Normandy: More Than Just D-Day Beaches

Just a few short days after returning from Portugal, we were off again! This time to Rouen in the Normandy region of France. Nick had a work training there for a few days, so I decided to tag along. I'm so glad I did; Rouen is a very charming city, and we were able to take some time to see the Cliffs of Etretat while we were in the area.

Nick headed out Wednesday morning, but I decided to teach my classes in the afternoon and take the train Wednesday evening {only 10E} and just meet him there. Two hours between work and my train was barely enough when my normal 15 minute commute home turned into one hour, including a frenzied bike ride half of the way, due to my metro line getting shut down due to a suspicious package. After a bit of a frantic scramble from work to home to the train station, I was never so glad to see a train station in my life.

But, after a quick hour and half train ride, I arrived in Rouen and was treated to some beautiful sights from the get-go. Nighttime is always a fun time to wander around any city, and Rouen is no exception. There was a massive fair set up along the river, and we missed the lighting of the Christmas lights by just a few weeks. I'm sure it's spectacular with all of those lit up!

While Nick was at work the next day and half, I did a few runs, relaxed, and mostly wandered aimlessly through the city. The center town is medieval, and I enjoyed taking in all the architecture. There were lots of little hidden courtyards, which were beautiful!

There is an insane number of churches and cathedrals in this town, and while I only went inside one of them {the Notre Dame of Rouen}, it was fun seeing all the different styles of the other ones. I love the intricacy of the details of the churches here. Of course, the fall colors helped with the views too!

Rouen is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, so, of course, I sought out the marker. The Palais de Justice was also a very impressive building, along with the Gros Horlogue. Although there are a few museums in this town, I didn't spend any time in them. I just enjoyed the city instead, and did a little shopping. :)

I did, however, climb to the top of the Gros Horlogue and its bell-tower. I did it primarily for the views, but it came with an audio guide, which was very interesting and allowed me to go behind the clock face. Interestingly, this is one of the only clock towers {and first} that had its gears in a separate tower than where the clock is. This means there are many more gears and systems in place than in a typical clock. The views from the top were pretty awesome too, even on a cloudy day.

View from behind the clock face

And what trip to Normandy can go without mentioning the food? I found a little homemade crepe restaurant tucked in an alleyway for lunch, and it was definitely the best galette I've eaten in France to date. With a cup of cider, doesn't get much better! Nick and I ate at Le Parvis one night, and it was excellent. Wednesday night Nick and his coworkers ate at Origine Restaurant, which is a one Michelin star restaurant. I joined them for desert that night, and I have to say, my desert at Le Parvis was better than the one at Origine! Nick echoed similar sentiments for the rest of the meal--Origine was good, but not necessarily better than restaurants we've eaten at in Paris without Michelin stars. Just goes to show, just because it has a famous ranking doesn't mean it's going to be the best, especially considering the price!

Since the Cliffs of Etretat {France's equivalent to the Cliffs of Dover} were only an hour drive away from Rouen, we decided to take advantage and stop off there for a few hours. We were lucky enough to catch a beautiful sunset over the cliffs, despite the clouds and wind.

This is now my third trip to Normandy, and I feel like Rouen definitely deserves more praise than it gets. It's such an easy day trip from Paris, and really quite beautiful. I think I liked it better than Deauville/Trouville. Yes, Deauville/Trouville have the beaches {but honestly it wasn't warm enough even in July to swim or sunbathe there}, and Rouen seems like a more livable, lively town compared to those two. Now I'm inspired to find some more day trip towns from Paris. Stay tuned! :)