Rouen ~ Giverny ~ Paris
Rouen Exploring
Sunny Sunday morning and off to explore Rouen.
Beautiful day for taking in the centuries old architecture and imagining strolling through the alleyways in the 1400s.
We browsed the street markets, saw some live sword fighting on the streets and generally focused on looking fabulous…
Easily the most impressive building in Rouen is its cathedral, once the tallest building in the world. Built starting in the 12th century on the site where a church had stood since the 4th century, it has an extraordinary facade and flamboyant gothic decoration through many parts.
Like most cathedrals of this age, it has been burned down and rebuilt many times, and suffered substantial damage in wars, but has survived it all, and remains a breathtaking sight, particularly when backlit on a bright sunny day:
Inside, we lit a candle for our nan and admired the enormous ceilings and beautiful carvings and stained glass windows.
On the way out, Aisling posing as a 4 year old going on 20.
Panorama XXL
In the afternoon we set off to explore the “Panorama XXL” which had been highly recommended to us by Robert and Glenys.
A handful of these exhibits have been built in Europe, and are the work of Austrian/German artist Yadegar Assisi.
He creates truly enormous cylindrical towers (32 metres tall and 110 metres wide), on the inside of which scenes are depicted on printed fabric, which you take in from an observation tower built in the middle of the cylinder.
Each of them take him and his team about 3 years to make.
The one we were here to see was of Rouen in 1431, during the hundred years’ war, and the year Joan of Arc was brought to the stake in Rouen.
To make the Panorama, Yadegar set his equipment up on top of the cathedral, giving him a 360 degree view of Rouen.
Taking a huge number of digital photos, and then combining these with historical maps and depictions of the city, he slowly recreates what a view of the city in 1431 would have looked like from the top of the cathedral – including having people dress in historical garb and stand in the streets for the photos.
The result is a surprisingly compelling experience, which is presented in different light to show the scene evolving from dawn to dusk, with the sounds of the street filling your ears. Pictures can’t do it justice.
A highly unusual concept, and well worth the visit.
Just to make the experience a bit more realistic, on the way out we passed by two “knights” engaged in a sword fight.
The winner seemed destined to be the one who could muster the energy for the longest to bash the other one’s shield with his sword, while wearing full armour in sweltering heat…
We were exhausted just watching!
Giverny
On the way back to Paris we had planned to stop in at Giverny, where Monet spent the latter years of his life in a country house with stunning gardens, including his famous waterlily ponds and the Japanese bridge.
Along with the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles, this must be one of the most visited sites in France! People come in their thousands from Paris on day trips – so the trick is either to visit first thing in the morning before the busses arrive, or in the late afternoon after they’ve left.
We chose the latter, and it was still quite busy. Once into the gardens though, it was surprisingly peaceful and we were free to explore at our own pace.
Late summer was a great time to visit, with the garden in late bloom and the water lilies in flower
Charles and Aisling tried their hand at a few carefully framed shots as well…
Along with everyone else, we posed for some mandatory shots on the famous bridge.
Quick stop at the country house on the way out so Niamh could drool over the copper pot collection.
Then it was tempt o head home after a busy weekend and get ready for Monday morning school.
Jacquemart André
This week’s parents’ association visit was to the Jacquemart André museum, one of Simon’s favourites due to the high quality collection in a manageably sized setting, due to it being housed in one of the few remaining manor houses in central Paris.
Current exhibition was Mary Cassatt, an American impressionist painter who lived most of her life in Paris amongst Degas and the other French impressionists of the time.
She persisted in an era where it was hugely difficult to gain acceptance as a woman, and the exhibition was a wonderful display of her breadth, not just the well known oils, but also a series of drawings and pastels more rarely seen.
Our guide spoke rapidly in French which was a challenge at times, but more than made up for by the quality of the art. The second picture at bottom though might have been better as a time series as the lady in the red hat toppled slowly out of the boat and onto the duck?
Did we mention the yoghurt?
Well, we’ve mentioned it before, but there’s something about yoghurt that is deeply seated in the French psyche!
Here for example is the modest Monoprix line-up of choices:
Sculpture: Patinas
Another night of working on patinas on the rocks and water for Simon, with lots of great advice from the ladies.
This is tricky to get right!
Sortie #1: Île de la Cité
This week Simon also signed up as a parent supervisor for Charles’ class excursion to the Île de la Cité in central Paris. Great chance to see the kids (and their teacher) in the wild.
We all trooped off somewhat chaotically via the metro and made our way to the Pont Neuf in the steady rain for our first stop.
Our guide was a highly knowledgeable lady who was clearly experienced in educating young kids about the history of Paris. Only drawback was that she did so at pace in French, and with the assumption that all the kids would steadily pay attention and follow along throughout – regardless of the disparity between their levels of French and the levels of distraction all around them.
A tall order at times!
