| This website usually only
covers our travels in North America. But an essential part of our travels is
getting from our home in southern France via England, to North America. We
normally do France to England in a single day, but this time we broke our
journey at Rouen. |  |
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Rouen has a huge medieval cathedral which is a masterpiece by any standards.
It also highlights the difference in history between Europe and North
America. |
| The present building was
started in the 12th century although there has been a church on the site
since the 4th century. Charlemagne visited it in 769AD and Richard I of
England added to it in 950AD. Fire and lightning damaged parts over the
years and it was added to. Notably the gables of the North Transept were
added the year before Columbus discovered America |  |
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Some of the stained glass windows have glass dating from the 13th century. |
| .It is a catholic
cathedral and this led to it being severely damaged by Calvinists during the
French Wars of Religion in the late 16th century. |  |
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The spire led to it being named as the tallest building in the world in
1876. It was further damaged during WWII. In the storms of 1999 a 26 ton
turret fell and caused major damage which is still being repaired. |
| The original style was
gothic with later additions in the Renaissance style. The flying buttresses
were the development which enabled the construction of tall buildings to
become achievable. |  |
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Sadly we arrived too late to look round the inside, but perhaps on the way
back... So for our American friends, this is what we think of as history! |
| One of the most
characteristic features of old (and new) cathedrals is the rose window of
which this is an outstanding example. |  |
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The cathedral is surrounded by ancient buildings. Bordeaux was famous
throughout the known world for having a university of pharmacy in the 14th
century. |
| The wood design was
common in the middle ages but you don't often find trapezoidal windows. They
were craftsmen! I'm not sure how they would repair them today. |  |
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This is typical of buildings in the old town. This is probably 15th century. |
| The streets are very
narrow and many of the buildings have cafes and restaurants on the ground
floor. This is very much tourist country (with tourist prices!). |  |
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Looking down the streets in the old town. It is about seven in the evening.
Time to eat! |
| A parade of shops - we
quite liked the circular pedestrian crossing in front of them, highlighting
how busy this area is during the season. |  |
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Street musicians. They weren't bad. I liked the bass. |
| The receptionist in the
hotel was very French and insisted on recommending a restaurant. We were not
disappointed. |  |
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The French do believe in making food look attractive. It tasted good as
well. An excellent start to our travels. |
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