Scooter Scares, Troubled Tour Guides, and Claude Monet

Rouen et Giverny

The (long) Departure

So, yesterday (Saturday) started off quite eventful. It began with taking the metro to La Bastille at 7am. All was well, and everyone was on time for the charter bus to leave at 7:45am. So we were off. As we were pulling around the circle of La Bastille (Think Dupont circle-but absolutely no rules concerning cars/scooters) we heard another bus behind us honking, and then....a thud. I look out my window, and see a scooter fallen on the road, but no body. We literally hit a kid on his scooter and his friend, who we saw drag this kid's body from underneath our bus. There was an awkward silence on our bus, and we all were just staring out the window. Ummm?! Our bus driver runs out the bus, and by now, we see that the kid and his friend are absolutely fine. The kid underneath the bus was obviously in what I thought was a dazed state of shock (as events unfolded, I realized that he was also in another state), but he was trying to pick up his scooter, and get out of there asap. Our bus driver, as well as the other charter bus driver that was honking behind us, were now on the scene. We are all still on the bus thinking, what the hell is going on? The kids and the drivers seemed to be in a disagreement. They wanted to peace on out of there, but our drivers were pushing them away from his fallen scooter. Why? I still don't know, I'm assuming its the  concerning accidents in France. They were trying to keep these kids from leaving until the police came. The police show up minutes later, by now we are watching a battle between the kids and the drivers. The one driver sneakily took the keys from the kid's hands when he wasn't paying attention, and threw them at our driver. Literally out of a movie, our driver caught the keys mid-air, and ran back into our bus. Not quick enough, this kid literally ran ONTO our bus. By now, we are getting really into the action. Real life movie. I did a complete turn around from being in a state of slumber, sans coffee to wide awake, and ready for the scene unfolding. All I see is our driver screaming at this kid to back up, or else. The kid didn't listen, so the driver jumped up and kicked this kid in the chest to get him out of the bus. Karate style. This was actually turning into one of the most ridiculous scenarios I have ever been (sort of) involved in. The police finally stroll to the scene as I am singing "bad boys bad boys whatchu gonna do watchu gonna do when they come for you bad boys bad boys."

So, they separate our driver from the kids, and seemed to be listening to each other's stories. As I am playing detective, I realize that this kid is clearly drunk, probably driving home from a night of partying. The cops, obviously following my thought process, assume the same. Et voilà, they make him take a breathalyzer test. As he is taking his test, his friends sprinted on out of there (seconds after this photo was taken). BUSTED! Handcuffed, and arrested.

Minor little setback, our driver has to sign some paperwork, and we are off to Rouen around 9:30am...an hour and a half behind schedule. C'est la vie!

Rouen

Rouen's history is overwhelming. Basically, what I caught was Vikings, William the Conqueror, and a busy Medieval city. Rouen is known for its Notre Dame cathedral, specifically the Tour de Beurre, or "Butter Tower"of the church. Also, this is a church that largely inspired Claude Monet, and it can be seen in his famous paintings (more about Monet later). Of course, Rouen is the place where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Our group split in two, and I think we got the shorter stick of tour guides. While he was very very nice, his english...not so much. A+ for effort! So, he gave us a quick walking tour of Rouen.

Troubled Tour Guide in Front of the House of "zeee very big jew man"

He brought us to City Hall, which he said used to be the heart of the "jew area" in Rouen, and way back when, it used to be the house of "a very big jew man." He pointed to the street it was on, "Rue aux Juifs," but he decided to translate it to "jew street." "Okee evurrryone, leet's take a left on Jew Street, Allez-y! OK!"

Medieval Streets of Rouen

Where Joan of Arc was burned at the Stake NOT in 1962

He also explained to us the tiny medieval streets, and the layout was for the purpose of them dumping their pee and poop out their windows onto the streets. Thank you to whoever invented plumping, for now we no longer have to walk in our waste. This poor tour guide. I tried my best to keep a straight face for everything, but I finally hit my breaking point. Having some trouble speaking english, and pronouncing "the people were facades," he turned the word "facade" into a not so nice four letter word that begins with "F". So all I heard out of this guy's mouth was "The people were ____-ed"After that, It was all over for me. I had to bring myself to the back of the group because I was completely killing his confidence in English by belly laughing in his face. We made our way through the streets, to where he showed us the place where Joan of Arc (and many others) were burned at the stake. This pour guide also was struggling with his numbers. I did pay attention freshman year in World Civ. class, and NO, Joan of Arc was not killed in.... 1962. Et voilà, that was Rouen.

Giverny

Love. Love. Love. 

Giverny took Monet's heart, and it now has mine. It was so refreshing to get out to the beautiful countryside of France. As a group, we went to Monet's estate, which includes the famous gardens he designed that inspired his many paintings. So unbelievably beautiful. It's something that can't be put into words, even pictures can't capture its beauty. It was like entering another world that I never wanted to leave. Part of his estate included a tour of his house. He designed everything in his home, down to every last detail. Everything in his home today, is exactly what was there when he was alive. Quite amazing. I loved his purple and green hallways, and the famous yellow dining room. He was a man of pastels, and bright colors. It was forbidden to take pictures in his home, but I sneakily snatched some. Enjoy!

His Real Work

More of Monet's Studio with Paintings

The Yellow Room