Eiffel for Paris: Rouen...

The French rail system, SNCF, loves to encourage travelers to get out and see the country by way of its numerous chemins de fer (railways). Tickets are often offered at a discount, so it seems silly not to take advantage of the great deals...

A few weekends ago, Susy and I did just that.

We packed weekend bags and caught an early Saturday morning train bound for Rouen, a short 1.5 hours away. The city is known for being the site of Joan of Arc's demise, as well as home to the cathedral portal that Claude Monet painted over 30 times. We signed up for a walking tour of the city (2 hours in the bitter cold!) and visited the Musée des Beaux-Arts on Saturday. Sunday morning we awoke to a beautiful snow-covered city. We learned that Paris had received a dusting overnight that quickly melted by mid-day...we woke up to at least 5 inches that stayed around the entire day!! Dressing for the cold was one thing (multiple layers = 2 scarves, 2 sweaters, leggings under pants, 2 pairs of socks and gloves), but neither one of us were prepared for **snow**! We had fun as we gingerly made our way through the "n'er to see a plow" streets. The highlight of the day was entering the Musée le Secq des Tournelles, an iron-work museum with the most extensive collection of forged iron items in the world! Susy was in iron-work heaven!! The museum itself was housed in a decommissioned cathedral (small in size for a cathedral, but perfect as a repurposed museum). The curator was a wealth of information and the collection was really breathtaking - everything from store signs, to keys, sugar pincers, kitchen utensils, jewelry, iron chests, balconies, railings, weights and measures...you name it, it was represented. The sheer amount of keys (and accompanying locks) were the most impressive!! We were exhausted by the time we left, but happy to have explored another city outside of our beloved Paris...