So I hopped the metro over to the SNCF station (the French department of the Euro-Rail system) and after waiting at my platform with one other girl started to think we weren't in the right place. Turns out I was right, and lucky she felt the same as our platform was switched and I couldn't read the signs properly! So after a blissfully un-crowded trip back to Evreux, I made my way back to my Pauline and Johann's place, and watched a bit of a French documentary on the history of Paris which I sort of understood after having just been there! That night, Johann took me to a party with some friends of another of their roomates, Anais, and I was sweating bullets. Here I am, in the middle of a soiree in Evreux, and not speaking a lick of French! Turns out most of them spoke English pretty well and were SUPER awesome, and I had a great time talking about Canadian politics and stuff, and didn't realize it was 3:30 in the morning by the time we left! Needless to say, I passed out asap once we got home.
The next morning, bright and early at 10, I started packing for the next stage. Johann had breakfast and a bowl of coffee ready, Pauline joined us as she just got back from a reunion in Paris, I loaded up and set off very sad to leave. I really enjoyed staying with them, they were by far the most generous and best people I've met this side of the Atlantic so far.
Now comes the painful part! While in Paris, and anxious to get to some less populated place, I decided to look into an organization called WWOOFing. For those not familiar with the name, who's meaning has changed about 5 times since it began in the 70's, WWOOFing is a worldwide conglomeration of thousands of farms in 99 countries, and the basic premise is work for free, eat and sleep for free. So in a moment of spontaneity, I joined WWOOF France. Once approved, I looked through all the potential farms in the area I was heading, and between the insane amount of cow farms I found one that stood out. It was a herb, vegetable, and edible flower farms that supplied to nearby restaurants. The only problem, it was 150 kilometers South-West of Evreux.
But rather than sacrifice a potentially really cool project simply for the fact that it was a three-day ride, I decided that I would bite the bullet and go for it. I should also mention here that the farthest I've ridden at this point in one day is 60k, and that was tough, not to mention I just spend a week in Paris eating, drinking, and not getting much exercise! So here I sit, again in a McDonalds, festering in the riding clothes I donned on Saturday, writing this blog with bags under my eyes. The first stage of the ride was the hardest because of the wind, but it was possibly the most beautiful.
I think I only made it 40k that day, but when I found a good spot, I tried my first experience of "free-camping." The idea being, set up in the dark somewhere out of view from the road, and leave in the dark. It was actually pretty fun, and that was the first time I took my tent out since Dieppe, so I definitely felt a "getting back to nature" sense.
The next stage, Sunday, was the longest, but no wind thankfully. I take it back though, I think this ride was more beautiful. I found this one little tiny village that had once hosted one of the most respected monasteries of the 1100's to the late 1700's, but had since fallen into disrepair, and eventually fell apart. The interesting thing was being in this once-huge abbey and recognizing the architecture from every other church that I had visited in France, and knowing where some altar or statue might have been once.
That day I rode 95 kilometers. Ouch hey! I put a big thorn through my tyre too, second one to go now. I figured if I could make it as far as I could I wouldn't be so stressed today! I'm currently only 15k from my destination and don't have to be there for another 5 and a half hours. And all the gear I needed for the farm I managed to find literally in a half kilometer radius! I know I'm rambling, but I was REALLY stressed about that, and it all just fell into place. Last night I stayed under a tree in a re-forestation area, and woke to a two-inch beetle rustling around on my tarp. I think I'm gonna stick with the tent for now... So there you have it, in a few hours I'll be a farmer for two weeks. But don't worry, there's a couple places nearby that have some pretty monumental historical value so I'll be visiting in my free time and posting about those. So long for now!
5 comments:
Wow Phil. So amazing. It's 5:00am Monday morning here, as I watch the sunrise, and I think of you watching all the sunrises (when it's not raining....) halfway around the world. Glad to see you are experiencing lots of "just the right place/just the right time" moments. A perpetual sequence of those available to you always. The "pee in the sink/screaming in the halls" situations just make you value the good stuff, such as sleeping in your tent, alone, under a tree, when at the beginning of your trip that was daunting! Feels like you're finding that "flow" we discussed at the beginning of your journey, yes?? Thankyou for your fascinating and educational posts. Lovvvvvvve you. xoxoxo. Mum.
Phil, you lucky arse. That looks like so much fun. Camping under cloak of darkness, walking through the ruins of monasteries, and going WWOOFing... fun stuff. I think I woulda loved standing in the ruins of the monastery: it musta been cool to picture what it might have looked like when it was standing. It looks in pretty rough shape for a building that only fell down 300 years ago -- I wonder if people stole the stones for their houses or something?
Glad you had the guts to try free-camping. Just don't pitch a hammock in some lady's yard like Jon Deuling did :-)
So your roomie was peeing in the sink? What kind of neanderthal does that? Actually, neanderthals would probably be too smart to pee in the place their drinking water came from. Were you in a really seedy part of town?
I hope you have fun WWOOFing. The right hosts can make it a really fun experience. Sounds promising, if they're into herbs and edible flowers and stuff. You kinda get a feel for the place by what they're into, and how they present themselves. If you can find some hobby farmers who aren't making any money off their land, they're pretty good stays.
Very proud of you, man. I'd probalby have tried to talk myself out of going to a non-English-speaking country.
This is Dad on Lynn's compie, mine has calved.I'm surprised to see that church in such ruins; in an ostensibly Catholic country you'd think it would still be being used. I compare it to Tintern Abbey which we visited recently; all the walls are still there, in great shape, tho all the roofs are gone since Henry VIII closed it down and stripped the lead off them to sell. I guess the church went through harder times than I thought during the revolution.
Phil. You know what WWOOFing in France means, don't you: French picker chicks!La la la la la!
Hey Paul, that's actually exactly what happened, the abbey was decommissioned at some point and most of the metal materials got snagged for other local things.
And Dad, I thought it was a little odd too, that's the first ruin I've really seen, however there was a brank new shiny church built right across the street and I have a feeling that's where a lot of the stones from the original church went.
Phil. You are incredibly brave. That's not a compliment I hand to people lightly.
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