Journal Entry: Leaving Paris

I am at Orly. Way too early. I’ve been here for a while actually. I used the lady’s room, saw about getting on an earlier flight (I would have had to pay) and about getting an exit row seat (no-go there either). 

 

Dawn in Paris

I got a Cappuccino and a Pain au Chocolat from the Illy stand. There is that and a couple other shops beyond security, but that’s about it.

I took the RER-B train here. There were very shady young men hanging around the platform at Gare du Nord. In fact, I was crossing the bridge not 10 meters from the hostel and a couple picked something up off the ground (sound familiar) and then started talking to me. I don’t even look at them.

While on the train, a young, healthy looking male came by passing out cards begging for money. Usually it’s a woman with a baby.

Oh, and when buying the ticket for the Orly shuttle, which was an exorbitant €8.40 for a ten minute ride (if that), the machine spit out what I thought was the ticket, but it was a receipt. I had selected “non” for the receipt. The gate wouldn’t take it, and the man at the gate didn’t speak enough English to tell me it was a receipt. I went to the window and the man there explained it to me. So stupid. 

Also, I nearly got on the wrong train at Gare du Nord. It said track 42 for the train that goes to Orly (RER-B) and track 44 for the RER-D. Well guess what train was on track 42? Not the RER-D you say? Why yes it was. The screen was thoroughly confusing. I only realized it after boarding the train that the map said “RER-D” I hopped off a half second before the doors closed. 

Looks like the 8:10a flight is a little late leaving. I only have an hour and a half at Heathrow. I few come into Terminal B or C, I will have to go back through security. I don’t want to miss my flight home. I want to be in my own bed tonight. 

Paris from the Air

Journal Entry: The Long Post

I found a pen today at a bookshop in Mirepoix. It's a lovely purple color as you can see. (Well, you could see in the original.) It cost €2.50, but is nice for that price.

I will write about yesterday first since I ran out of ink.

As I was saying, the ticket people at the train station didn't even speak enough English to point me to where to pick up the rental car. Finally we found a nice guy who did. He tried to send us down the street to some other location, to which I pointed out that the reservation said to pick up at the rail station. He took the reservation and I suppose they called someone and finally he told us to and wait “over there”. I was tired and so I went and waited where he said but then I had doubts that I had heard or understood him correctly. V. gave me hell for going back to ask, but I said better safe than sorry. It was indeed the correct location.

Finally after about ten minutes a very nice lady from Avis showed up. She spoke quite a bit of English which was fantastic.

She drove us over to the rental car, a Nissan. She showed us where to return it to, and I was quite nervous about driving here. I asked her how to get to Preixan (pray-x-san), which I wasn't pronouncing correctly, but she had me write it down, and she recognized the place and told me to follow the signs for Limoux.

I had mapquest directions as well, that I made the mistake of trying to follow. There are no numbered road signs here, or they are few and far between, and quite small if they exist.
Finally we saw a sign for Preixan and made it to the village. Also learning that the speed limit signs are quite ambiguous as well and that the speed limit is understood, supposedly.

Once in the village there were signs to Sidsmums. Jan, the lady who runs the place is delightful (not to be confused with my mother-in-law Jan). I was able to wash some clothes by hand and hang them to dry on a line.


The only drawback is that the dorm is in what was once a wine press, and it is damp, and a bit cold. Also the mattresses are quite thin, and I'm a bit too old and a bit too fat to be sleeping on so thin a mattress, so my thighs were a bit sore when I woke up, but I walked it off. Otherwise the location is great and Jan is quite knowledgeable about the area.

We woke up this morning and made breakfast, but I'm getting ahead of myself. We got some food at the Marché down at the end of the lane last night, for breakfast this morning, some eggs and bread, and a piece of sausage for me.

Then Jan gave us directions back to Carcassonne so we could go find something to eat. We found free parking in the new town, and it was convenient. We walked across the bridge and could see Carcassonne from a distance, it was fantastic. We ate at a restaurant in the old city's square, called Le Trouvér. It was only €25 for the two of us and that included a pitcher of wine.



We then walked around the walled part of the old Cité and it was amazing. They light it up at night and it was like something other worldly.



We managed to find our way back to the hostel with minimal trouble.

So on to today. We woke up early, about 7:30am and cooked breakfast. We then got directions from Jan on how to get to Montségur. She insisted we stop at Mirepoix and I'm glad we did.