The kids did their best to follow along, and after exploring the Pont Neuf we moved on to the Palais de Justice, competing with the roar of passing traffic to learn about the history of some of the original buildings of Paris…
Last stop was Notre Dame, with the kids hearing a brief summary of its history out in the courtyard, before a short tour of the vast interior, to take in the wood and stone carving and stained glass windows.
Somehow we made it back to school with the same number of kids that we set out with, and armed with many suggestions on how to organise and control a group of 8 and 9 year olds in the streets of Paris!
Afternoon with Dad
Wednesday afternoon was an outing with Dad, and we decided to check out the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysées, two iconic Parisian sights that we had postponed seeing until late in our visit.
High spirits and hijinx all around.
We visited the tomb of the unknown soldier and thought about our visit to the Somme a month earlier, and talked about what war memorials are all about.
We huffed and puffed our way up the spiral staircase and admired the bird’s eye view of Paris…
It’s a shame Haussmann didn’t live in the age of iPhones. With a panorama shot you can line up his boulevards as though they all shoot out parallel to one another right from the base of the Arc de Triomphe:
After enjoying the view, we headed down to strut our stuff on the Champs Elysées at last. How it has survived so long without us is a mystery.
We wandered down as far as the Nike shop where Charles upgraded his footwear to introduce a bit more orange into his life, only to emerge into an unexpected downpour.
A series of mad dashes between awnings got us to the metro only partially soaked, and we made it home to tell Mum about all our adventures.
Sortie #2: Patisserie!
A busy week for school excursions – term must be drawing to a close.
This one a bit more exciting for the kids – a visit to the local patisserie. This shop is right on the corner diagonally across from the school, so benefits greatly from the custom of its pupils. Part of the quid pro quo is entertaining class visits from time to time, as the kids see how baguette, croissant and various other delicacies are made.
Baguette production not surprisingly is regulated, and the ones to go for are the baguettes traditions – long fermentation the way bread is supposed to be made.
Tucking into some samples afterwards is a highlight of the visit of course.
The kids even got to make their own croissant out of dough and bring it home.
We let it rise overnight then baked it the next morning. The petit déjeuner of champions – a self-made croissant fresh from the oven!
Fun around Paris
And as always, plenty of time for fun around the town.
We checked out the street art, street signs and building façades…
We celebrated our medal from school sports, checked out the toy soldier shop and tried on our costumes for end of year plays…
And we just enjoyed the everyday sights of Paris
Mike, Hannah and Martha
This weekend’s excitement: Mike, Hannah and Martha are coming to stay from Gallway. Great to have cousins in town again, and weather forecast looked good for some exploring.
The Brosnans arrived on Friday, and we headed to the Jardin des Tuileries with scooter on hand to check out the Musée de l’Orangerie.
A wonderful, compact museum (like the Jacquemart André) dedicated to impressionist art, and purpose built to house Monet’s waterlily series. Nice timing after our visit to Giverny earlier in the week.
It’s not a painting unless it curves all around you several times! Beautiful, relaxing setting to take in the art and compare it to our own impressions of the gardens on our recent visit.
When visiting a museum on a hot day, it’s important to stay hydrated.
Luckily our water lady Aisling was on hand to help out.
Afterwards, we found the perfect complement to a contemplative museum visit was to scoot across the park for a harem scarem bounce on the Tuileries trampolines.
Look how high I can!
Charles and Niamh then joined us for a walk over to the Louvre, and we checked out some unusual buskers, one on the harp and the other on a cello-less cello.
The next day (Saturday) we fired out onto the Champs de Mars and under the Eiffel Tower towards the batobus for one last cruise on the Seine.
Aisling again declaring herself undefeated champion of thumb wars…
Including of course, our famous willow tree, with two of the by-products in the foreground 🙂
We got off to explore the Île Saint Louis, stopping for a lunch of crêpes in the same restaurant that had once rescued us when Charles was 9 months old and we were in dire need for food.
Again a warm welcome despite the size of our group. There are indeed friendly Parisians out there if you know where to look!
Then it was off for a scoot with our renewed energy, Aisling showing off her best tricks:
We slowly made our way over to the gorgeous Place des Voges for one last look for the adults, and once last ice cream for the kids 🙂
We wandered past the Centre Pompidou, where the fountains were now in full swing after the winter recess. A very different scene from when we were last here!
And through the flower markets – Martha in particular enjoying the sights and smells
Then it was time to head back home, via the batobus of course.
We returned to our starting point at the Eiffel Tower stop, which put us right on the Promenade de l’Australie.
Perfect spot for a bit of Aussie tip, followed by a stroll to the Place de Sydney.
Is it just us, or are the blokes in this part of town just a little taller and more handsome than average?
With the girls in town to babysit, Niamh, Mike and Simon headed out to dinner – a rare night out!
We checked out a new charcuterie restaurant that had opened up not far away. A great choice, a fun night out with Mike and a great way to end the week.