Sunday in Rouen

My comfy (if messy) room

I don't think Cats and Carmelites had anything to do with each other....

I was woken this morning with a massive thunderclap – no sign of actual rain, but the skies are clouded. Perhaps a little cooler today?   I had meant to go out and do an early wander, but ended up finishing off yesterday’s blog, dealing with overflowing email boxes, and wrestling with not being able to back up my photos!  Not sure whether it’s a problem with my phone or my computer, but I worked around it by sharing yesterday’s pick to myself in Messenger, and saving from there.

Doesn't much look like a hotel!

And this bare little stairway leads to ma chambre

I’m feeling particularly old-lady-ish this morning – whether it’s the heat or the walking or standing last night in the Cathedral Square – I’ve pulled something in my hip, and all the walking today has been cautious.  All signs of last nights street parties were gone, and there were few people around – though a surprising number of homeless folks. I noticed them in London, but they’re very apparent here. However, I have literally NO cash – I should probably get some coinage, but everything I’ve needed to pay for has been contactless. Europe achieved that with COVID much better than we did! It must make it much harder for the homeless, though.

The Palais de Justice

The Gros Horloge - it only has one hand. Apparently within the hour is enough to be on time.

La Rue Massacre (don't know who or when, but it all looks very pretty now)

I explored a bit to the west of the Cathedral – around the Palais de Justice and then up the Gros Horlorge – I think I’m not going to try the climb up that tower! - and finally made my way back to the Cathedral for the morning service. It turned out to be Corpus Christi (transferred from Thursday, I guess) and there were veterans carrying banners from various branches of service, and a hunting horn ensemble!  It was not a stranger-friendly service – very little congregational singing and what there was was poor, musically. There was a plainsong men’s choir which got most of the notes and a cantor who led the psalm and the congregation parts, and I think was a boy treble (it was, inevitably, a very male-dominated service!).

All the Rouen churches have these chairs - SO uncomfortable!

I could follow most of the Latin content, but probably got one word in five of the sermon. The organ was very French-reedy, but the organist really got little chance to play, because all his improv had to lead into interludes for the hunting horns!  The final procession led out into the west end square where the banners displayed and the horns blasted us one more time from the cathedral doorway.

Banners presented outside

Horn blasts at the end!

Since it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed – essentials like mini-groceries, pharmacies and of course cafes were open.  My Greenwich hayfever has turned into a full-blown cold (yes, I did check for COVID), and I was struggling with the snuffles and coughing. So I popped into a pharmacy and (thank goodness he spoke English) he made me sit down and do another COVID test, which was negative again, and said that yes, it really was just a cold, and to rest and hydrate. So I grabbed some lunch from a mini-mart next door, and went back to rest up for a couple of hours.  Nobody is wearing masks – I suppose it was inevitable I would catch something new....

Empty streets - such a contrast from last night

A few hours of rest was all I wanted to give it – I couldn’t be in Rouen and lie around in my “Chambre”. So I put my walking stick together – it helps slow me down – and explored to the east – lovely little streets, and churches round every corner.  

Outside St Maclou

The biggest one to the east is St Maclou (same root as St Malo), which I suspect is the more reformed-Catholic variety; there was obviously-singable music available to visitors, and it looked to be youth-aware.  I should probably have gone there this morning – but then I’d have missed the hunting horns! 

St Maclou organ, and the organ stairway

 From there I walked down to the Seine and from the bridge I could see other churches as large as St Maclou! The river does not proceed in a straight line, but goes in enormous loops, so each not-quite-island tends to have its own abbey foundations – Jumièges, St-Georges-de-Boscherville and many others.  The Seine is also navigable by ocean-going ships as far up as Rouen, which was one of the reasons for the city’s economic success. This was saying goodbye to it for me – I’d travelled along it to Vernon, but tomorrow I strike west for Caen, and the Seine goes north east to Le Havre.

Looking east up the Seine

St Ouen

Any time I’d checked Rouen Tourism, the Sunday concert at the Abbey Church of St Ouen was mentioned – they’re renewing the west end rose window, and that means renovations needed for the church’s Cavaillé-Coll instrument. And they’re doing a weekly concert for those funds – so I thought, sure, I’ll trot along for a nice Sunday organ recital. Well, it wasn’t organ – it was choral! - a group called L’ensemble Les Melange, singing music by Hildegarde and from the Llibre Vermeill de Montserrat.  The women’s group was pretty average – a competent core, and a few passengers. But their leader Thomas van Essen, was good, and there was an excellent instrumental team of veille/archet, lute and percussion. And they used the space well – sang from different positions and did some processional stuff.  What a nice way to end the day!

Ready to perform

Taking a well-earned bow