Rouen

The sales in France started at 8.30 a.m. There was great excitement and lots of people ready to find the ultimate bargain. So we went off to the shops in Bayeux to find our bargain. This did not take very long. We went into a men’s clothing store where they had a ‘small defects for small prices’ rack and were selling clothes for 3 Euros ($6NZ) each. Of course there is always someone ahead of you who manages to grab most of the bargains before you can. Darren was just too slow as he was puzzling over the French sign. However he still managed to procure three tops and Walter bought one top so they were very pleased with themselves. You do have to be quick! At another shop I bought a new hat and scarf plus a jumper (all for 17 Euros). The sales in France are very regulated and this particular sale started on the 12th January and will continue until the 17th February.

Then we set off for Rouen and drove around in heavy traffic looking for a carpark, which was non existent. Of course we had forgotton it was the beginning of the sales so people had come into the city to go shopping. Eventually we saw a huge car park on the other side of the river and then found out from the man in the Tourist Office we could stay there all night.

During the afternoon we went on a tour of the old city, with its old buildings,and narrow streets.

The Joan of Arc church was very special, with its motifs of fish and a ceiling which represented a ships hull (or flames) depending on which brochure you read. The church is built on the square where Joan of Arc was burned alive.

This is the building which is now the School of Art. However I believe it once held lots of skeletons!

The beautiful old cathedral is getting a facelift and the door surrounds looks almost brand new, except for World War II shell damage and some defacing that occurred during the Reformation. After walking around Rouen we went to a bar to view the world passing by us.
We ended the evening sitting in our motor home on the edge of the river Seine.

We had a fantastic view of the river with the older part of Rouen on the opposite side.

There was also river traffic and barges parked alongside our van. And there was no cost.