Street in Rouen
To many their surroundings were everyday things that they probably
took for granted but walking down the street in Rouen to see the
cathedral was like walking back in history. Not that it was easy to
follow our tour guide through the crowded cobblestone streets. It
probably didn’t help that we kept stopping to take photos and ended
up far behind our group.
There was more space for the crowds in Rouen than had been available
when we went to visit Monet’s house and gardens. There were so many
people there that we didn’t have enough time to go into the house.
The gardens were magnificent and almost made up for the people
blocking some of the view. Another day might have been different, but
it was a sunny Sunday, the first nice day in a while, a very good day
for a walk to take in history.
Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Rouen
That one day was a teaser and the first time I had stepped foot in
France. It showed me that finding out about history on a tour is a
limited overview at best and can turn out to be hard to access
because of weather, crowds and other distractions. The tour only
covered a limited number of places and my friend who wanted to see
Rouen was unable to visit the church significant to her family
history as it was too far away. Mass market tours might not be the
best thing for family historians on the hunt. The moral of the story
is that historical tours are fun and informative for the average
tourist but if you want to know more it would be better to spend
time tailoring a visit that fits in the history you want to absorb.
Monet's Japanese Garden
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