Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Continue a few paces, then look up to the ceiling over the nave. Looking directly
above Rollo's femur on the opposite side of the apse, you can see the patchwork in the
ceilingwherethespirecrashedthroughtheroof.Perhapsthismightbeagoodtimetoexit?
Pass through the small iron gate, turn right, and leave through the side door (north tran-
sept).
Stepping outside, look back at the facade over the door. The fine carved tympanum
(the area over the door) shows a graphic Last Judgment. Jesus stands between the saved
(ontheleft)andthedamned(ontheright).Noticethedevilgraspingamiser,whoclutches
a bag of coins. Look for the hellish hot tub, where even a bishop (pointy hat) is eternally
in hot water. And is it my imagination, or are those saved souls on the far right high-fiving
each other?
Most of the facade has been cleaned—blasted with jets of water—but the limestone
carving is still black. It's too delicate to survive the hosing. A more expensive laser clean-
ing has begun, and the result is astonishing.
• From this courtyard, a gate deposits you on a traffic-free street. Turn right and walk
along...
Rue St. Romain
This street has half-timbered buildings andlanes worth alook.Inashort distance, youcan
look through an arch, back at the cathedral's prickly spire. Made of cast iron in the late
1800s—about the same time Gustave Eiffel was building his tower in Paris—the spire is,
at 490 feet, the tallest in France. You can also see the former location of the missing smal-
ler (green) spire—downed in a violent 1999 storm that blew the spire off the roof and sent
it crashing to the cathedral floor.
• Farther down the street, find a shop that shows off a traditional art form in action.
At Fayencerie Augy (at #26), Monsieur Augy and his staff welcome shoppers to
browse his studio/gallery/shop and see Rouen's clay “china” being made the traditional
way. First, the clay is molded and fired. Then it's dipped in white enamel, dried, lovingly
hand-painted, and fired a second time. Rouen was the first city in France to make faience,
earthenware with colored glazes. In the 1700s, the town had 18 factories churning out the
popular product (Mon-Sat 9:00-19:00, closed Sun, 26 Rue St. Romain, VAT tax refunds
nearly pay for the shipping, www.fayencerie-augy.com ). For more faience, visit the local
Museum of Ceramics (described later, under “Sights in Rouen”).
•ContinuealongRueSt.Romain,which(aftercrossingRuedelaRépublique)leadstothe
fancy...
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