This morning I wandered around Rouen in my characteristically aimless way, until suddenly I…
…left world of hustle and bustle to find myself surrounded by crumbling “Tudor wood-framed” houses, yellow with age; narrow streets, houses towering either side. Saw 12th to 14th century Church of St. Ouen, and may have seen the place where Jeanne d’Arc was burned at the stake (Place du Vieux Marche).
[Fact Check: It was Saint-Ouen Abbey, a fine Gothic structure. Construction started in the 14th century but was disrupted by the 100 years war, finally completed in the 16th century.] Thank you Wikipedia, I could have used you and Trip Advisor during my travels in 1973. Ken Walsh’s Hitch-hiker’s Guide to Europe was my constant and trusted companion.
After my wandering, I found the road to Beauvais. I walked a couple of kilometres along the road until I reached Darnetal, where I picked up my first lift of the day. This was in an articulated lorry carrying clothing. There was a dog in the cab to keep me company. We parted company in Beauvais.
I walked for about 15 minutes along the road to Reims before my second lift in a Renault. This took me as far as Soissons, about 50km from Reims. I soon got a lift into Reims and arrived at l’auberge de jeunesse at 17.00 hrs.
I walked to the canal and had some thoughts….
…sunlight caught carefully in the canal; big black barge slips thru water and pushes sunlight aside. 2 or 3 French fishermen fishing with rods.
I think I missed my vocation as a travel writer – I could have been Michael Palin!
I returned to the youth hostel where I met a group of German guys who kinda abducted me in their Dormobile and forced me to drink beer in a local bar. We shared bread, cheese and liver sausage by candlelight when we returned to the hostel. This was probably the beginning of my affection and respect for the people of Allemagne.
So much for Day 3. You probably know what’s coming next…
Where will I end up tomorrow?
Clues: birth place of Madame Tussaud and Marcel Marceau; large collection of incunabula (books printed before 1500); outbreak of Dancing Plague in 1518; more recently, seat of European Parliament and Council of Europe.
See you there – I could be waxing lyrical, miming, reading, dancing or politicking.
Psychologist on the Move 