lighting?  And then on the right is the view looking back at the town (with souvenir stalls lining the road) from the boardwalk.  The ice cream looked good, but the day was just too chilly for it to be appealing.  We had a great lunch at the Salamandre Restaurant – cod and potatoes with cream sauce plus scrumptious apple tart for dessert.  Very nice – and a better portion size than we found in Paris.  I bought a lovely scarf (promised to a friend) and John bought a classic French horizontal striped blue and white "sailor"shirt.  There is a story about the shirt - later on, when we get to Giverny!  

After lunch, we headed back southwest along the coast to Le Havre to the André Malraux Museum of Art.  The huge sculpture to the left is made of shipping containers - appropriate to Le Havre which is a major port.  A big exhibition of Dufy is coming and we had a peek of some of the set-up (including meticulous cleaning of some of the paintings and frames) but it wasn't open for public viewing yet.   We did, however, enjoy a lot of Boudin, Renoir, Pissarro and other impressionists.  I have to share at least one painting.  Though there was a multitude of Boudins, including about a dozen of grazing cows, I chose a Pissarro to share: "Sunrise in Éragny." You really have to enlarge it to get a feel for it.  Éragny is now a northern suburb of Paris but in the late 1800's when Pissarro lived there, it was still very rural.

Then we went back over a Seine estuary on the Pont de Normandie to Honfleur.  That bridge (left) was opened in January 1995 and is the longest cable-stayed bridge ever built. At Honfleur we boarded the MS Seine Princess (a Croisi Europe ship) that was our home for the rest of our trip. Boarding went easily – they were ready for us and very experienced in loading groups of travellers!  The cabin was small but adequate. It was hot when we arrived but cooled down nicely when I turned on the AC!  We only get 1 key, but that really ended up not being a big deal.  The ship is small enough that we could track down the one with the key pretty easily and, when you leave the ship, you leave the key at the desk.  The safe is too small even for my tiny netbook (it held passports, cameras and money) and there were only two outlets, though (surprisingly) that didn't prove to be a problem for us.  WiFi only worked in the lounge - while a little inconvenient that wasn't a major issue.

Nice stained glass plaque in the main reception area (right, above) and Honfleur Seine sunset at the left.  We had a 7 pm welcome gathering in the lounge, followed by dinner. Tomorrow morning we are invited on a walking tour at the very civilized hour of 10 am!

Friday – May 10

This morning we wandered the town and harbor of Honfleur.   The first picture (right) is of the Rue des Petites Boucheries (Little Butchers St) in the heart of "Old Town."  The name comes from the 17th century when butcher stalls lined the street.  You can see the old half-timbered construction and at the end of the street the back and steeple of Saint Stephen's Church, originally built in 1369, which is now a museum of Honfleur's heritage, primarily the naval history. (It's hard for me to even conceptualize "built in 1369!")

We spent some time exploring the area of Honfleur Harbor.  The houses along the harbor remind me a lot of Amsterdam canal houses.  They are so narrow for exactly the same reason: real estate was taxed by the "frontage."  So they tended to be quite narrow, but very tall - many were five stories high!  Some of the sights of the harbor area:  left below is the old Harbormaster's House, the carousel and some interesting "modern art!"

St. Catherine's church is made entirely of wood. The existing church was built in the 15th century (replacing a stone structure that was destroyed during the Hundred Years' War) using the skills of the local ship builders, which explains why the interior shape is that of an overturned double hull ship. The picture at the right faces the back of the church but you can see the ceiling shape.  John tried out the acoustics with a spiritual.

The bell tower of the church is a self-standing building across the street.  It is now an annex to the Boudin Museum housing various religious works.  At the left is the actual Bell Tower; you can see John (in his beret) admiring it and Jennifer (in her red beret and scarf) telling us stories about it.  To the right is a painting of it by Eugène Boudin that has an interesting story.   The painting was found among a large collection of the son of Claude Monet.  After he died, it was assumed to be Monet's (since most of the works in his collection were) and was therefore stamped (but not "signed") with Monet's signature that you can see in the lower left if you enlarge it.  However, the experts have now determined that it was actually the work of Boudin, who was a mentor and friend to Monet.  It was part of Monet's personal collection but painted by his friend, not by himself.

