Thursday 20
I know it is Thursday, only after counting the days I have been gone. I have again lost all track of days and time. I guess I am truly on vacation.
We head to the train station only to find that the next train to Paris that accommodates bicycles will not be until 2:00 pm with a return at 7:30 pm. Bummer.
We take a tour of Rouen's town “clock”, an historic centerpiece of the town with ornate architecture. On the second level a window overlooks the street below, teaming with people. How I would love to open the window, lean out and shout, “Vive le Roi!” I don't.
We walk around a bit, do some window shopping, return to the train station, have lunch and board the 2:00 pm to Paris. I am excited as I have not been there in over 40 years!
However, arrival there reveals worse traffic, congestion, fast drivers, and more angry drivers than I ever experienced in New York! And to boot, the streets are narrow, and go every which direction, unlike a normal grid. And the streets change names after two to three blocks. After riding around for a while, I get too freaked out and we head back towards the train station. We find a café for dinner as we watch the passers by.
We get to the train station with a forty minute wait, but see a train leaving in the next few minutes. A conductor looks at our tickets ands allows us on. Little did we know the train was a “local” and got in just about the time our other one was supposed to. But it did beat waiting in the station for forty minutes. We stop back at the Web Café, still no wi-fi, but we use the computers to check our e-mails and send some too. We speed back in the dark to our campground and retire.
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