Le Havre, France

Le Havre and Rouen, France

Le Havre is the port from which you can take an excursion to Paris or any of the more picturesque places in Normandy. We chose Rouen because we had been to Paris and the other destinations last year and the year before.

* At least we got an attractive next door neighbor in the port. (There were containers, but a long way away.) The Aida is a cruise ship about as long as the QM2 but not so high. Besides which, Cunard reminds us regularly that the QM2 is not a cruise ship but an ocean liner, designed to tolerate bad weather in the Atlantic, or in our case, the Mediterranean. We finally got one day of bad weather before coming into Le Havre that motivated me to buy some sea sickness pills at the purser's desk.
Note the buses waiting to take us on our excursions.

* Rouen has a gorgeous late ("flamboyant") gothic cathedral.

* Besides its cathedral, Rouen is noted for (1) being the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, (2) being the birthplace of the impressionist painter Monet, and (3) being the setting for Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Here is Joan of Arc.

* Here is a bust of Monet, but I am afraid it is not in a realistic style. Note the Normandy style buildings and the spire. Rouen imported Normandy style buildings into town to gain the name of "an outdoor museum". And the town is full of church spires.
Sorry, no picture of anything related to Flaubert.

* Clocks were a big feature in a public building before everyone had watches and clocks of their own. This one reminds me of one we saw in Prague, or perhaps Budapest.
Next stop: Southampton, England.

*Hover over pictures marked with an asterisk to enlarge them.

Page last changed 25 June 07

*	At least we got an attractive next door neighbor in the port. (There were containers, but a long way away.) The Aida is a cruise ship about as long as the QM2 but not so high. Besides which, Cunard reminds us regularly that the QM2 is not a cruise ship but an ocean liner, designed to tolerate bad weather in the Atlantic, or in our case, the Mediterranean. We finally got one day of bad weather before coming into Le Havre that motivated me to buy some sea sickness pills at the purser's desk. Note the buses waiting to take us on our excursions.
*	Rouen has a gorgeous late ("flamboyant") gothic cathedral.
*	Besides its cathedral, Rouen is noted for (1) being the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, (2) being the birthplace of the impressionist painter Monet, and (3) being the setting for Flaubert's Madame Bovary. Here is Joan of Arc.
*	Here is a bust of Monet, but I am afraid it is not in a realistic style. Note the Normandy style buildings and the spire. Rouen imported Normandy style buildings into town to gain the name of "an outdoor museum". And the town is full of church spires. Sorry, no picture of anything related to Flaubert.
*	Clocks were a big feature in a public building before everyone had watches and clocks of their own. This one reminds me of one we saw in Prague, or perhaps Budapest. Next stop: Southampton, England.