Rouen: Joan of Arc and the Lost Phone–November 10, 2023

First, an update on the amazing saga of Doug’s lost phone. A guy who works in Auvers where we were yesterday (64 miles from where we are now) found Doug’s phone on the street this morning. He lives in Paris, so he took the phone back to his apartment, hoping he could find the owner and someone would contact him. Doug figured out that you can mark your phone as lost, then activate a message to have the person who finds it contact you, so he sent a message that included my phone number. Wonder of wonders, the guy just called! Of course he spoke only French, so Doug raced down to the desk. Jerome, the cruise director talked to the guy and arranged a time to get the phone when we get back into port in Paris on Monday. So, we will see if miracles can happen and we actually retrieve the missing phone.

This morning we arrived in Rouen, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. Before we arrived, our cruise director, Jerome, performed, I mean narrated, a lecture about her tragic story. In a nutshell, Joan had some farfetched dream visions and single-handedly saved France from the English. If it had not have been for her, the entire world, including the United States, could have been under the heavy hand of British Imperialism. For her troubles she was burned at the stake for heresy and her ashes were thrown into the Seine. She was only 19 years old. She was canonized in 1920, almost 500 years after she died. There was no Q&A after the lecture, but I wanted to point out that although Joan of Arc was probably an admirable person, the United States actually fought the Revolutionary War to free our country from British rule.

After lunch we went on a walking tour of Rouen which included Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, where our tour guide, Marie Helene, pointed out where Joan of Arc was buried. Wait, I thought her remains were thrown into the Seine River? I didn’t ask at risk of sounding like a smarty pants. Richard the Lionheart had a tomb there as well, but they only buried his heart there to commemorate his love of Normandy. They buried the remainder of his body in Anjou.

In case you are wondering why there is a church called Notre Dame in Rouen, there are actually 37 churches with the name Notre Dame, or “Our Lady,” in France. Of course, we only think of the Notre Dame in Paris. So far, we have seen two churches named Notre Dame, but not the one in in Paris.

We also walked by the Gros Horloge, a Renaissance building which spans the road below by means of a lowered arch. There is a 14th century astronomical clock face on each side of the arch, where a single hand indicates the hour. Marie Helene said that under the number VI, a divinity associated with the day of the week appears on a triumphal chariot. Yeah, I didn’t understand what she was saying either, but it is pretty. See below:

Surprisingly, Laurel and Kevin are kind of growing on me. I have never met anyone quite like Laurel. She is a complete open book. Everything she is thinking just spills out of her mouth like so many colorful gum balls, and it can actually be quite entertaining. Kevin is a lovable nerd who doesn’t seem to have too many inhibitions. At lunch yesterday he showed one of the waiters how to do the Funky Chicken. Comedy gold for sure.