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09:09 Sitting up in the bag. I treated myself to a lie-in because I’m going to stay an extra night here to let my left foot heal a bit, do some shopping (I’m very tempted to make an egg salad for lunch) and perhaps take a bus to Gaillon to explore the amazing Chateau there (if it’s open) and maybe while away an afternoon sitting on a café terrace (if any are open). It’s due to be another warm and sunny day. Okay, off to the shower block.
11:00 Washed, breakfasted, washed-up. Paid for another night (Ouch!) There’s no bus to Gaillon today — or at any rate just one out at 10:00 and one back at 17:00. I’m going to Carrefour now and then I’ll find a café to hang out in, hopefully. Sundays here are a disaster area.
11:21 At Carrefour. Porridge, one-litre ziplocks, dried milk, eggs, salad, biscuits, (butter, cheese)?
12:20 Got a monster-heavy bag of groceries! I’m going to have to eat all of this today, apart from the porridge and dried milk. I’m starting with the kilo of mandarins. I’m sitting in the war memorial park in the dappled shade, then I’m going to see if I can find a café on the main square that’s open and that isn’t a kip. €23.43 on groceries, €5.35 on other stuff (permanent markers, containers, zip lock bags…)
12:52 That was good. I’m listening to podcasts. Onto the main square — let’s see if the bag is lighter!
13:08 Not perceptibly. My blister still stings like crazy. I’m sitting in a café in the sun. Got my first sneer!
15:05 Trying to use 3G data to find a town nearby with municipal camping is really painful. Still, with Aisling’s help via Telegram, we’ve found one in Dangu, 7 or 8kms south-west of Gisors. It looks like a short day’s walk away. A train from Gisors to Paris is an eye-watering €60 return, so that makes it a challenge to buy the next set of maps to get me across northern France. I could wait almost a week in a camping municipal for post to arrive from Ireland at that rate! It’s an hour and a half on the train from Gisors to Paris Saint Lazare.
The train to Paris from Méru is cheaper, between €10 and €20 for a single. I can buy maps at IGN Le Monde des Cartes, 50 Rue de la Verrière, 75004, Paris. It’s close to Hôtel de Ville métro.
16:14 €15.90 for a shite Caesar salad, two cups of tea and a faceful of snide.
My foot still hurts like fuck — I may have to take another day’s rest after tomorrow. We’ll see. I’m keen to get out of the orbit of Paris.
17:28 Back at the campsite for a while now. It’s really hot. Getting shade in the European summer is going to prove to be a requirement soon enough. I may need to take shelter in the hottest part of the day, irrespective of where I am. The basha does provide ample shade. My poor foot feels really bruised where the blister popped spontaneously yesterday. It had felt squidgy all afternoon, but I’ve just become accustomed to permanently complaining feet so I didn’t stop to investigate. I ought to have.
I’ve slathered myself in factor fifty and I’m going to assemble a salad now. Boiled eggs and random greenery with lemon dressing. The butter was in my bag which was in direct sunlight all day so it’s liquid now. I can’t imagine it’ll solidify into anything edible.
OK, time to get some water so I can wash my veggies and boil the eggs. Minimal movement for the rest of the day to be kind to my foot. I’ve taken my shoes and socks off so my feet can breathe. I might transcribe more notes after I’ve eaten, or simply read “The Lost Art of Walking”.
18:11 About to boil six eggs.
19:09 Finished a pretty successful salad dinner of little gems, tomatoes, eggs, lemon juice and bread and honey. There’s more left over for tomorrow. I’ll play it by ear regarding taking it with me.
20:34 Time for packing all the stuff away that I’d bought — the half-kilo of porridge and 300 grams of powdered milk will be the heaviest single items. There’s also a mini salad with two whole eggs, two apples and a cucumber to somehow get packed away. I really hope my foot will be able for the walk tomorrow — it’s going to be another good 30km. Can I get across France in another month? I really hope so.
I’d love to have had time to read today, but the logistics of this trip keep me busy. I’m tired, but I don’t feel ready for bed. I’m going to start prepping anyway because it’s going to be dark soon enough. It was a productive day though. I managed to get some rest (and air on the foot, which felt great), to organise the route to the next town where I know there’s a municipal camping, then an outline route to the next place which I can potentially use as a jumping-off point for a public transport mission into Paris. I’ve found the map shop, which conveniently is in the centre of Paris. I’ll have a walk (maybe) from Gare Saint Lazare to the map shop. I don’t yet know what day that’ll be. Then I’ll get the hell out of Paris’ centre of gravity.
OK, packing down for bedtime. I think I’ll sleep like a log. Oh, and I also had chats with my siblings, with Aisling and with Lesley of Lesley and Mike fame. Excellent.
