Rouen - Joan of Arc and the discovery of Nutella Crepes

The Idyllic Backyard of our B&B

What can you say? Rouen is a specacular example of medieval township.

It's a catch up day for us. Laundry. Repacking. Orgainizing a car for our next leg of the journey. (We are seriously over trains at this point and would rather drive!!!)

Liam learns to whittle

The day starts as idyllically as the day before. Our early morning bird friends chirp us awake at five, then we nestle in for another few hours of blissful sleep before awaking to a divine breakfast. Our kids up and dressed and playing in the fairytale garden ahead of us.

Breakfast inside in the art studio this morning. Amazing food!

Downtown Rouen

To work off the pastries and custard of breakfast we decide to hike into the downtown of Rouen for lunch. (How do French women stay slim?) As we are staying in Mont St Aignan on the northern edge of the town its all down hill. The kids are pleased with that. After all these weeks of traveling they have become seasoned walkers, and even I am beginning to relax a bit now that I know that they can be trusted to be sensible when it comes to traffic and staying together. You just don't know how the family dynamics are going to go until you've done it. I'm proud of our tribe for settling in to travel mode so flawlessly.









But back to Rouen!

Rouen was once the most prosperous of medieval cities. And with its position straddling the Seine River and surrounded by fertile planes it has had a long history. Begun in Roman times (but not by the Romans) the city has had so many changes of hands it makes the head spin.
There were the Vikings who devastated the area, and most parts of Europe in the 800's ad. Later Rouen became the capital of the Dukes of Normandy until William the Conqueror moved the capital to be closer to his English holdings. Then it was annexed to the French Kingdom, before the start of the very bloody hundred years war (between England and France over the possession of these lands) in the 1300's. In the 1500's there was the War of Religion that polarized the population. There were terror tactics used on both sides - both Calvanists and Catholics - with many a senseless massacre committed "in the name of god". What a terrifying time to live in. Both sides ready to die and kill for their own version of the same religion. I suppose looking back you tend to look through the filter of time and attempt to pass judgement, but alas, it is hard for me to fathom this bloody era in European history.

One of the many lovely shops in downtown Rouen

After much too-ing and fro-ing, Rouen ended up in French (catholic) rule and stayed that way with brief interludes of Prussian and German occupations during the Franco Prussian war and WWII....

So, that is a history of Rouen in one paragraph. I'm sure there is much that I left out, so much to expand upon, but this isn't the place. I wish I knew a bit more of the positive history so as not to bring light to the negative. But the happy days of farming and afternoon picnics with your family hardly ever make the history books, despite the fact that on the whole the days of happiness out weigh the days of gloom.

As we walk past the ancient Cathedral and through the foot-traffic-only streets the little we know about the town explains some of the buildings that we see, and the feel of staunchness that the town exudes. It has been through a whole lot! There are many half timbered houses that still remain in the city which make you feel as though you have been transported back in time. Buildings that are still standing, looking over squares that would once have been grassy and had peasants carrying their wares and nobles riding horses. If only walls could talk. Well, we may not wish to hear all that they would say!

We buy some baguette sandwiches and a couple fizzy drinks and eat in the lovely wide square - Place du Vieux Marche. There are old taverns and a museum to Joan of Arc. After shopping our way around the square and buying some fresh produce for later snacks we decide to check out the Joan of Arc museum.

While Joan of Arc was not born here, this is where she ended her short life. In fact the same square that we so recently had our lovely picnic was the spot that she was burned alive as a heretic in 1431 - at the age of 19.

Inside the wax museum of Joan of Arc - here she is hearing voices from the saints that instruct her in her mission to save France from the English invaders. She went on to defeat the English army in battle, but was later burned for claiming to hear voices.

I've always had a morbid fascination of the "Maid of Orlean" and the museum turned out to be just the place to spend a hot afternoon. It was a wax museum that portrayed her life in various scenes - from the time as a poor illiterate child when she started hearing voices telling her to take charge of France's armies, to her many victorious battles against the English, to her betrayal and eventual burning at the stake by the English. Who knows how much of her story was factual, and how much was used as medieval propaganda in a war that lasted 100 years between the English and the French. But we do know there was a young girl named Joan who lead the armies of the Dauphin of France in a successful military campaign that kickstarted the return of the French to power in the region. The fact that she was just a young girl and one who died for her belief in her visions had the power to capture the minds of the great playwrights and artists - Shakespeare, Voltaire, Mark Twain, Tchaikovsky, George Bernard Shaw to name a few. So if a few embellishments were made along the way, well, who's to say that the modern era has a monopoly on propaganda?

Liam checks out the image of the burning of Joan of Arc

The kids took it all in and as we all emerged from the dark, cool museum blinking in the afternoon heat there were many questions about medieval times and the ideas of religion so strong that one is willing to be burned alive for it. It's a concept that our modern lives don't come across in day to day life. The fact that our ancestors would have believed it and been a part of that type of system is an eye opener. We can applaud just how much progress has been made in the last 500 years.

As we walked out of the square, all but smelling the smoke from the people who burned in the Place du Vieux Marche all those years ago we passed by a small cart selling crepes. And the discovery of the Nutella Crepe happened. Forget history. This made the kid's whole day, week, month, trip.... (well, at least since the last gelato in Italy that is!) Imagine a fresh crepe cooked on a hot plate in front of you, smothered in rich Nutella, rolled up and voila. You eat it as you walk. Smiles galore.

Not a complaint to be had on the walk home, just happy chompers savoring another discovered delight of foreign cuisine. Even when we had to wait at the train station for an hour until the rental car company opened up. The key to happy family traveling is full stomachs - well, in part at least. :)

The look of Bliss when Liana tucks into a desert Crepe!

That night we have a farewell dinner with our lovely friends at another Creperie. Appetizers, main course and desert, all different types of crepes. I love FRANCE!
A wonderful ending to our sojourn in Normandy. Tomorrow we drive from Rouen to the other side of Paris, to visit our friends who live in the not-so-touristy town of Meaux. But first we have to navigate our way there! It should be an adventure!

Goodbye to our wonderful friends, Roland and Francois! You hold a dear place in our hearts.