Rouen 2006

Journey Diary 2006-05-21

ROUEN

by Jenny Hefczyc - www.Jehanne-DArc.com

Day 3

Oh, I was so exhausted from the last evening. At the moment I'm still in the hotel of Orleans, it's our last day here, and not like yesterday, I feel terrible today!

I still have 2 cards, but at 12:00 o'clock in the morning, my father wanted to leave Orleans. My last card for 2 o'clock stays unused.

We make a quick-breakfast, I was glad to be able to see the festival at 10 o'clock in the morning!

It was as hectic and chaotic as at the day before.

But after 10 minutes there were only 100 people there, and no one else was coming. The cards become invalid and everyone around there was allowed to sit down at the stands. Good for my father ;)
I don't know if it was too early for the people, or maybe they were still shocked from the rain yesterday, but there weren't as many people as I thought there would be.

It was the same like yesterday, the little girl who played Joan's role, didn't have things to do, or just fewer than yesterday. She was just standing around and posing so proud for the one man with the camera. The Saint Joan flag she just gave to her mother.

The girl was pretty sweet, but why didn't the city choose a girl who was interested in Saint Joan and likes her? This girl did not deign to look at the lot of Joan statues next to her.

At this day, Orleans built a new stand, but it seemed that only very important people of the city were allowed to sit there. Actually it was all the same like yesterday, just without rain, and the fact that one quarter of the city was still sleeping.

This event didn't take a lot of time, so after it, we went back to our car, come along to Rouen!!!

Rouen

In this Chapter there aren't any photo's about the City or the lake of Rouen. No detailed reports, why not? Was Jenny-Jinya lazy? Was she ill? Was her camera broken?
No. I just wasn't able to do it. That place was just too sad to took photos of...

I already didn't feel mental of sound mind, since we drove about the long bridge in Orleans, over the river "Seine". HER river...

We were coming out from an underground car park, and we came out there directly beside the Church, at the place where Joan was burned.
 But the church was closed. Very sadden; my father went with me into the wax-museum beside the church.

With my little camera I was going through the slender hallways, past at the great glass cabinets and show-cases, my hands were shaking, and I wasn't able to concentrate at the wax-figures. Damn... why that place made me that much uncomfortable?

 At long last, we were going out of this museum, and to the river "Seine". I asked my father to leave me alone for one moment. So first, I did not go on the bridge, but UNDER the bridge, near to the water...
Oh Well Joan, did your ashes fall down into this river like rain?!   No, seriously... why am I THAT touched?

I leaned over the trestle/fence of the bridge and looked down the water. Here, on this place, they threw her ashes like a bucket of dirt?!
People walks along the bridge, like never anything happened here, over the bridge which neither has a commemorative plaque nor a memorial...