Paris République to Méru, then by foot to a wood between Cavillon and Le Tillet

Up at ten to eight. The guy from Costa Rica who asked to borrow my soap yesterday was asleep in his clothes and the guy from Morocco who was in bed when I came back to the hostel last night at nine was still in his bed. As far as I can tell, it’s a grey morning. Me and one other female traveller are in the breakfast room. I was all set to have a shower this morning, but the water was cold.

My mission to Paris has been a success; thanks to Xavier and Delphine ferrying me around Gisors, I haven’t needed to find any of the Paris Decathlon stores — so that gave me a chunk of time in which to enjoy the city. My “constrained walk” came to nothing but I did walk around 15km around the city yesterday. My blister remnant was pretty sore overnight. I hope it heals up quickly.

09:14: Breakfasted on two rolls with jam, two bowls of apple sauce and a strong cup of tea. The streets are wet — a shower just came down. I haven’t wrapped my new maps in ziplock bags. Let’s see how it goes. It’s a ten or fifteen minute walk to Gare du Nord.

10:07: Ticket purchase was effortless; finding somewhere pleasant to sit while waiting for my train wasn’t. The train leaves from platform 33 at 11:01. The ticket was €10.40.

10:53: On the train after a pleasant half an hour reading a book sitting on the ground in the station concourse next to the only place to offer seating, a stuffy and overpriced bar/café. The platform was wet and the sky overcast, but no rain is falling.

11:53: Méru. The ground is dry. It’s still overcast. I’ll get lunch here, I think, and a water refill and then hit the road. Oh and a baguette and a shallot for dinner. Maybe butter.

12:02: Just missed the post office.¹

12:15: Got a baguette: €1.10. Now sitting in restaurant Marsala about to have salade New Delhi, feeling slightly depressed. Méru is a bit of a kip and I’m realising that this trip isn’t a holiday that’s about to end anytime soon.

Today’s route is a very winding one, taking me over La Therain river at Montataire and then across l’Oise river a few kilometres further on, at Creil. We’ll see how close to either of these we get, between when I’ve finished lunch and say 19:30/19:45. I’m at the left edge of a new map. It overlaps substantially with the last one. My lunch has just arrived — that’s bolstered my mood! It’s chunks of curried chicken with walnuts and blue cheese on a bed of lettuce, cucumber and tomato.

12:52: Underway again with 4 litres of water. That restaurant was a bright light in a grim town. €11.90 for lunch.

13:01: €2.50 for a tarte au citron that I’m about to enjoy sitting next to a small flowerbed. The roads are dry, but there’s not a chink of blue in the sky.

13:04: Two different women passing by wished me “Bon appétit!” as I ate my tart. There may be no sun in the sky, but there’s sun in my mouth and belly now. Onwards.

13:15: Approaching the town limit: allotments, a little office complex.

13:21: Drizzle. I’m out of the town.

13:27: Drizzle stopped. Fast road. Earplugs in. Oilseed rape fields and wooded hills.

13:51: More drizzle and rain. At Esches, which I passed on the train five minutes before getting into Méru.

14:08: Sun’s out. Instantly have to shed jacket and fleecy.

14:43: Leaving Fosseuse. Heading for Anservile. I’ve added and shed layers I don’t know how many times. A joyless day.

16:01: Dieudonné town limit.

16:35: At last some beauty back in the day. I’m walking along a section of Grande Randonnée that parallels the track I’d drawn on my map for this afternoon’s hike. At last I can take the earplugs out and relish the birdsong and enjoy the landscape of grass fields and hilly woodland.

The trees have become greener during the two nights I was in Paris, so the landscape is a little more beautiful than when I saw it last. The overcast is turning into cumulus and high stratus. I hope it stays dry for the rest of the day.

17:20: Taking a break in the middle of Cavillon. My shoulders ache and the blister that is a bruise on my left foot is throbbing. Just another couple of hours to go before finding a camp site for the night. I’ll stop for half an hour for dinner at six.

17:33: Back on the GR that’ll take me to Tillet. Stopping to put my fleecy and trouser legs back on — that wind has a bite.

17:56: I’m not actually on the GR, I’m on another track between fields but it makes no difference. I can see where I can rejoin the GR. Fine, still evening with cirrus and broken high stratus.

18:01: A burly lad in a Land Cruiser with a dog just went by. Literally patrolling the land?²

18:36: Stopped for dinner at the side of the track a few moments after burly man went by. On the move again now. Impossible to chew ciabatta-like bread with cheese and shallots and then honey. Feet ache. This uneven surface is tough going.

19:22: I’ve found my bedroom for the night. It’s atop a ridge in a deciduous wood beside a glade of bluebells between Cavillon and Le Tillet. I can hear the roar of the road and I can see no evidence of animal tracks apart from molehills. I’m going to set up the basha. What a relief.

20:18: OK, everything’s ready. I’m about to get into bed. Oh, I did find a spent shotgun round. Beautiful mild evening. I think I’ll cover myself with DEET again. Lots of tweeting, woodpecker tapping.

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