Back to Notre Dame, and there are large groups of tourists and groups of school kids there at 9 AM, and I hear Italian and German spoken. The interior of the church is gloomy, but the stained glass is beautiful, and alcoves at the sides of the church hold shrines to the saints. The place is huge.

Outside, a little shuttle train is taking tourist back and forth from the cathedral to the old market. I walk around the church to the right and see that the main spire is being restored. The back of the church is enclosed all around. I turn around and see another church spire in the next street. It’s Eglise St. Maclou, much smaller than the cathedral. Around another corner I find a supposed 17th century house. The building leans to the left, but the window frames are square and straight up and down, and the details are damage free. Rouen was badly damaged in the bombing raids in WW2 and many buildings have been restored as close to the originals as possible. The same type of restoration occurred in Germany.

There's another church spire about two blocks away — the Eglise/Abbe St. Ouen, again smaller, and not open. It is in bad shape — the figurines over the doorways are badly worn, as are the gargoyles and one is completely missing. A long-term restoration is in progress on the Tour de Coronnel. Just up the street are the “new” law courts in French Imperial style, with a statue of the giver of the laws — the Napoleonic Code.

I think this would be a good time to go to the tourist office to pick up a few brochures about the main sites, but it’s actually an upscale tourist shop with a price tag on everything. Down the road there's a clothing store with the name No Comment. I see English is creeping into the signage with words like sandwich, weekend, self service. A chance glance up a little street and I discover the original law courts, started in 1499, and a beautiful example of ornate stone architecture it is. The completed portions are a beige/butter colour. It is a beautiful building.

After a stroll through the old market, which reminds me of the Granville Island market, but outside, I decide it's time to hit the military trail again.

The 1H (First Hussars) and QOR (Queens Own Rifles) were both at Elboeuf, upriver from Rouen, the QOR crossing here and the 1H crossing at Criqueboeuf-sur-Seine which, try as I might, I cannot get to by using roads and bridges on the map. After about 3/4 of an hour trying I give up — I have bigger places to find. It’s warm out, and I’m in shirt sleeves.

The 1H headed straight for Abbeville and got there in five days, so there must not have been a lot of enemy resistance. The QOR headed to Le Treport on the coast with a few fights on the way. The first place is Ymare, just a road crossing and a few buildings, then St. Martin du Vivier which is somewhat larger and very bucolic. Then Cailly and on to Neufchatel-en-Bray, a small town with a mid-size church. There's also a tourist info place and the woman there tells me there's a memorial just out of town. It’s a small one to the Duke of York’s Own Royal Canadian Hussars (17th Armoured Regiment). Then on to Fresnoy-Folny, with a moderate-size church and a memorial to the fallen citizens of two world wars. It's now 7:30 PM and time to head back to Rouen in the setting sun.

Cheers, Mike