Rouen Cathedral at Night

We left Paris after the cruise 'around' the city and cruised towards the English Channel overnight. Sleeping wasn't so easy as the sound of the engine and the splashes of water seemed noisy after our quiet home. There was no noticable movement while we were sailing and all was very smooth. During the morning we spent our time on the sun deck taking photographs of the countryside as we passed by. For most of the time the river banks were heavily wooded and we didn't see much sign of human habitation.

Our first port of call was Les Andelys so that we could visit the ruins of Chateau Gaillard, built by Richard the Lionheart in 1196. Les Andelys is a very small village with typical Normandy houses and lots of holyhocks. I couldn't resist photographing one against an old front door (first extra).

We left Les Andelys during dinner and by 10 pm we were moored in Rouen. Karim, our tour director, encouraged us to walk to the Cathedral ready for the light show which started at 11 pm. It was well worth having the late night in order to see the spectacular show. It was impossible to take a picture of the cathedral without it having converging verticals.