Day 6 - Les Andelys and Chateau Gaillard

Today we woke early as the ship left the dock at Rouen and headed back toward Paris..  We cruised the Seine and sat on the  sun deck to enjoy the slightly overcast morning and the lovely breeze.We arrived at Les Andelys which is a  small town along the Seine at the base of limestone cliffs and the ruins of Chateau Gaillard.  The castle was built in 1196 by Richard the Lionheart.  Richard was not only  the King of England, he was also the Duke of Normandy.  He built the castle fortress to block the king of France from reaching Rouen by the river.  King Phillippe did not attempt to cross Richard in his lifetime, but when Richard's brother, John, became King of England, King Phillippe took his chance.



King Phillippe sent his French troops to siege the castle which caused the residents of the town of Les Andelys to flee to the castle for protection.  The castle was built to survive a siege and might have outlasted the French troops except for one very clever soldier.  The soldier climbed into castle through a latrine chute that gave him access to the chapel.  Yes, you are correct in your belief that a latrine chute was a "toilet." :)  That soldier was followed by several other soldiers that ambushed the castle guards and opened the drawbridge which brought the siege to an end.

After visiting Les Andelys (above), we continued along the Seine River.  We passed many small towns throughout the day including Le Chateau des Tourelles which is pictured below.  This is the last remaining medieval castle fortification.  It was used as a rolling mill and tannery until the 18th century.This evening was the captain's dinner - lots of great food!  There is dancing tonight, so I will watch for a bit and play the game to guess how many people will dance to the songs.  I wonder if my powers of observation work on dancers! :)We have an early morning tomorrow because we are traveling to the Palace of Versailles!