Mercure Rouen Centre Hotel

It was a rainy morning and neither of us were keen to get out of bed so it was a late start leaving Etretat. It is a relatively short drive today anyway as we are off to Rouen about 60km away. Of course we are taking the scenic route so it will take a bit longer. Etretat is just north of the mouth of the River Seine and winds inland to Rouen before ...

... was the largest and most beautiful I have seen and I was lucky enough to listen to the end of a song. It was also the best sounding, it was deeper and resonated more than the others, it sounds like something that the phantom would play.<br>I also checked out the other main square where Jean 'D Arc was executed. There is a giant cross speared into the ground where I supposed she was burnt at the stake. There is also a memorial church built in her honour ...

We flew into Paris Beauvis Airport and took a shuttle bus the rest of the way into the city. Onto the metro to connect with the main line trains. The metro is awesome and very easy to use. It would be totally idiot proof if I spoke a bit more French and had a better idea as to how the city is layed out, but we will save that for a later post. <br> <br>I will not be using any contactions in this post because I am typing on a French keyboard and can not seem to find ...

... Monet's house and gardens. We were treated to some more coffee and tea and delicious fresh apple juice after visiting the apple orchard. This was by far my favorite part of the day. I have never seen a more beautiful landscape than that of the apple orchard. The lawn was littered with yellow and red apples that had fallen off the trees which just made the perfect picture. I picked a few with the help of a tall classmate and they were delicious! After seeing the other two gardens ...

... we drive down to Giverny in Normandy! It was about an hours drive through the countryside! I do love seeing cows! We decided to visit Claude Monets famous gardens! If you dont know him, he is a pretty well known artist who painted beautiful landscapes of his huge gardens and the countryside! The first nice thing of the day was that parking was free!! The gardens were beyond amazing. So many types of flowers and plants. It was another sunny day so ...

... as other towns along the Seine but did have some nice features. Tonight is the gala farewell party ... the food has been unbelievable and can not image what they have planned tonight! The German crew are nice enough but not really the passengers!

... men who enjoy hanging out on sidewalks looking at ladies. They might be alone or with a group, but it's clear that their sole purpose is to visually or verbally acknowledge attractive women. You might here them mutter, "Bonjour mademoiselle," or "Ça va?" They might smile or they might nod in approval. They might not notice that you're wearing a wedding ring, or holding hands with your husband, or that it's ...

... open only to pedestrians. We visited the beautiful (inside) modern Eglise de Ste-Jeanne D'Arc, built on the site where she was burned at the stake. The whole neighbourhood of very old Norman buildings, restored in such a way as to preserve their historical integrity, was awesome. The market was still open, with local farmers peddling fresh vegetables and fruit. We continued to walk around, and ended up in front of the Palais de ...

... the stake. It is marked with a cross (and a very bad museum). I thought it was pretty cool. Lucked upon a nice little hotel with a friendly proprietor (such a relief after the last experience) and got a room overlooking the cathedral, as it was lit up at night. I did have a few flash backs from Austria as we strolled through the Christmas markets sipping mulled wine and eating roast chestnuts. It was a fantastic stop!

... much here, we headed to Ieper. Lucy had not been here since 1998, and she was looking forward to a return. Realistically, all there is to see in Ieper, is the Cathedral, the Cloth Hall and the Menin Gate. So we did all three, had another climb over the gate, up onto the ramparts. I really must come back and watch the last post being performed here, and then into a chocolate shop, where you could try before you buy, or in Lucy's mums case, steal as ...