Invitation To France, Vignettes-3

Chapter 5 Northern France

Arras’ beauty can be seen in two very large market-squares, The Grand–Place, and The Place of Heros. … 155 buildings supported by 345 columns surrounding the Grand–Place.

When we see lovely old towns with beautiful homes, cathedrals, castles, bridges, and shopping streets, we often wonder if the builders specifically designed the elegance, or if they just built in the style of that day, and the beauty “… is in the eye of the beholder.”

Chapter 6 Normandy East

Rouen … When the main marketplace was relocated outside the city, the medieval Place du Vieux-Marché (The Old Market Place) was excavated, uncovering the foundations of the Church of St. Saviour, and the spot where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

Seine River Valley … As travelers, accustomed to the sights and architecture of the US, when we travel through this river valley, jaws drop! eyes glaze! and words fail!

Honfleur … These old narrow houses are in splendid contrast to the two-story stone dwellings on the St.-Etienne Quay, just across the Old Dock. Perhaps of even more contrast is the Baskin-Robbins ice cream store in an ancient building on the St.-Etienne Quay.

A generation of impressionists set their easels on this quay, and there are always artists with easel and palette, and photographers with a neck full of camera straps, attempting to capture the charm of this venerable city.