My days may be off, but we are seeing the world. I hope this post is more than a photo dump like the other day, but… I’ve experienced so much. Let’s see what happens…
Yesterday was a travel day extraordinaire! Twelve hours from point A to point B. One of those hours was stupidity on my part in not knowing how to read my ticket, the other eleven hours were automobiles and buses (two of them to be exact). The first half of the trip was good, but when I hit Paris — OY! Note to self: when reading your bus ticket, don’t look for destination—look for bus number. I was probably standing directly next to my outbound bus for thirty minutes, but the board never said, “Rouen.” Instead, it said the next stop (whatever that was), and I missed it. Had to purchase a new ticket for the next bus. Dang near missed that one as well until I realized my mistake.
There was a fun sight along the way:
Paris traffic was c.r.a.z.y. and the bus driver headed down the wrong street twice and had to back up! but I finally arrived (two hours later than planned) in Rouen, France. Life is good! I’m in France for Pete sake! (Sorry, “Pierre sake!) The fella checking me in at the hotel was VERY French in attitude, but I smiled. It was dark, but I decided to see what I could see. It was so worth the 12 hours of traveling. I came around a corner… I don’t know that a tear ran down my cheek, but it was a close call.
This morning, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to see what the city offered, but I did have one destination in mind. First things first, though… I went back to the cathedral to see the inside, but no sooner had I arrived and they were ushering us all out. What? Turns out, Mass was about to begin. Well, my Anglican friends, I kept my mouth shut and had a seat. What a surprise and blessing for me: from my Facebook post… “When your heathen soul gets lucky and you show up on time to attend mass with the Archbishop of Rouen and Primate of Normandy, Monseigneur Dominique Lebrun. Second photo from web.”
At this point I was feeling good. I continued with my tour, seeing what I could see. Only problem: so much of what I wanted to see was behind locked gates and I wasn’t allowed to get close. Just you wait! My first time through the 12-century gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen.
We’ll be back at 2:30 p.m. but for now, I headed to my next destination—and the point of coming to Rouen to begin with—the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.
Friends, Joan of Arc has been a hero of mine forever. This was on the list of places to visit from the first time I came to Europe. It was simple, noisy, dirty, smelly, drunks being loud, people oblivious, none of it mattered… I pulled out my small rosary and rubbed it in the dirt of this place.
The small Joan of Arc medal on my rosary that came home to her ashes…
Sitting here shaking my head… don’t know how to explain.
I stopped and had some lunch, seafood, then made my way back to the cathedral. I had read somewhere that there is a tour that begins at 2:30 on Saturday. It is not posted anywhere or publicized. Show up and join in. I did. For the next three hours, I visited the parts of the cathedral I wasn’t allowed to get close to and parts I didn’t even know existed! Amazing. There were only ten of us on the tour. Did I mention it was all in French? I didn’t understand a word said, but it was absolutely fascinating.
The Baptistry…
The Joan of Arc side chapel…
Chapelle de la Vierge (Chapel of the Virgin)…
And I haven’t forgotten…
Some of you may remember this photo…
It was taken in St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, the starting point of the Camino de Santiago in 2024. Well, today, as I was walking along, I came across this…
The Camino is not done with me. It keeps calling in the most remarkable ways. Just wait until this October! I’m still blown away by this development, but that’s later. For now… Yeah… “Buen Camino!” Mine continues! God is good.
My day and my life. It was and is a good one. Tomorrow, is another travel day. Back to Luxembourg. There are some places I want to see and I’m planning on a couple of “vacation” days where I look out the window of my hotel room, read my book, sip some wine, and not worry about the world too much.
Blessings to you all.
Candle in a Cave 