Day 55 16 May 2015 Rouen-Paris

On our way back to Paris on an overcast morning we had a guided tour of Chateaux-Gaillard which was Richard I’s stronghold which took two years to build in the 12th Century. Very much a LARGE TOWER. You have to remember that he had far more territory in France than in England and that he could speak Latin and French but not English. It has magnificent views over the Seine. It was attacked and besieged by the French and was partly destroyed.  Later its height was deliberately reduced so the townspeople were able to use the castle as building material.  It is the first castle I have heard of that was made of largely flint and faced with stone.

It had outstanding views of the Seine and the island here is reputed where Richard stayed.  They had stakes/obstacles in the river to prevent the passage of boats/ships.  It started to rain and we had to scamper back to our bus.  Here in the pictures you can see Elizabeth not talking to the Major-General about whether I should be made to remain in the cellars.

We were meant to visit La Roche Guyon which has a lovely 16th century chateaux and where Rommel had his headquarters in 1944.  It is a picturesque spot on the Seine with high cliffs behind.  Artisans established themselves in caves though one or two of them looked like a mens’ shed.

We missed the chateaux and castle (top picture) as there was nowhere for the bus to park at Guyon so we kept going on to Paris. We arrived at our hotel and had to make a few trips to help other people with their luggage as it was about 100 metres from where the bus could park.  100metres doesn’t sound like much but add narrow footpath and cobblestones it does make a difference. One of the fellows let’s call him Wayne, made a second trip and bought back two large suitcases, dumped them on the foyer floor and proclaimed, “There are two bags I never want to see again.”  We don’t know if he was referring to the suitcases or their owners. We went for a walk to scope out our new hotel which is about 30 min walk away but with the crowds it seemed a lot longer.