In Normandy

I'm in Normandy in a wonderful old farmhouse about 30 minutes from Rouen. My friend Sylvie met me at the train station in Paris on my way from southern France and we had to take the Metro to another station to catch trains to the north. Simone, the woman who raised Sylvie lives here with her  sister France. We had a quick tour of Rouen - the lace-like gothic cathedral, the ornate Palace of Justice and the spot where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Yesterday we went the seaports of Fecamps and Etretat. It was a national holiday - Aug. 15 the Assumption, a long weekend for many and the beaches were packed and traffic was a nightmare - reminded me of coming home from the beaches on Sunday evenings in Lima. Always reminders of WWII. On the cliffs we saw what I think were German machine gun positions but were not marked so I could be wrong. The cathedral escaped complete destruction   in the bombings but did had major damage and had an exhibit on the reconstruction done between 1945 and 1956. And in Albi and Toulouse found many references to August 1944 - such a time of liberation yet much destruction. Also the month my father was killed in India.

We are being fed all sorts of delicious food by Simone and I am trying unsuccessfully to keep up with the fast moving conversation. Sylvie hasn't been to visit in over 15 years and her brother and sister live nearby. They came over with kids and a sister-in-law who lives in Switzerland. Tonight is more family visiting before going to Rouen to see the cathedral lit up with the projections of paintings of the impressionists.