A Weekend in Rouen.

A capital, a commune, the resting place of Joan of Arc, the tallest cathedral in France, delicious oysters, tingling ciders and so much more. I cannot imagine a better city with which to begin my journey in France, indeed Paris is on the list but why be predictable.

So, why choose Rouen? Lots of reasons, but on the personal front, it was the first city that Ken (my amazing husband) and I travelled to, together as friends. On a more food related side, Rouen hosts an annual Rouen a Table for the last 25 years and so I just had to go check it out for myself.

Our initial plan was to do a day trip, but am I glad we stayed the night. We began our trip leaving bright and early from Paris, St. Lazare. Now, if you don't know Paris, there are 6 main train stations that head out in all directions of France. Gare du Nord, however, also heads outside of France and is the only one that provides transport to international destinations. Anyways, I digress. It was a dull morning when we got to the station and after grabbing an awful cappuccino (despite being culinary giants, don't expect good coffee in France), which I immediately dumped and regretted losing 4 Euros on, we boarded our train. The journey is actually just 2 hours, so if you have a good book or good company, it will pass by quickly.

Day 1: Alighting in Rouen was as pretty as I recalled it, we took the local metro and headed to our hotel (Mercure, Cathedral Rouen - very centrally located), and were pleasantly surprised when they let us check in at 11am.

Our day started within the markets where we spent time at various stalls. Trust me when you are walking through a market place when its cold, its not that much fun but I trudged along because the smells (can't forget the roasted chicken) and sights were too tempting. We grabbed lunch of a pavé de saumon fumé or grilled smoked salmon, which was the perfect kind of right. A bit salty, but trust me when that morsel hits your tongue it does a tantalizing dance. Washing it down with some wine, we walked over to some cheese stalls because I had to get myself some raclette cheese (a cheese made from raw cow milk and originates from canton of Valais in Switzerland - if you didn't know Switzerland is made up of 26 catons). Now raclette has Swiss connections - its a way of having this melted cheese with jacket potatoes - kinda like a fondue. However, I love raclette so much, I had other Hyderabadi plans for it (check out the recipe in the Cook section of my blog).

We were quite tired from our journey so we ended up spending the evening indoors ordering in some more French food which was a good idea, because the next day I was greeted with the warm sun and it blissful shine.

DAY 2:

I think Day 2 was the best part, the crowds had grown and so had their energy - maybe it was the sun god doing his little magic. Whatever, it was, the energy in the streets was palpable. We had signed up for a brunch gourmand and I was honestly a bit disappointed at first when we walked in to the huge structure erected right in front of the cathedral. My disappointment came from finding that brunch in Normandy, consists of lots of croissants, pain au chocolat, sausages, terrine, smoked salmon, sweet cheese Danish and thick slices of sweet pie. However, as I chatted with Ken and looked at my fellow French patrons, I could honestly see genuine love of the spread, and that changed my sentiment. I dug into the cheese Danish like it was my last meal.

Post brunch, we made our way back to more streets where more stands awaited us. We sipped chilled ciders at 12noon, it just seemed like the right thing to do, as we enjoyed the music, the hustle bustle and ate more cheese and sausages. Now, Andouillette is a very famous kind of sausage that has a mysterious origins - no one really knows where it comes from. This is a specific kind of sausage which is not smoked and is made from the elements of the pigs intestines. It possibly doesn't sound that appetizing to many but it is a delicacy here in France. However, the sausage is not protected by AOP or PGI. So, I gave it a shot, as I will try any food at least once, but no, unfortunately, it isn't for me.

We ended our trip enjoying the Normandy sunlight and sipping on some more cider and nibbling on tripe in the old market plaza (unfortunately also the site of Joan of Arc's execution), as I waited for the gongs of the cathedral to loudly remind me, it was time to head home.