We first went to Carcassonne though, to the Saturday morning market. It was nice, but I don't have room to be buying much of anything. Then we went to Mirepoix. They had a lot of interesting shops, including a “witch” shop with these silly little witch dolls that cackled. It was quite funny. They also had toy medieval soldiers, which I know Andy would love, but I'd have never been able to it home in one piece.

We then ate at a pizzeria for €11 for the both of us. They didn't charge us for water either which was nice. The place was right across from the British Store, but I didn't get the name of it. It was in a really old building with a barrel vaulted ceiling.



Then we saw a bike race go by on the way back to the car.

Then it was on to Montségur. The countryside here is simply breathtaking. Gorgeous. Words, even pictures, cannot do it justice. We climbed Montségur. It took us at least forty five minutes but the views were worth it. Such a beautiful place, to have such a terrible history. On the way up I picked a couple purple flowers and left them on the memorial to all those who died there. It's truly an amazing place, and one must see it in person to understand it.


The descent was harder than the climb up. Very difficult and dangerous. I nearly turned my ankles and knees a couple of times. And to think that an army managed to drag siege engines to the top! Crazy.

After we got back to the car all hot and sweaty, we went to the museum in the (modern) semi-medieval village. They have artifacts from the site, and souvenirs. I bought a pack of postcards for €5.50 that depict an Illumination chronicling the Albigensian Crusade. I also bought a key chain with the symbol of the Languedoc on it. {technically the cross of Toulouse} Then we left and drove to Foix. We saw the castle from the outside, but decided it was getting late and that we'd better head back, so we didn't go inside.



We went back through Quillan. We saw Puivert from the road. I really must come back here sometime for a couple of weeks and see all of the historic sites.

We met a girl named Katy, she's staying at the hostel too, and she came with us to Carcassonne again this evening. I ate again at the same place we ate last night. Katy had already eaten dinner so she went and walked around the town.

V. and I split fries and had cheese burgers. The French do make good American food. It only cost us €17 with drinks.

Afterwards we walked around the walls again, with Katy. She's coming with us tomorrow to Peyrepertuse and Quèribus. We're also going to Rennes-le-Chateau. The church there is supposed to be very weird.

*”SARKO BUSH ­Á MORTIR” -graffiti on the road to Quillan. Cracked us up.

Journal Entry: Absolut San Michele

2:30 pm

V. went out with some people from the hostel last night and was out until 3 am. This hostel is okay. It's a bit weird, and there is no laundry as advertised online. I need to wash clothes, but I suppose I can do that tomorrow in Nice.


We bought our train tickets to Nice. We leave early in the morning at 7:50 am. We're traveling first Class from Milan to Nice. We went down the Strata Nove looking for Café Costa Rica like Jan wanted us to, and couldn't find it. We had a doughnut from a little pastry shop right before the McDonalds. We walked all the way to the Rialto and then turned around and walked back towards the train station. We finally found Café Costa Rica and I had a cappuccino. We missed it because I was looking at fresh fruit when I first walked by it, and V. was looking at the pictures by the door and didn't read the sign.

We then got on the Vaparetto, in the wrong direction. We rode it around the other side of Venice to St. Mark's Square, then we had to change Vaparettos and we went back to the Rialto bridge. We then made our way to the Fondamente Nuove, getting lost a couple of times, and finally found the right boat to San Michele. It was marked “Cemetero” on the map schedule and so that confused me and I had to ask the ticket taker/seller which boat. All the signs here are very ambiguous. We spent a little while on San Michele. We made it to the gate facing Venice, and heard all the church bells ringing, just like Jan told us to do. I recorded some of it, I hope that the audio picked it up.



Then we ate lunch and headed back to the hostel. I think Franco was arguing with the cleaning girl, but I couldn't be sure because I didn't know what they were saying, so maybe they weren't arguing.

There's no toilet paper in either bathroom, and the no laundry kinda pissed me off. Don't advertise something you don't have.

Last night when V. went out with the other hostel people, Franco took them to a pub, and left them there. He said he was going to get a couple of other people who had wanted to come and then never came back. V. and the others had to find their way back to the hostel and most of the others were drunk. And that's why I didn't go, because I knew, I just knew, something like that would happen. Also the hostel really doesn't have anywhere comfortable to sit, just hard chairs and a table. The people are nice though, and Franco did offer us some pasta but we had already eaten.