Take a Vacation

[Green Monstah]

Driving around the French countryside while Mrs. PAC hands me well-buttered chunks of fresh baguettes is one of our favorite vacation indulgences.

Is this a euphemism?

[PaloAltoCougar]

Driving around the French countryside while Mrs. PAC hands me well-buttered chunks of fresh baguettes is one of our favorite vacation indulgences.

[Moliere]

Planning to.

Keep in mind that a lot of Rouen will be looking at cool old buildings and shopping in cool little stores. The Rouen centreville was preserved during WW2 since most of the fighting took place in lower Normandy. The allies bombed out the bridges to prevent the Axis from being able to move their troops/tanks over the Seine, so all the bridges are newer but the center of town is very historic and mostly only open to pedestrian. If you are arriving by car, see if your AirBNB host can hlep you with a parking spot if they don't have one available at their place. Most of Rouen will be seen on foot over cobblestones but I have a couple things you can do by car. I honestly don't think you'll need more than a day in Rouen itself so if you arrive late one night, see Rouen the next day, and leave early the day after that you should be good. I could stay there longer than a couple days but I'm partial to it since I lived there and fell in love with the city.

Given the amount of history in Rouen's centreville, it might be worth finding a local tour guide (maybe through AirBnb) that can give you a 1-2 hour tour and hlep you better appreciate what you are seeing.

Here's a number of things to consider/do:

In Rouen
- Place du vieux March: Near where Joan of Arc was burned and in likely the most historic spot in the centreville. Watch the Rick Steves video on Rouen to understand the architecture and history of the spot. They hold a market here on most days and there are a lot of restaurants.
- Joan of Arc Church: Not much to see here other than it's a very unique (and small) church right in tihe middle of the place du vieux marche. The spot where she was burned is marked by a tall cross and the church itself has some pretty stained glass windows. The church is newer, however, but still cool to see.
- Rue du gros horloge: Main walking street in centreville and it leads from the vieux marche all the way down to the cathedral
- Rouen Cathedral: Absolutely amazing facade and a cathedral that was painted many, many times by Monet. It's worth going inside as well but the cathedral is less pretty inside than most.
- Rue Saint Romain: This road runs along the north side of the Cathedral. The LDS church used to be at #38 and it was a cool place to have church. You'll find a lot of cool stores on this road including the pottery maker in the Rick Steves video, candle makers, and other shops. You can also go a little north to run Saint-Nicholas and kind of just walk around in this area and do some shopping. If you keep walking east of the cathedral, there will be more historic neighborhoods, shopping and restaurants so feel free to go see those but most of what you'll want to see if between Rue Fontenelle and Rue de la Republique.
- Musee des beaux-arts: Nice little art museum but maybe not something you'll want to see if your wife doens't want to see art museusm
- Place Marechal Foch: This is only cool to see the Palais de Justice and the holes in the walls from the Allied bombing. The building is also very historic but you probably need a love of gothic architecture to really appreciate it (which I don't).
- Panorama de Rouen de la Cote Saint Catherine: You'll need to drive here but it's worth seeing. Rouen sits in a valley created by the Seine and this spot is an overlook of the entire centreville. It's a perfect place for pictures.

Food
- Get your breakfast from a boulangerie in centreville and preferably one that has a "Boulanger de France" sign in the window which indicates the items were made on site
- Camembert: Normandy is know for its camembert, which is a cheese kind of like brie but stronger. I love eating it (I learned to love it) but most Americans I know that try it prefer the milder brie, but it's worth trying while you are in the area.

Places outside of Rouen:
- If you plan on driving from Rouen to Bayeux or some place in lower Normandy, I'd highly recommend that you drive to Etretat on your way. Etretat is not really "on the way" to Bayeux and it would likely add 2 hours of driving time, but it will be worht the quick visit. Plus, from Etretat to Bayeux is an easy drive and you'll get to cross the Pont de Normandie. But Etretat is a beautiful town in the valley of some cliffs on the sea. You'll only need a couple hours in Etretat but I'd suggest you leave Rouen early in the morning and drive to Etretat so you can have lunch at one of the many restaurants along the beach (it's not a sunbathing type of beach since it'll be a little chilly there and the beach is full of rocks). You can either hike to the top of the cliffs or just drive to the top and walk along them. But I highly recommend this place.
- If you wife loves Joan of Arc (or Jeanne d'Arc) and you have a car and you are starting from north of Paris (gare du nord or CDG airport), you could consider driving to Compiegne first to see the location where she was imprisoned. It's not really much of a destination but for Joan of Arc fans it might be worth the short drive to see the ruins of the prison she was kept before being burned. Warning though that there's not much there even in terms of ruins so your wife really needs to love Joan of Arc to appreciate this as it's out of the way.

[Pelado]

Perfect spot. Do you have a car? One isn’t necessary but there are a couple spots more accessible by car.

Planning to.

[Moliere]

Looks like we're sticking with Normandy, so an itinerary for Rouen would be great. We'll be there in early May, staying for two nights at an AirBnB within 50 meters of Le Gros-Horlage.

