i heart the autoban

Back in Rouen after 3 days of travel with Tray. He came into Rouen Wednesday around 6 and we headed into the city for dinner. My first real French meal. We had tuna tartar for appetizers and duck for our entrée. C’est bon. After we walked around for a bit we headed back to my apartment and then discussed the fact that Tray would have to sleep on my cold hard floor. Went driving around for a bit to look for some bedding but by this time it was round 10pm and everything was closed. GPS told us the closest Walmart was some 300 clicks away. We opted for the closer alternative which was to buy a bottle of wine and pass out. This was where I spoke my first complete French sentence: “Je veut un outil pour ouvert le vin.”

I woke up the next day to see Tray pacing around in my room with a blanket wrapped around him. I guess the wine idea didn’t work out very well for him. He looked tired, miserable and cold. Poor guy. I remedied the situation with a big “I told you so.” as to avoid responsibility for his misery.

Unfortunately there was no time for him to recuperate since our schedule was tight. Chateaux de Versailles Thursday. Friday Tray had to go back to Germany for work. Louvre Saturday and then Tray had to fly back home on Sunday. As you can see there was no time for the luxury of sleep.

So we headed out and about 30 minutes in our carefully crafted plans went to shit. During our lunch rest stop he got a call from his co worker telling him his client approved the upgrade for that night and not Friday night.

Awesome. This seriously always happens when I made plans with Tray. His work always manages to get in the way. Now I was faced with a choice of making Tray drop me back in Rouen and then head out for a 6 hour drive by himself with 3 hours of sleep or accompany him to Germany. After getting a flash image of his deranged corpse splattered on the side of the road I decided on the later.

So instead of walking the beautiful grounds of Chateaux de Versailles I sat in a car for 6 hours to go to a small town in Germany called Landstuhl. The only saving grace was the autoban.
Ah the autoban. No speed limit. For long stretches of German road people just floor it as fast as they can without fear of any form of retribution aside from death. Did I mention Tray got a Mercedes Benz as his rental? I have now experienced driving at 115 mph.

As for Landstuhl itself it’s a quaint little mountain town you can walk in about 30 minutes. Not much to see or do and by the time we got there it was around 6/7 so we just went to dinner. I had some pork dish (a little dry) with green beans wrapped in bacon that Tray raved about (they were ok) and some really weird tasteless rubbery noodles that I didn’t eat. The meal was saved by the delicious apple strudel I had for dessert.

Ok. I’ll admit the situation kinda sucked but I confess it wasn’t that bad because of the hotel which had 1. Internet 2. A shower that gave water freely and 3. A comforter on the bed. I was clean, warm, and connected so I was happy. As Tray left me to go do his upgrade I cautioned him that my happiness was contingent upon only staying in Germany for one night so he better the hell get his shit done and done right.

Not sure if the prospect of Angry Kelly had anything to do with Tray completing a successful upgrade that night in a cold shack but he did and we left Landstuhl the next morning for his uncle’s place in the suburbs of Paris. We arrived at around 4pm and headed into Paris to see the Louvre. Lucky for us it was Friday and the Louvre was open till 10.

I confess I’m not much of an art person and I can only look at art for so long before I kind of get bored but the Louvre is very impressive in its entirety. The building itself is gorgeous and walking through its grand halls admiring the great works of art is a very enriching experience.
Afterwards we searched for a place to eat but very few places seem to still be open (I think it was around 9pm at this time) so we popped into a Japanese noodle shop. Coincidentally the shop specialized in Sapporo Ramen. Small world. I ordered in Japanese (futatsu!). I think the waitress was Chinese.

After dinner we walked around for a bit to explore Paris at night. The city is beautiful and vibrant with so much to see and do. Unfortunately Tray and I had to catch the last train back to his uncle’s place so we made haste and just caught the last train.

The next morning we headed out to Chateaux de Versailles. All I have to say is that that place is huge. I mean it’s like an estate. We spent 5 hours there walking around and I don’t think we covered the entire exterior and we didn’t even get to the interior (the ticket line for that was ginormous). The grounds are immaculate with beautiful fountains, trees, and fauna. Definitely made for a nice day out (the weather was gorgeous).

After Versailles Tray took me back to Rouen before going back to Paris (we had stopped by the mall before Versailles to get me some much needed supplies – namely a giant comforter). I said goodbye to Tray and the Mercedes knowing that I would not get to see them again anytime soon.

Having Tray around after my second day in France eliminated the loneliness and hardships that comes along with moving to a foreign country by oneself. Now I’m back and Tray’s gone and I have to deal with the realities of the situation. Stupid reality. At least I have my giant comforter.