The Voyage Part 2.

“Pleasure is found first in anticipation, later in memory” Gustave Flaubert b. Rouen 1821

We left Amsterdam late afternoon and headed out to sea ,passing the Belgian Coast overnight and then up the River Seine arriving in Rouen mid afternoon on the Wednesday

All very calm. So calm on a couple of occasions I looked out of the window to check we were moving.
The Seine was much prettier than I expected with very little industry-apart from farming of course.

The weather was definitely on our side and we passed the day watching the world go by, reading, walking round and round the ship looking for one another, the odd tincture and of course eating.
The food on the Marco Polo was good, wholesome without being poncey and the service was very good. There were two choices of restaurant -the Waldorf, which was waiter service and the Marco Polo which was self service. The queues for the latter could be off-putting but moved along fairly quickly. The main delay seemed to be caused by running out of cutlery-perhaps they should buy some more

Obviously a ship called Marco Polo wasn't going to run out of China!

A rather strange table decoration

There was obviously enough to eat because on no occasion did Ady resort to his usual hoard of biscuits or to devouring passing members of the crew.

His Lordship in the Library

The houses along the Seine were splendid and the road seems to follow along her bank for nearly all her length

These cyclists were doing a fair speed and just keeping apace with the ship
I tried to shout out to them about Caz's new book but they were too far away.

Eventually we reached the outskirts of Rouen, still in glorious sunshine and looking forward to an evening in La Belle France. Especially because ever since a bad experience in Paris Ady has robustly refused to have anything to do with the French. Could he be converted?

Approaching Rouen

That's Nice. (No it's not -it's Rouen)

Once moored in Rouen the embarkation was swiftly executed with different groups going off to different places. We had decided to plough our own furrow and hopped on the Courtesy bus (provided by the Rouen Tourist board) and had a wander and meal in Rouen. A goodly walk round the city sussing out the historical highlights for the morrow, a couple of beers and into one of the many restaurants.
I knew by the second course your man, Ady, was now a committed Francophile-frogs legs, oysters, souffle, a shared bottle of Chenin Blanc-fill your Wellingtons Mon ami!
After dinner we returned to the ship for a nightcap and to plan the following day.

Ady works off his dinner

The end of navigation as far as we are concerned. Beyond lies Paris. I definitely wont get Ady there!

Rouen Cathedral

After a very sound sleep and a light breakfast we coached back into Rouen. First stop was the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen-I've stuck some history at the end of this post.

After the cathedral we looked for an antiques shop Ady had sussed on the internet. It is now a posh fashion shop so no luck there. Perhaps lunch will ease the pain of disappointment

Rouen Cathedral by Monet

Rouen Cathedral by Michael

 Ady by Rouen Carhedral

 Richard the Lionheart is buried here

Some Daliesque graffiti-which Ady has missed

A Monument to Flaubert + a local's scarf

Gros Horloge (see note below)

We found a small restaurant near the town square where the salad starter would have done as a main course and the bouef bourgignon meant no further food was requred that week!

The windows are my snaps-I copied the church one below

Église Jeanne d'Arc

In the ancient Vieux-Marché of Rouen is this very modern church, which at first looks so out of place and yet after a few minutes looks ok, though Ady remained unimpressed
This is the site where Joan of Arc was burnt to death and so it seems fitting that a church dedicated to St Jeanne d'Arc should be on this spot, but before the second world war the church on this site was in fact one dedicated to Saint Vincent. That church was so badly damaged  it was demolished (what was left of it) but somehow the stained glass from it's windows survived and was incorporated into the new church which was completed in 1979.

The church was designed by architect Louis Arretche and the exterior form of the building is supposed to represent both the flames that burnt Joan and an upturned Viking ship, two things which have great significance in the history of Rouen.

Afterwards we returned to the ship to sail for Zeebrugge overnight.
Firstly I was fascinated by how they would turn the ship round.We were moored facing upstream towards Paris and I assumed that tugs would arrive and tow us backwards to a dock some 200 yards away to effect a turn.
My expert eye had already sussed that there was insufficient width of river to turn.
Wrong!
Marco Polo is 578 feet long and the Captain and crew demonstrated most adeptly that the river Seine at this point is about 583 feet wide .
The sort of manouvre when carried out on your narrowboat you sincerely hope nobody is watching. Well, there were 800 passengers, 199 crew and a few Rouenettes watching hoping he'd just touch the bank and the cathedral would fall down and we'd all have a tale to tell.
I know such a ship has men posted at all four corners, all the computerised aids, probably a John Pattle Bowthruster and they've obviously done it before but my word it was impressive.
A spontaneous round of applause throughout the ship when he finally brought her round to point towards the sea. One of the best bits of the holiday for me and I was charging from one end of the ship to the other so as not to miss anything.

There's about the same amount of space at the pointed end as he starts the turn

mustn't hit this bloke!

3/4 of the way round

pointing down river

On the way back down the Seine the crew had a boat drill which every passenger was told to ignore. We didn't , of course, especially when some of them climbed into MY lifeboat and partially lowered it. All very professional to be fair and reassured everybody except for one old boy who woke up half way through and thought we were sinking. I gave him the address of a good dry cleaner.

Away the boats!

The Belgian air force came out to welcome us.

Coming into Zeebrugge. All hands on deck.

Down the Seine and out to sea heading for Zeebrugge and Bruges. We travelled through the night and were due to dock at 12 something.

The lovely Rosemary and Ray

We are just about to moor up when I spy a giant black pudding in the way!

A rope ashore and this little truck's mobile capstan wheels her in

"Captain. I think there's a black pudding in the way!"

After docking we all went our different ways. We caught the courtesy bus into Bruges accompanied by a very fine guide. The first thing I learnt was that for 60 odd years I've been calling the city Bruge but all the locals say Bruges The other thing that never dawned on me before is that Zeebrugge is Bruges by the Sea, the ability to access the sea via a canal being the reason for Bruges prosperity throughout history

More pictures......

See what sharing a table with us for a few days does to people-David and Marion

We made our way to the City square for lunch. They were setting up for an open air concert over Easter

We found a window to do a selfie. Sad aint we. Don't know who the bloke with the paper was.. If I'd known he was there I could have askede him to take the  picture.

A very strong beer or two and a baguette in the world famous Craenenburg on the town square. Belgium is famous for its beers and some are pretty potent we had a more moderate 9.0 and a 9.2.

I'm sure this lampost looked straight on the way in.....

Horse rides round town are very popular although this one  was going too fast when it hit the wall. The driver was severely bruged.

This nun sits at her window day and night watching for her lost love who jilted her at the altar and moved to another Belgian city. But he was no Ghentleman

No comment. Other than there wasn't a Fulhamstraat.

Bruges is a beautiful city, pricey but beautiful. As with Amsterdam and Rouen it would have been better if we'd had longer but that's the life of a rough tough sailor at the mercy of the vagaries of wind and tide. Especially the former.  And one can always return.........

We returned to the Marco Polo for dinner and our last night on board. The cabaret was a girl group which I chose to miss but apparently (and this is true) when one of them sang "I will go down with this ship" a number of the audience headed for the bar.We left Zeebrugge about 11 pm and crossed a very calm North sea arriving at Tilbury about 6a.m. Disembarking took longer than necessary because some people hadn't settled their bar bill which I thought a bit silly treating everybody like a class of kids because of a few useless buggers but there you go. I'd settled my bill in advance and whilst still under the anaesthetist.

A great five days.

Home from Tilbury to the feast of St George, a Speeding Awareness Course and a trip round a brewery-all in the next blog which will be along very soon.
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Some history on Rouen Cathedral.
The first cathedral at Rouen was built in 396 by Bishop Victricius. This was destroyed by the invading Normans, who replaced it with a larger cathedral with a wooden vault. Consecrated in 1063 in the presence of William the Conqueror, all that remains of this building is the crypt beneath the choir.
Rouen Cathedral was rebuilt in 1145 by Bishop Hugues d'Amiens based on the new Gothic style he admired at Saint-Denis Basilica in Paris. After devastating fire in 1200 destroyed all but the nave arcades, the Saint-Romain tower and the left portal, reconstruction began immediately. The choir and remainder of the cathedral were built in the more mature Gothic style of the 13th century, completed around 1250.
In the 15th century, the facade of the cathedral was given in a makeover in the Flamboyant Gothic style of the day. The upper portions of the left tower were modified, the facade was renovated, and a new tower was added: the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), named for its funding by donations from wealthy citizens in return for the privilege of continuing to eat butter during Lent.  The tower was not completed until the 17th century.
Other towers, spires and vertical extensions were added over the years, most notably the Tour Lanterne (Lantern Tower) of 1876. With that great spire, Rouen Cathedral became the tallest building in the world (but it only the held the record until 1880).
In 1892 and 1893, Claude Monet could usually be found with his canvas set up next to the cathedral's facade. During those two years he created some 30 paintings of the facade in a variety of lighting and weather conditions, providing a beautiful study of the play of light in Gothic architecture and sculpture. The paintings can be seen in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.
Rouen Cathedral narrowly escaped destruction in World War II - it took several direct hits from bombs in 1944, which narrowly missed destroying key pillars.

Gros Horloge, Rouen
The clock is installed in a Renaissance arch crossing the Rue du Gros-Gorloge. The mechanism is one of the oldest in France, the movement was made in 1389. Construction of the clock was started by Jourdain del Leche who lacked the necessary expertise to finish the task, so the work was completed by Jean de Felain, who became the first to hold the position of governor of the clock. The clock was originally constructed without a dial, with one revolution of the hour-hand representing twenty-four hours. The movement is cast in wrought iron, and at approximately twice the size of the Wells Cathedral clock, it is perhaps the largest such mechanism still extant. A facade was added in 1529 when the clock was moved to its current position.The Renaissance facade represents a golden sun with 24 rays on a starry blue background. The dial measures 2.5 metres in diameter.
The phases of the moon are shown in the oculus of the upper part of the dial. It completes a full rotation in 29 days. The week days are shown in an opening at the base of the dial with allegorical subjects for each day of the week.
The mechanism was electrified in the 1920s and it was restored in 1997.