Perfect spot. Do you have a car? One isn’t necessary but there are a couple spots more accessible by car.

[Pelado]

Rouen is an incredible city, but I'm partial to it since I lived there for six months. It's centre-ville is the best in Normandy as it was mostly preserved during the war. The shops are great and the cathedral is historic. The LDS church used to be on Rue Saint Romain right next to the cathedral but unfortunately it's been moved to an office building out in the suburbs. There's an overlook of the city that is spectacular. If you want, I can give you a very detailed itinerary for Rouen. I was there last June and can still almost walk all of the centre-ville streets by memory and some of the shops are still the same as they were 25 years ago.

Looks like we're sticking with Normandy, so an itinerary for Rouen would be great. We'll be there in early May, staying for two nights at an AirBnB within 50 meters of Le Gros-Horlage.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Ha!

Rome is incredible. I spent 2.5 days there and could easily do a full week. I look forward to going back after I retire.

[Bo Diddley]

Ha!

Rome is incredible. I spent 2.5 days there and could easily do a full week. I look forward to going back after I retire.

I haven't been there, but I did see the two episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond where they travelled to Italy.

I'm excited to see it in person some day. I'd love to live there for a few months to soak it in.

[Moliere]

Or no days!

Ha!

Rome is incredible. I spent 2.5 days there and could easily do a full week. I look forward to going back after I retire.

[Northwestcoug]

Half a day is enough to see Rome

Or no days!

[Northwestcoug]

OK, when you are in Florence I highly recommend you go the Central Market (Il Mercato Centrale). The have a food court on the bottom floor that is amazing. Salads, pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, etc. Reasonably priced, quick, and great quality. And everyone can get what they want. I recommend the margarita pizza - they use buffalo moz (mozzarella de bufala), crushed tomatoes and fresh basil. It is fun to sit and watch them make the pizzas.

If you are so inclined, they do nightly cooking classes. My daughter did one and loved it.

Seconded. Just walk the aisles and find a vendor that looks good. I've had great sandwiches and pasta there.

But before you book a cooking class there, look online. There's a lot of them and you can find anything that suits your needs. Mrs. NWC found one that was sort of a walking tour getting ingredients from different stores and then cooking. She loved it.

[Pelado]

If your wife dones't really care for WW2 history and she doesn't like things like the Mont Saint Michel, she might be better off spending time in the Loire Valley instead of Normandy. She'll see more castles and palaces in the Loire Valley and that seems to be her thing. The Mont Saint MIchel is incredible but there are a lot of stone steps to get up into the Abbey. PAC is correct that the shops close for the evening but that doesn't mean there isn't anything to do. Just being on the Mont and walking the ramparts without the crowds is a spiritual experience, plus seeing the tide come in "like a galloping horse" is worth the stay. If you do stay in Bayeux and your wife doesn't want to do a formal tour, at least visit the American cemetery on the cliffs overlooking Omaha Beach. I'd also suggest walking onto the beach as well. Point du Hoc can easily be done without a tour, in fact, 98% of the poeple there are not on a tour. Same with the Longues sure Mer battery.

Rouen is an incredible city, but I'm partial to it since I lived there for six months. It's centre-ville is the best in Normandy as it was mostly preserved during the war. The shops are great and the cathedral is historic. The LDS church used to be on Rue Saint Romain right next to the cathedral but unfortunately it's been moved to an office building out in the suburbs. There's an overlook of the city that is spectacular. If you want, I can give you a very detailed itinerary for Rouen. I was there last June and can still almost walk all of the centre-ville streets by memory and some of the shops are still the same as they were 25 years ago.

My advice is to pick a plan and just stick to it. You'll be happy in Normandy or the Loire Valley. You'll be happy in Lucca or Siena. My whole retirement is going to be frequent trips to Europe because there is so much to see and do in every place. Don't try to do it all and enjoy the things you are doing.

Thanks, this is very helpful. I'll chat with the Mrs. about keeping it in Normandy or going south. If in Normandy, then a Rouen itinerary would be great.

[Bo Diddley]

Spending most of your Italy vacation in Florence is not conforming with the lemmings?



You are on a roll today, BD.

I've never actually been to Italy. I'm just talking from the cheap seats.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Don't get bullied into conforming with the rest of the lemmings!

Spending most of your Italy vacation in Florence is not conforming with the lemmings?



You are on a roll today, BD.

[Pelado]

OK, when you are in Florence I highly recommend you go the Central Market (Il Mercato Centrale). The have a food court on the bottom floor that is amazing. Salads, pizzas, sandwiches, pasta, etc. Reasonably priced, quick, and great quality. And everyone can get what they want. I recommend the margarita pizza - they use buffalo moz (mozzarella de bufala), crushed tomatoes and fresh basil. It is fun to sit and watch them make the pizzas.

If you are so inclined, they do nightly cooking classes. My daughter did one and loved it.

My wife is very interested in that.