Sunday 29 September

Today we had a relaxed start and I was delighted that I got Camembert (and more cheese) for breakfast! That and a very nice spread including scrambled eggs that were palatable, probably due to the copious amounts of butter in them. After all this is Normandy, so everything is either cheese, butter or cream based as a staple.

The agenda for today was to simply explore the historic area of the city on foot and take in the atmosphere. We managed to get in the main sights including the Notre dame cathedral inside, one other cathedral Saint Maclou which was not so impressive except for the outside, the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, the modern Joan of Arc church, and an old Abbey come grave yard with skeletons and death scenes carved all the way around the ‘atrium’.

The site of the cathedral Notre Dame is over 1,000 years old, and the current structure was commenced in the 12th century. It is famous in part for the 30 paintings Claude Monet did of it. It’s spire is 490ft high, the highest spire in France. It was built at the same time the Eiffel tour was being built and has iron inside supporting it.

Inside the cathedral are relics of Richard the Lion heart – literally his heart and a femur from Rollo the first Duke of Normandy who died in 932 (great, great, grandfather of William the Conqueror).

The beautiful glass dates from the 13th century, and a side chapel dedicated to Joan of Arc with stunning modern glass from 1956 replacing those destroyed by the war.

The Saint Maclou cathedral (c1550) is also gothic style. The inside is quite stark and plain however the outside carved oak doors and scenes full of gargoyles on the facade were impressive.

Aitre St Maclou – the Plague cemetery, was slightly macabre but oddly enjoyable in a Achmed the terrorist sort of way. During the great plagues of the Middle Ages, as many as two thirds of the people in the parish died. Dealing with the corpses was an overwhelming task, so the courtyard became a mass grave area where bodies were processed, lime placed on them to speed decomposition, and then the bones collected and put in the alcoves. Ghoulish art carved into the surrounds reminded that death was a great leveller,.

Joan of Arc modern church was completed in 1979, and hosts impressive stained glass from another 16th century church. The ceiling is made to look like an inside of a ship, creating an overall Scandinavian feel.

We visited the clock in the day light, appreciating the arch that supports it then scoped out the Gare (train station) so we would have a good idea of where to park on the 2nd when we do a day trip to Paris. There was a nice train station style bakery there so we stopped for a comfort stop, snack and cuppa before mentally ordering our tired legs to head towards home.

A lot of places were closed for dinner being a Sunday, however we found a Lebanese open not too far from the hotel. We went home for a bit and put our legs up before walking 1.5km more each way to dinner. My word it was totally worth it. Another best in class for Lebanese food. The kibbeh were crunchy and moist and seasoned to perfection. In fact everything was seasoned to perfection. The hummus, tabbouleh, and the garlic labneh was to drool for. I enjoyed a generous mini carafe of Rose and Vern a Lebanese dark beer that was very pleasant.

The weather had got a bit showery and cool by the time we went home, and our weary legs welcomed their horizontal position. According to the phone application we clocked 9.4km today on cobbles. Not bad for two oldies?