Wandering around the town on our own, we saw numerous war memorials, lots of nice shops, lovely gardens.  We stopped at a bank to get another 90€ that will last us for the rest of the trip.  We visited St. Leonard's Place, a well-kept park adjacent to the church, and saw a new-to-us bird: a white wagtail (pictured below left).  The lighthouse (center) was photogenic and has been painted by several masters (Boudin and Seurat for example) but it isn't working.  Finally, one of the many "art in the roundabouts" we saw on the trip.  This one in Honfleur is (translated) "the mussel gatherers."

Our next destination was the the huge Notre Dame Cathedral that was famously painted by many impressionists (Monet himself painted it more than 30 times).  On the way we passed this "bourdaloue" in a shop window (left) and the Great Clock (right).  The bourdaloue looks somewhat like a gravy boat (NOT!).  It was said to get its name from a priest (Louis Bourdaloue) whose sermons lasted so long that women could not sit through them without emptying their bladders!  Yes, this is a type of portable chamber pot that could be easily hidden under the huge skirts of the Georgian era - pity the poor ladies' maids!  (One of the many little tidbits that made traveling with Jennifer such fun.)  The Great Clock (Gros-Horloge) is an astronomical clock installed in a Renaissance arch - its mechanism was made in 1389 making it one of the oldest in the world.  

The history of the Notre Dame Cathedral began with a 4th century basilica and an 11th century Romanesque cathedral on which foundations the existing church stands.  Its construction began in the 12th century and has been described as "perpetually evolving."  The church was destroyed by Vikings in 841 and then repeatedly by fires, religious wars and finally bombing in WWII (1944).  The final cast iron spire was added (after the previous one was lost to lightning)  and became the tallest in the world in 1876.  It is still the tallest in France.  The cathedral contains bits of architecture that span the entire Gothic period and it is clear that it was built over different time periods.  The cathedral is so massive, and the surrounding area so congested, that is was impossible to get the whole facade in one picture without a very wide angle lens!  The best I could do is at the right.  On the left is the north side of the church where we entered through a small courtyard at what is known as the Bookseller's Portal.

More pictures.  At the left, the heart (only the heart!) of King Richard the Lionhearted, Duke of Normandy, is entombed here; on the right is part of the series of statues of the prophets that is planned to be donated to a museum in the future.  Below on the left is one of Monet's many paintings of the cathedral - we saw this one - titled "in bad weather"- in the Rouen Musée des Beaux Arts. In the center is a contrasting painting from the Marmottan Museum in Paris: "Cathédrale de Rouen, effect de soleil, fin de journée" showing the "effects of the sun at the end of the day."  And to the right, one of the many stained glass windows that date back as far as 1210 (thanks to the foresight of those who had them removed for safety at the start of World War II.)

Another walk through busy pedestrian streets and a market place brought us to a new church - Saint-Joan of Arc Church - a totally different experience!   This church was built in 1979 on the site of Joan's death.  She was burned at the stake in 1341 in the center of an ancient market square known as "Place du Vieux-Marché." This is very modern architecture, though the stained glass windows, depicting Christ's life and lives of St. Peter, St. Anne and Saint Anthony of Padua, were rescued from the 16th century Church of Saint Vincent.  The windows had been removed for safe storage during World War II, but the church itself was totally destroyed (ruins pictured at right). 

With permission of the staff, John tried out the acoustics in this interesting building with a song, then led us all in a couple rounds of "Allejuiah."  You can tell I am old; I keep forgetting that both my camera and my phone will record video.  Alas, I didn't catch any of these musical interludes.  Below are pictures of "Le Bucher" (translates as "the pyre" - the site of Joan's execution), an overview of the interior of the interesting church and John singing in front of the windows.

We walked back to the boat after that.  A beer tasting from the Abbey brew was at 6:30 pm and supper at 7.  We skipped the fun and games after supper - it was a very full day and we were exhausted!  Rouen continues in the next section as we visited the Musée des Beaux Arts in the morning.