How wierd to wake up in a strangely high bed, in a strange room, in a strange country and all alone. And the mattress is so uncomfortable. Oh, and did I tell you that the toilet has no light so you have to put the landing light on, and when its really dark its best to take a torch - fantastico!! Carefully climbed down the ladder type stairs - i’m going to fall of them sometime i’m sure - and put on i-tunes straight away. Its way too quiet here - i’m used to having six people in the house! I love to have time alone but this is too much. Luckily I was meeting Grace, Liz and Mary at 11 so didn’t have long. Wasn’t brave enough to disturb Morgane to have a shower (I don’t think I smell too much!), so ate some baguette, got ready to go out and made a shopping list:
Bananas, Cereal, Toilet Roll, Polish, J-Cloths, Bowl, Colander, Rice, Mushrooms, Torch, Cushion, Plate, Batteries.
At 11.00 I headed to the Gros Horloge, the big clock, to meet the girls. The streets were very busy, full of shoppers and tourists, many who were taking pictures of the clock. It is amazing, about 3 metres wide (i’m no good at guessing sizes!) and gold, with beautiful carvings and I am living 2 minutes away from it. The girls took me to lunch at a buffet bar they’d found called Flunch. It has everything there; salad, fruit, cakes, tarts, hot food, cold food and even free wireless internet. And the food if really nice, not like it would be in england - a bit mushy, room temperature, all the same - i could actually eat there everyday and not get bored. And its not expensive - phew! 6 Euro for loads of fruit, a plate of salad, rice, potato salad etc, and some bread. (If anyone knows how to get the euro sign on a mac please tell me.) So after lunch we wandered through the streets, past the cathedral to a supermarket, which was a bit like tescos, with homeware, clothes and electricals instead of just food. Bought most of the stuff on my list but forgot the torch and colander, and cloths and cushion - ok I got half of the stuff on my list! We all split up to go to our separate accomadations after that but not before arranging to meet at Grace’s at 6. I didn’t know where to go so they said they would meet me at the fountain at the Place du General de Gaulle. Headed slowly back to my room, stopping to buy a bowl, 2 plates and another mug at Printemps. The mug and plates are beautiful, bright greens, pinks and oranges with wonderful spots, stripes and swirls, and they match the one Dad bought me yesterday. The bowl is plain white.
Later: Ventured out again for a second shopping session. This time I went to Monoprix to get a torch and batteries. However while i was there I also bought a little rug to brighten up my room and some new cutlery. I like having my own stuff. Oh and I bought a colander so i can drain pasta. Back at the flat I was eating a bowl of Jordans Crunch, when Morgane phoned to saw she had a chest of drawers and something to give heat for me and would need help carrying them up the stairs. It got to 5.45 and I was meant to be leaving so I rang Mary to say I would be late. Morgane arrived at 6.30 with a really beautiful chest of drawers, which means I can now unpack my clothes, and a heater which runs on petrol which I don’t think I’ll use. I hate anything to do with fire and flames, especially in small spaces full of wood. So now I have this thing sitting in my room with a big container full of petrol. No smoking allowed in here! And did I tell you about the gas cylinder? I have one of those in my room too, it would give me three more rings to cook on but I have no idea how to work it and quite frankly im a bit scared to do so! Eventually got to Graces where we began the evening with cake, wine and guitar playing. They gave me a beautiful rendition of Wagon Wheels with me sitting in a little tub-chair. How soft and springy if felt. I also don’t have a sofa or anything squishy to sit on back in my room. Might have to buy a bean bag. Anyway, back to the evening. After nearly falling off Grace’s toilet - the seat isn’t screwed on - we headed to an Irish Pub they had been to previously, where we drank corona. It felt very english, apart from all the french drunken banter going on. We had several people come up to us, presumably because they had heard our english chatter, which was interesting! At around 1.30am I left the others and headed home (apparently this is early). It was very strange walking through the streets in the dark. Thank goodness for the very good street lighting which lit up dark corners magically. Rouen looks beautiful at night.
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