Le Gros-Horologe

Le Gros-Horologe (or the fat clock) is one of the major monuments in Rouen. Originally constructed in the 14th century, it stands just as securely, as brightly and as solidly as it did back in the day. The narrow pedestrian street that leads to and from the Gros-Horologe if full of great shops and bakeries.

The window at the bottom of the clock displays a different depiction of a Roman god/goddess for each corresponding day of the week (Mars for mardi, Mercury for mercredi, etc.)




As a tourist, you can take a tour of the clock tower and see the history and construction/evolution of the Gros-Horologe (pronounced grow-zor-O-lohge). From the top of the bell tower you have a magnificent view of the city of Rouen and the Seine river that winds through the center of town.

Les Cathédrales de Rouen

Rouen has several famous cathedrals and churches- can you tell?

La Maison Normande

Rouen is the second largest city in Haute Normandie (Upper Normandy) after le Havre. It has a relaxed and charming feel. As you stroll through the small, winding streets smelling croissants and chocolate, you might think that this is the ideal French city. Surrounded by these beautiful buildings, known to Anglo-Saxons as "Tudor" style, in France, or at least in Normandie, they are called "la maison normande."

I spent an afternoon taking hundreds of photos of these houses. I probably have the same shot of the same house twenty times, but I could not get enough of them. The different colors used, the leaning buildings, the tiny alleys... so quaint!

I asked Eloïse if the colors signified anything special, i.e. did the butcher live in a red house, did the boulanger live in a brown, etc. She said no, but you did have to have permission to change your house colors. I guess even in France they have covenant codes. Enjoy the walk through the streets of Rouen!

Old Meets New

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption (oldest ruins dating from 1063 with additional 12th century Gothic architecture) and the lights of the fair create an image of two very different worlds colliding.

La foire à Rouen (At the fair!)

On the Ferris Wheel (la grande roue) with Alice, Eloïse and Tom


La famille Marcotte à barbe à papa (cotton candy)


Tom and Eloïse are getting dizzy...


Des bonbons,


et encore de bonbons,


et encore plus!


Fair/carnival tradition: roasted pig. Bon appétit!

Mon appart!

Here are a few (haha) photos of my HUGE apartment in Fauville-en-caux. Below you will see


My entry hall (I call it the atrium), then, if you turn left,




It's the kitchen!

Follow the kitchen through the other door and into the living room,




Which leads into...

the yoga studio! (It's just an extension of the living room, but it mostly sits empty. Why not do yoga?)

Heading down the hall from the atrium (view here), on the immediate left you will find:


the "toilette" (always in it's own little room in France, separate from the bathroom, which comes later),


the bathroom,


and then, logically, the shower room!


At the end of the hall would be a bedroom, but it is apparently condemned...

I have two huge closets in the hall that you don't need to see because they are boring and empty.

Returning back down the hallway is the guest bedroom (a little sad at the moment, but if you come visit I will get a blow up mattress!)



Then into my bedroom!






I hope you enjoyed the tour. Come visit and see for youself!