Above left is a photo of the Hôtel de Ville in Rouen. The statue in front of it depicts Napoleon on horseback. Here's a link to a 2021 post of mine with photos.Above right is a photo of Rouen's Gros Horloge (big clock), near the place du Vieux-Marché. It was already a century old or more when it was placed in its current location in 1527. It's one of Rouen's most popular monuments. On the right is a closeup.
Below you see our dog Collette (1992-2006). She was eleven years old when we brought her to France and walked around with her in Rouen.
We had rescued Collette in 1992 after finding her at a Humane Society shelter in California. She was so traumatized and timid that nobody else wanted to adopt her. She got to live the last three years of her life in the Renaudière vineyard just outside Saint-Aignan.
Like you, Ken, I lived in Rouen but earlier than you in 1968-69 as a student during the inauguration of the Illinois-Iowa Year Abroad Program. That academic year came after the "events of May '68" that had a profound impact on France and is still felt today. For this kid raised in farming country near Urbana-Champaign, it was a life-changing experience, leading to a career teaching French in Boston area.
ReplyDeleteImagine my surprise when some 25 years later my wife and I were walking down the rue Jeanne d'Arc in Rouen and heard someone yell out, "Bob, Bob F." It was old friends Ann B. (of the same year abroad) and Alain O. (a fellow grad student in Urbana. We had a lovely dinner that evening and shared wonderful memories of people and places. A visit to the Rouen campus in Mont Saint-Aignan revealed changes but also that some things hadn't changed. For example, the bâtiment provisoire which housed our program offices and classrooms was still there - is it still? So much for temporary.
But back to the present. Norma and I had a wonderful visit with Ken and Walt last week at their house in the Loire Valley. Ken picked us up at the train station in Blois. We zigzagged throughout the countryside to avoid road work and wound up getting a bit lost, but the conversation never lagged. GPS saved the day, and Walt greeted us with a bubbly toast upon our arrival. They served a delicious lunch (Ken's blanquette de veau was exquise) followed by Walt's famous tarte aux pommes. Walt drove us back to Blois and we made our way to Paris and our friend Claude's apartment. A thoroughly excellent visit. Thanks Ken and Walt for your wonderful hospitality. May our paths cross again - and soon!
Ken and Walt are wonderful hosts. And you saw Claude, too! My friend Esta and I saw Claude in 2021 in Paris. I met all three through internet blogs in the early 2000's. It's truly a small world now.
DeleteAwww, so nice to see Colette :)
ReplyDeleteColette got the best life after a sad beginning.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful of you two to adopt Collette. I didn't know her backstory.
ReplyDeleteCollette was about six months old when we adopted her in the summer of 1992. The people at the Humane society told us that she had been found wandering the streets of Santa Clara or San José, with no collar or tag. She was traumatized, as I said, and seemed to be especially intimidated by children. Walt and I were able to tame and reassure her. We went on many camping trips with her over the years, both up in the Sierras and out along the northern coast of California.
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