Rouen

We returned from Spain and spent a few days chilling out at home before renting a car and driving to Normandy.  Our first stop was Rouen.

The Rouen Cathedral paintings, more than thirty in all, were made in 1892 and 1893, then reworked in Monet’s studio in 1894. Monet rented spaces across the street from the cathedral, where he set up temporary studios for the purpose. In 1895, he selected what he considered to be the twenty best paintings from the series for display at his Paris dealer’s gallery, and of these he sold eight before the exhibition was over. Pissarro and Cézanne visited the exhibition and praised the series highly.

 There are many pedestrian streets and lots of half-timbered houses.  It is a charming city to explore on foot.

The mechanisms for The Gros Horloge are thought to be from the 1300s.  The clock is from the 1600s. 

 The main pedestrian streets are filled with half-timbered houses that feature designer shops on the ground floor.

 The city hall is pockmarked from bombs an shrapnel from WWII

We had lunch in a "New York City" bagel shop and then continued on to a park with a play structure that is surrounded by the city's main museums.