I dropped my rental car off in Caen with 5 hours before my ferry to England left. Plenty of time for lunch. I had been in France for over a month and couldn’t be bothered to put an effort in to have a French meal other than the ham and cheese sandwich on my first morning, I think French food is a bit overrated as a dining experience. I just don’t see what the hubbub is about. Its just food that’s hard to pronounce. I.E. that toasted Ham and Cheese sandwich is called a Croque Monsieur. I just can’t be bothered.
Luckily, all of Europe has hopped onto the Middle Eastern spit roasted meat band wagon called Kebab. Its similar Its similar to a greek gyro but its called Shawarma when it’s wrapped like a huge burrito. It’s my new favorite food. Quick, Easy and cheap, my three favorite recipe ingredients. The bad thing is it takes me no time to wolf it down in no time so after lunch, I still had 4 hours and 55 minutes to kill.
The city bus to the ferry only ran a couple of times a day to match up with the ferry schedule. And in my case that meant a 2 hour wait in the bus/train station. There isn’t much of interest there and I was impatient to be moving so hopped on the first bus that was going in the general direction of the ferry and I would figure it out at the last stop. It was a pleasant ride meandering through town up until the last stop on the side of a freeway.
Google maps pointed me to a trail that would take me along the river or more appropriately a canal, the Canal de Caen a la Mer to be exact. a nice flat sunny stroll along the canal side bike path with plenty of time. Perfect way to use up my last few hours in France, especially once I figured out that I was walking in the wrong direction for the first few hundred yards. I blame google maps’ lack of detail because surely there is no issue with my manly sense of direction. I can drive a stick shift car, after all. Once I figured it out, I was surprised how far it was. It took a couple of hours even with my luggage, it was a nice way to close out France.
The ferry left on time and I had 5 hours to kill before we docked again. I still had some soon to be useless Euros left and a hot dinner would be a good way to use them up and kill some time. Maybe it isn’t just delicious Shawarma that I eat fast because it only took me about 5 minutes to eat the airport priced pasta and sauce that even a hospital wouldn’t serve. After that, it was just sitting around in uncomfortable chairs. There was limited free internet that lasted about 30 minutes before I used up the allotted data plan. It wasn’t worth paying for more time even if my only alternative was to stare out the window at nothing but water at night.
To add misery to the boredom, the tumble I took on the rocks around Mont Ste Michel, didn’t end up as harmless as I first thought. A few hours after the fall, my wrist started hurting and stiffened up. By the time I got on the ferry, it hurt enough that my right arm was pretty useless.
I used my 30 minutes to find a place to stay in Portsmouth. I was planning to stay for a few days because I really didn’t have anything to do anywhere else until I made my way to Brighton. Expedia showed that there was a room available above a tavern that looked pretty nice and was well rated. Based on the alternatives, I reserved a couple nights there and settled in for some more boredom. I swear Expedia (and AirBnB) hides all the important details way deep in the description and they get me every time. I am glad that I read through the email confirming my non-refundable reservation and noticed the check-in hours. They were going to be closed just as the ferry was scheduled to dock.
Somehow I still had phone service on my French SIM card so I called them up to see what to do. They were super nice and promised to leave the front door and room keys in a hidden lockbox outside the door. I sat back and enjoyed 3 more hours of stress free boredom. The ferry arrived on time. There was obviously no hurry to get to the hotel and Google maps showed that the hotel was just a couple of miles away and a straight shot. Even I couldn’t get lost.
I decided to walk since it was getting late on a Sunday night and was hoping a place to get dinner would be on the way. There was no food but as expected, it was a pretty easy hike and before I knew it I was standing in front of the hotel and tavern. The Tavern probably didn’t make it through Covid so it was dark. The hotel entrance didn’t look much more welcoming. The hotel entrance was unlit but I fumbled through the bushes to find the lockbox and get the two keys inside. I put one key in the lock but nothing unlocked. I put the other key in and it didn’t unlock either. In fact the key got stuck in the lock and try as hard as I could with my working hand, I couldn’t get it out. After about an hour of fighting with the key and making my wrist worse and texting with Expedia, I was still standing on the stoop. The key was hopelessly stuck in the lock. My phone service had quit working so I couldn’t call anyone and Expedia wasn’t able to contact anyone. I gave up around midnight, left the stuck keys in the lock and a note in the mail slot. I ended up getting a room at double the price at a nearby hotel.
I took a stroll around Portsmouth in the morning. with a quick walk by the original hotel. The keys were not in the door anymore so I assumed everything was OK. A little later, I got a local call on my still French phone somehow. I couldn’t answer but I could tell that it was a local number and figured out who it was. I stopped into the hotel to see if they could give me me a free room to make up for the one I didn’t get.
NO, they would not. They were even pretty angry. It seems that someone broke the key off in the lock after I left and they had to get a locksmith in to install a new lock and make all new keys. I still had a night left on the reservation and was tempted to skulk away and get another expensive hotel. But cooler heads prevailed and I checked in for real. It really was a nice little hotel too.
My wrist was probably made worse wrestling with the door key the night before so I just checked in and slept until dinner. I struggled my coat on and headed out for dinner. I ended up walking all over town only to settle for a pizza near the hotel. I headed out the next day so I really have little to say about Portsmouth good or bad.
I caught the train to Brighton to see some friends I met in Nepal. They were on the permanent traveler track when our paths crossed. They would probably still be living out of their backpacks if the Covid didn’t lock them down in Brighton. Two years later they own a couple flats and a record store/coffee shop.
I had never been to Brighton and really was thinking it was just a sleepy little beach town. I was very wrong. It is a major city with a lot of history and culture. I was there in the depth of off season and couldn’t figure put where they would put everybody when the holiday makers from London and beyond came in during the summer months. I did an impromptu walking tour of The Who’s Quadraphenia film locations scattered around the city. I think I missed a lot of stuff to do but my trip was winding down. I had a couple more friends in London to see before I left.
It is only an hour on the train between London and Brighton so I do recommend at least a day trip if you are in London and looking for something different to do. I can recommend a nice coffee shop.
I have been to London a few times. I cant tell you the last time I went into London proper though. I much more enjoy hanging out in the suburbs with the regular people. This trip was no exception. Just a home cooked dinner and a local walking distance pub. Perfect way to end up this 4 month adventure. I didn’t want to end it but I was ready.
It was a long easy flight. And before I knew it, I was riding fare free on the Dallas Metro system in the hopes of getting to my car before the storage lot closed for the day. I couldn’t get to the fare machine before the last train left so I chose the illegal solution over trying to find a room in the less than upstanding neighborhood after dark where my car was. I made it with time to spare, hooked up the battery and the car started right up. The flat tire sensor was beeping away but the wheels still rolled me to a McDonalds and a rather sketchy 7-11’s air pump.
A couple days later, I was checking in with Tex Randall in Canyon, Tx and taking the long way home via Omaha. It didn’t turn out being all
that long. I was back sitting in my towns coffee shop in just a few days later. I am just waiting for the snow to melt out and the road to dry out so I can get busy. Stay tuned, I hope it wont be long.
Here is a link to the last of the travel pictures for this trip….
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4U5bEKxvb7QDbBw36
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