Nov 26 Thanksgiving in Rouen

We arrived in Rouen last night.  The ship docked about 5 blocks from the historic center of the city, which is remarkably close.  This is famous as being the city where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake by the British. In the am Marge and I walked the city center, then while Marge visited a museum featuring impressionist artists, I explored more.   After lunch at the ship, we had a guided walking tour of the city. I liked Rouen because it is historic, fairly compact and not nearly as crowded as Paris.

For dinner, one choice was roasted turkey with all the trimmings. It was good, but we missed Thanksgiving dinner with the family.

 Our ship  with 1 of Rouen's cathedrals in the background

  An interesting old building

Thanksgiving dinner entre

 

Tour of local food market led by the Viking chef

Nov 25 Van Gough's final studio

Today we visited Auvers-sur-Oise, the town where Vincent Van Gough spent his last 70 days while painting 75 paintings.  During his life, he only sold 1 of his paintings, receiving only enough to reimburse his brother for his living expenses for 3 days. What a tragedy considering that now his paintings sell for over $100 milion each.   At various places in town there are copies of his paintings next to the scene that inspired it, and our guide explained the relationship between the scene and the painting.  He and his brother are buried next to each other in a cemetery across from a wheat field that inspired many of his paintings.  

His paintings weren't selling, so his brother was his sole means of support. His brother had recently married and had just had a baby.   Van Gogh got depressed because he thought he was a financial burden on his brother, so he committed suicide by shooting himself.

The graves of the Van Gogh brothers

The field that inspired several of Van Gogh's last paintings.  It is across from the cemetery where he is buried.