I took a one-day trip to Rouen just to see another city and because the train was really cheap (and only about 1.5 hours away). It was a nice town, but it was Ascension Day so a lot of things were closed.
The Rouen train station. Nice facade and clock tower.
Before I picked up a bike, le Cimetière Monumental since I thought it would open and a good walk. It was both. This turned out to be a great surprise! The weather was perfect, there was some great foliage and moss everywhere. Above is a panoramic at the northwest corner of the cemetery. You can see how nicely maintained it is.
So, I'm a fan of moss. I think it is an incredible plant and it always feels (and looks) soft. And when you look really closely, it becomes even more impressive. The detail, the blossoms, the variety. It's just one of those things that are easily overlooked.
I thought this was a cool addition on one of the graves. There were two of them keeping watch.
Some more moss with a cool blossom on it. I took the second pic (with the coin)
just to show how small this stuff is - amazing.
After the cemetery I picked up my first vélo - called cy'clic in Rouen. I bought a ticket before I arrived, but it didn't work. That was a bummer, but it was only 1€ and it was easy to get a one-day pass from the machine. Above is my first, old number 401.
I visited the Church of St Ouen. Here is a nice shot approaching it from the east (above left) and the south side of the church on the right. I've seen a lot of churches, but there was something about this one that was really cool. I think it was because there was almost nothing in it. It wasn't packed with pews or chairs and it wasn't overly gaudy. You could really appreciate just how big of a church it is.
It was hard to capture the size of this church but I tried with this panoramic. Below are two shots (looking towards the front and back), but even these shots only show the center passageway. There is one more on each side almost as wide as the center, and you can see that there are only a few chairs on the floor. I actually returned to the church because there was a duet (the organist and a trumpeter) and entry was free. I'm so glad I returned. I couldn't believe how one trumpet could consume the entire church. It was awesome! Organs are tricky to me (they can sound great, but they can also sound like too many instruments are playing at once), but the trumpet was fantastic!
I also visited the Church of St Joan of Arc in the ancient market square. This was a cool church. The architect, Louis Arretche, did an amazing job. Two exterior shots above and a couple shots showing the impressive wooden ceiling below. It was finished in 1979 and it's totally 70s! I'm glad I visited.
Good visit, cool little town.
- mm -
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