Got up early this morning feeling a bit apprehensive about the day. Our friend gave us a map so we wouldn’t get lost getting to Rouen and after saying goodbye off we went. And guess what we did 5 minutes after arriving - yep we went the wrong way! Towards the A10 rather than the N10, so we headed South rather than North - oops. Anyway, we got back on to the right road and it was rather plain sailing all the way to Rouen. Again we drove through some amazing towns and villages. And on a couple of occasions the road turned in to cobbles which was slightly crazy. And they seem to be obsessed with speed bumps, which are often really high. At one point the landscape really reminded me of rual Norfolk - flat fields, hedges, and then the road would suddenly head upwards and it would be really hilly. As we drove into Rouen my stomach went suddenly, and I felt quite nervous. Its a really pretty city, lots of old buildings and cobbled streets, which reminded me of Elm Hill in Norwich. There are loads of pedestianised and one way streets too so it took us a while to find Morganes building. Eventually we had to park in Le Vieux Marche which is very close by and walk. Morganes building is right in the centre of town, with the shops seconds away from the doorstep which is great. However the flat is up a million trillion steps (I will count them soon), right at the top. Its a very wierd set-up with Morganes bedroom and sitting room joined on to a kitchen with a shower in it, the toilet (with no sink) completely separate to all the rooms in the outside corridor and my room, again is completely separate. Its a flat but split if that makes sense. I think my room used to be a studio or storage room. It has lovely beams in the ceiling and walls and its split on two levels, so the bed is up a ladder. It also has a fridge and a cooker but annoyingly no running water - so no sink. This means I have to go into Morganes part of the flat for washing up, the sink and the shower. I suppose she is used to it but at the moment I’ll feel like i’m breaking in to someone elses house everytime I go in! Morgane seems quite nice, but she gave us very weak tea to drink - i guess thats why the French drink coffee! Dad didn’t have to leave until 5ish so we decide to have a wander around the city and find something to eat. There is a massive gold clock not far from the flat, and we saw the cathedral which is amazing. And there was this building which they had begun cleaning so half was black and half was a lovely stone colour. We just missed the lunchtime so we ended up eating at McDonalds with me half crying into my burger. I just wasn’t sure about the set-up in the flat. After eating we bought a pillow and a mug to make me feel more at home, and some food basics and went back to flat. It was a good job we bought a mug and there was only one in my room, and we both wanted some tea. I was dreading Dad leaving at this point. I think if I was in a proper flat i wouldn’t have been as worried about anything. I wasn’t worried about shopping or being on my own, it was just the awkwardness of everything. But eventally Dad had to go, and after saying goodbye and crying in public (I never ever do that!) I went back to the flat on my own. The evening was very wierd. I didn’t want to go out alone so got out the first aid kit and did some art work and watched Cool Running DVD on my laptop. And after contacting the other english girls and arranging to meet the next morning I went to bed extremely early, on a really uncomfortable mattress. N/B: Need to buy a mattress or something similar to sleep on.
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