19 July, 2009 | Leave a Comment
What a frantic day! I am heading off to Normandy on Sunday. I’ll travel around the region a bit. I think it’ll be tricky without a car, but I hesitate to rent one because I haven’t driven a car in four years and also, I’m used to driving-on-the-wrong-side Britain, so I’m afraid driving for me could turn out to be a recipe for disaster. Better stick to trains, even though I may miss a lot of the countryside. I’m planning on going to Caen, Bayeux, Lisieux, Deauville and Rouen, plus Giverny (though that could end up a daytrip from Paris). I’m open to suggestions, keeping in mind I don’t have a car. I’m skipping Mont St. Michel because I went there when I was 18 and would rather go back sometime with a car.
I’m not really sure how I decided upon Normandy. My dream is Provence, but I would need to do that with a car and I’d prefer to go with other people, so I’ll wait for that. I thought of Bruges, since I really want to go there, but the hotels are insanely over-priced. Plus, there’s nothing else I want to see around Bruges. So then I thought of Normandy, because Rouen has been on my list forever (and it was also recommended in the comments of another post). Plus, it’s close to Paris and I’m lazy – I don’t feel like a 5 or 6-hour train ride. Everyone (and by that I mean Americans) thinks that it’s so easy to travel Europe by rail. Of course it is compared to America, but after doing a lot of research into France, I think it’s really much, much easier to travel around France by car.
I didn’t expect to be traveling this week, but now I’m excited about it. Tonight I took a suitcase full of books and clothes to leave in luggage storage at Gare du Nord. It would be impossible for me to travel with all my stuff and I swear, that suitcase weighed as much as a Volkswagen. It’s 5€ a day at Gare du Nord, which is totally worth it. Cheaper than back surgery. So anyway, outside the train station some drug addicted psycho started harassing me. What else is new. I really thought he might attack me. So anyway, I’m glad to get out of the city for a while. I hope there are no drug-addicted psychos in Normandy – I’ve had my fill.
Anglofille said @ 12:16 am | paris life | 9 Comments
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Ah, if you would be a novelist, pay a visit to the Flaubert shrines, as he invented the thing we do. Rouen’s got the weird hospital cum Flaubert museum. But there’s other stuff as well to see.
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Oh and if you do go to the Flaubert museum in Rouen, and since you’re Bloomsbury local, or at least were, if you could purchase for me the postcard they sell there of Flaubert’s parrot, would be much appreciated. Some cheeky student stole mine off of my office door at the place where I had my first job, and I’ve never quite recovered from that… I’ve looked on ebay etc for the postcard in question, and simply cannot find…
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s. Says:
July 19th, 2009 at 12:46 pmHave fun exploring! I’ve never been.
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I didn’t realize there was so much Flaubert stuff in Rouen. See, I haven’t really done my research. I was thinking more of Jeanne d’Arc sights. But I will look for the postcard!
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Ah seriously, at least go to the Musee Flaubert. It is a one-of-a-kind type place, weird and well worth the visit. Read first (is so short and available on-line) “A Simple Heart” (“Un coeur simple”) or else you’ll miss out a bit.
It would make my entire summer if I could get a new parrot postcard. No kidding. Will cost you no more than a euro!
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Oh dear, I don’t know if I can handle this much pressure! What exactly does this post card look like?
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It’s just a big ol’ green parrot! Trust me – if you go, you’ll see what I’m talking about.
And definitely read this before you go:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/shortstories/flaubertsimpleheart.html
Not sure there’s a more interesting bit of fiction out there.
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Thanks for the link!
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[...] stuff in the world that I have a sentimental attachment to, but this was one. And so I noticed that Anglofille was heading to Normandy, and long story short, she hooked me up! And not only did she hook me up, [...]
