Suitehotel Rouen

... around enjoying the fresh air and the city until we got hungry and needed to stop for a snack. We got some pastries and sat by the River enjoying our meal. We noticed a pretty little peninsula under the bridge and decided to check it out where we took a bunch of pictures.

We spent most of the evening looking for campsites and failing. We ended up finding a Formula 1 hotel which is cheap and efficient. The best ...

... south west to Paris. The plan is to visit the villages on the river on the way to Rouen, and are rewarded with their beauty.

We arrive to Rouen late in the afternoon. We eventually and somewhat tentatively settle on a park on the riverside by some docked barges being used as houses.

Kim cooked up gourmet hamburgers which was washed down ...

... is not a traditional church because it is built in a way that is supposed to remind you of how she died, it looks very modern.
I also booked my train ticket for the next trip which was interesting because she couldn't speak english, however I had written down what I wanted and it was sipmple enough although I had to catch a train later than I wanted for my eurrail pass to be valid. It is more difficult to travel in France; firstly because you MUST ...

... apostrophe key. Also the Q and the A keys are swapped around so keep an eye out for those kind of typos.

Anyway, onto our first train trip of the adventure we are on. Paris to Rouen. We validated our Eurail pass and got on. It really was that easy. (Apparently we will need to make reservations for certain trains and I am sure we will get that figured out as we go.) The trip was about an hour and we were in Rouen. We checked into the hotel and once again ...

... the foothills as a backdrop. Maybe it doesn't take much to impress me but the parking lot was really awesome.

Monet's house and gardens were only a short walk from the bus and we entered into the sun garden first. The sun garden can best be described as a flower garden. Beds are intersected with thin paths for one to two people in some areas and in others by large promenades, like the one from the gate to the front of the house. The colors were so pretty, just the many ...

... involves a nice cheese platter! I am even trying a sip of wine each night. Maybe by the end of this trip I'll be able to have a whole glass!

Yesterday we went for a walking tour of Sacre Couer and the surrounding bohemiene town! What a beautiful building. We walked up the 10000000 steps to the top (with a few small rest periods). Unfortunatly we couldnt take pictures inside but it was gorgeous. All the churches in France have great art and ...

Kyle is in the kitchen. He has just spread a sticky smear of rice crispy treats on tin foil. There is Christmas music, glittery garlands wrapped around the banister, and scented candles slowly melting away. Through the windows are trees disappearing in the fog. Let me recap Thanksgiving before I get too excited about Christmas. We had a great little celebration with two of our friends from New Zealand and Spain. I ...

Rouen is noted for its surviving half-timbered buildings of Middle Ages (Once Rouen was one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe)and some famous Gothic structure like Notre Dame Cathedral, the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet...We arrive here at 12:00 and after the lunch we take a tour of the city center...

Today was our first day of classes we had breakfast and then started our long day of studying. First we had Numerical Methods with Roberto, which was followed by 1 1/2 hours of French. The french class is intense, for the most part he only speaks french. Half of the class had no idea what was going on and just sat there in shock. Our school ...

About a 1.5 hour trip from Calais we arrived in Rouen and nearly had an accident when Nashie (used to driving on the left side in Oz) took his first left-hand turn. Rouen is in the NW of France in the Province of Normandie (the D-day beaches are not too far away) split by the Seine. We headed into central Rouen, parked the car and ...