Day 15 Rouen and Paris

Rouen is France’s fifth-largest port and Europe’s biggest food export (mostly wheat and grain) and this is where we stayed overnight. In the morning we packed our bags and boarded the bus for a walking tour of Rouen, part of the Normandy area. After reading up on Rouen I learned that it's a poorer city with many panhandlers. That explains why during our parent meeting outside our hotel (see photo from prior day) we were approached for money and saw the food bank truck pull up to a large gathering for food distribution.

Rouen has some interesting history like most cities in France, history dates back over 2000 years. It is here where Joan of Arc was tried and convicted as a witch and burned at the stake on May 30 1431. In 1920 the Catholic church canonized her as St. Joan of Arc. There is a monument where she was burned in front of the Joan of Arc church built in 1979

During WWII Rouen experienced heavy artillery and some of the old stone churches still have pock marks from machine gun fire,

 We made a quick stop to visit the Notre Dame Cathedrral. Claude Monet painted 30 different views and  renditions of this church. I found in one of the stained glass windows the dedication for the Cannonization of Joan of Arc in 1920.

We made a quick walk through the market where vendors were selling fish, cheese, fruits, vegetables and bread.  So French!

After the morning in Rouen we hopped back on the bus for Paris...our last day.

Our journey would not be complete without a visit to the Louvre.  We coukd have spent a whole day there but we only had time for featured attractions.

After dinner we made one last stop to Mont Parnasse for a panoramic view from the 56th floor of an office building in Paris.

Our adventure is nearing its end.  Tonight is our last night and out of the hotel by 4:30 a.m. for the airport.