I feel like I'm doing fairly well with my French, though many I talk to want to "try out their English on me" when they reply.

Our trip to Rouen went very well today!! We figured out the GPS and, other than one small glitch where the road was closed for construction, things went very well! It took less than 2 hours to make the trip. We even made an uncomplicated maiden voyage to the station d'essence!

We chose the no highways/ scenic route which was very enjoyable. Pretty little historic chateaus popping up unexpectedly, quaint little towns with houses showing Norman brick work and half-timber styles. We also drove through beautiful fields of sunflowers and bales of hay, just like we see each year on the Tour de France. (Froome won again today).

Weather remains gray, cool and cloudy, but the only time it rained much was while we were inside visiting the Rouen, Cathedral of Notre Dame, famous for the 30 paintings of it's western facade by Claude Monet, each demonstrating the effect of different light on the same subject.

The structure was heavily damaged by Allied bombings in 1940 (British) and 1944 (American) which destroyed much of the building and its ancient (13th-16th century) stained glass. The windows that could be saved are beautiful, predominantly deep reds and blues.

We also visited the ancient plague cemetery (16th century ) where a new dig is currently in progress (see photo). As luck would have it, we also stumbled into an organ/brass concert at the Cathedral of St Ouen.

Food is very hard to find on Sunday nights in France as most restaurants are closed; we had to get by on some of our left over "traveling food."

walked:
7/23 - 4.3 miles

drove:
7/23 - 148 km