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Published: April 7th 2010
So much to write about, so little time. I haven't had internet for 4 days and it feels like the world is going to end. What's more, I won't even know it's ending because I don't have internet to check the news. since I last wrote, I left Jame's parent's house at 8 in the morning on Easter and had a 14 hour day of traveling. It was long, but I loved every minute of it. The public transportation system in Europe is truly amazing. America is ages behind in terms of efficient train transportation.
I tried calling my first farm all day on Sunday and got no answer. Finally, when I got into La Fleche at 9:30, a man picked up and spoke only French. I frantically tried to find my phrase book and ask if Joyce was there, to which I got an indecipherable response. I tried again, and he hung up. I called back 20 minutes later and a woman picked up, but the conversation turned out the same way. Frustrated, I walked through the desolate town of La Fleche looking for a food establishment and someone that might speak English. No luck. So, instead of getting upset, I cheerfully decided that I would camp in a local park and call again in the morning. So I layered up my two pairs of pants, 3 shirts and got into my sleeping bag at 11. Ahhh. Sleep came quilkly because I was exhausted, but it did not last long. I woke up 3 hours later shivering, and sore and continued with broken sleep until 6 in the morning. Realizing that I was not going to be able to sleep anymore, I packed up my all of my stuff. The Dew on my tent was slightly easier to get off because it had turned into a thick frost. Luck was on my side! I walked into town at 7 hoping to find a cafe that might have coffee and internet, but of course nothing was open because the day after easter is a bank holiday. And when banks are closed, apparantly everything else is closed as well. Fantastic. I walked around for about an hour and a half with my 30 pound pack and finally found a cafe that was open. After refueling, I walked down to the river and enjoyed the sunrise and the fog resting on the water. Centuries old bridges and houses adorned the river and was truly a picturesque setting. I called the number one last time and got the same answer. I new that the farm was about 10 miles away, but I had no idea how to find it. Knowing that this tiny town would probably not have much open or anyone that was able or willing to speak English to a dumb American, I weighed my options. Pretty slim pickings. So I started walking. I figured that I could get a ride from someone once I got on the road, but that was some rosy thinking. If the cars slowed down enough to see my smiling face (which they didn't) they might have stopped, but I swear everyone here is a racecar driver.
Anyways, I finally found the address I was looking for. It is a beautiful rural B&B with two goats, several chickens, six geese, one dog, and one donkey. It turned out that the number that I had was one digit off from the real number. Eh, I got a good adventure out of it. For the last two days, I've been weeding the garden and eating the huge meals that Joyce cooks for me. My hamstrings are killing me, and I limp around like an old man most of the time. You think you're in shape until you do some gardening. I really enjoy the simplicity of this place. Practically everything we eat came from the garden, and we have tea at least four times a day. Oh, I forgot to mention that the whole household is from England, so I don't have to worry about the language barrier. But they drink so much tea! Oh, and we have lots of cheese. I love it!
I really want to go into more detail, but I feel like it's just drivel for most of you, and I don't want to bore you. Blogging is really quite a vain thing. That's why I've never really done it. Writing down everything about my life and expecting other people to read about it and enjoy it. Ha. Who cares? I do it more so that I have an account of my trip for myself, but the fact that other people might be reading it at least makes me write down my thoughts. But I apologize if the writing quality suffers because I am trying to write it down so quickly. Sorry for not having any pictures.
Whelp, that's all for now. I will try to get on one more time before I leave the Loire.
Love you all.
Paul.
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Morgan
non-member comment
Don't Apologize
We are all living vicariously through you! I love it so don't stop writing. Sounds really beautiful. I bet that was a lonnnnng walk! Holy cow. Well keep it up, sounds beautiful and dream like. Heart you!