CAUDEBEC-EN-CAUX

Traveling well off the familiar automobile and train tracks of France, the River Seine villages and cities between Rouen and the English Channel make possible a look at Medieval and Renaissance Europe, an ancient world.  Abbaye de Jumieges dates back to 654.  Vikings burned it to the ground in the 9th Century.  It was rebuilt on a larger, grander scale by William the Conquerer in 1167.  It had to be spiffed up again in the 16th Century.  The French Revolution finally brought it’s life as an active monastery to an end.  The magnificent ruins eventually became a quarry for a developing town.  That enterprise ended when a farsighted new owner saw it’s potential as an iconic monument and a source of pride and income for the town.  

Abbaye de St-Wandrille is another matter,  although it’s first monks met there in 668 A.D., It is very much alive as a monastery today.  We were invited to come into the abbey if we were willing to be quiet and not take pictures with flash.  The experience was, how shall I say, restful.  At the beginning of this river trip, the emphasis was on things old.  I am feeling comfortable and definitely at home and at ease with things old. 

Tonight we were invited to have dinner at the captain’s table. As always, the evening was better than good. We will sail into the harbor at Le Havre where the River Seine flows into the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux.