Here's something you don't see everyday...

Well I gotta say, Rouen was my favorite town so far, and I'm sad to have left. I met some pretty awesome people, an older Swiss lady who had some pretty cool outlooks on life, a German bar owner lady who spoke excellent english and helped me learn a little bit of french, the only other non-francophone British Columbian in the whole town probably who just happened to be put in my room....it was a good place. Other than the rain. But another aspect of the town I loved, as I mentioned before, was the history. Let's start in the middle of town, shall we?

So there's an interesting chunk of fame for you! She also had a church built for her, but not in the usual Normanie style.

Pretty neat architecture, but it definitely took me a while to find the entrance. When I finally did, there was a friendly chap at the door taking admission money right next to a sign that said "admission free, donations inside." I think he's gotta rethink his strategy a bit... 

So Rouen (pronounced HngCXzgHRROOAH) is the capital of the Haught-Normandie department, and back in the day was constantly being switched back and forth between the French, Normans, Norsedudes, and English, but was originally founded by the Gauls way back in the day. It was also the seat of the ex-chequer of Normandie in the middle ages, who was apparently a big deal. I think from another sign I saw it was also the forward operating base of the Nazi's in Normandy until the Americans blew the heck out of it. 

But one thing it's famous for is churches. Lots and lots of churches. Not sure how many exactly, but it's dubbed "The City of 100 Steeples." One in particular stands out to me, not because it was that different from the others I've seen so far, but because of what I found inside. Although, I will say it's the coolest from the outside I've seen yet.

Actually kind of intimidating! But anyhow, here's the circumstance: I'm on my way back to the hostel from a good walk around town checking out the half-timbred houses that make up most of the downtown core,

-when it started to rain, believe it or not! So I took refuge in the biggest and closest building I could find, the cathedral of Rouen. Not "a" cathedral, but "The" cathedral. It was bigger than most of the abbeys I saw in on the coast, but pretty much the same architecture, apart from the massive pipe organ that was built in 1890, and remains one of the only unaltered organs of that particular craftsman. 

Anyhow, I'm walking around looking at all the chapels and effigies, and read one plaque next to a coffin that took me by surprise. 

If you can read Latin, you'll essentially find "Here lies the heart of Richard Lionheart." I guess they took his heart, embalmed it, buried it here, and buried the rest of him somewhere in England. 

So there you have it, if ever you have the chance to stop through Rouen, I would highly recommend it. Stop by a cafe for a Leffe and a crepe, see a church, check out the Siene, and enjoy. I've since left and headed south to a little town called Evreux, and for the first time tried the whole "couchsurfing" idea. I stayed with some fantastic people, Johann, Pauline, Julie, and Nabid (who only spoke French and Arabic) and went out for a beer to watch the football match. Excellent people, and I'll see them again in a week as I left my bike at their house in order to take a little adventure that popped up, but that's for another post! For now, I'll leave you with some pictures of one of France's many greenways, dedicated no-traffic paths for bikes and rollerbladers, that led me 20k in serene pastures and forests. I wish those were everywhere!

Salut! (By the way, don't say Adieu, apparently it means you don't ever want to see someone again...)