The next day we visited Rouen which was one of my favorite towns on this trip. Rouen was once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe. These next pictures are ones of the Rouen Cathedral. It is famous for its three towers, each in a different style: Early Gothic, Flamboyant and Renaissance. Claude Monet was fascinated with the Cathedral and painted it 40 times between 1892 and 1894.

Work on the Cathedral began in 1030 and was finished in 1506. The tower closest to the front of the picture below is known as the “Butter Tower,” not because of its color but because it was funded by Lenten indulgences. The rich paid the clergy to be allowed to eat butter, cream and cheese during Lent. The architecture of the tower inspired the Tribune Tower in Chicago, built between 1923 and 1925.

These pictures show some of the interior of the Rouen Cathedral.

As we walked further into town, we saw the Gros-Horloge (or Great-Clock), an astronomical clock from the 14th Century in Rouen. The clock is installed in a Renaissance arch which once served as a city gate. The clock mechanism was made in 1389, making it one of the oldest in France. The clock was electrified in the 1920s and restored in 1997.

Also pictured is detail from the city gate. Sculptures of sheep were a prominent decoration on the gate. Sheep and the wool trade were important to Rouen during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. This industry was the main source of the city’s wealth.

Below are two paintings by Claude Monet on display in the museum in Rouen. Monet was an impressionist painter, where artists prefer to represent their impressions rather than reality. Rouen has the second largest collection of impressionist paintings in France.

The first picture depicts the official national celebration following the defeat of Napoleon III in 1870. Monet painted it around 1878. The next picture is the village of Vétheuil, located on the Seine. Monet lived here with his family from 1878 to 1881.

While in Rouen we had a wonderful lunch at a restaurant named La Couronne. La Couronne is the restaurant where Julia Child and her husband, Paul, had their first French meal (11/03/1948). We had the same meal Julia Child had so many years ago: oysters, Dover sole, salad, and Norman souffle. Our meal was accompanied by a bottle of Pouilly-Fume, a Loire Valley wine. Ms. Child stated, “This is what I had been waiting for all my life” and “It was the most exciting meal of my life.” We agreed – it was an excellent lunch.