Vacation in Europe: Rouen, France
days 3 - 4
After lunch with Christian in Paris, my husband and I drove up to a tiny town next to Rouen to meet another forum and chat regular, Marie07. Marie and I have gotten to be close friends through the forum and chatroom, and when she found out that my husband and I would be in the area, she generously offered to let us stay with her for a day or two.
It was truly wonderful to meet Marie. In cyberspace, one gets the impression that she is hyper, but actually she is just very energetic. Marie speaks beautiful English, and I find that her British accent is much more noticeable than her French accent. She is generous and thoughtful, and her husband, Francis, is funny and charming. The four of us chatted over a glass of wine, then two friends of theirs arrived and we continued talking and laughing for an hour or more before dinner. Speaking almost entirely in French, we debated about politics, society, class, my forums, and just about everything else under the sun. I was complimented (I think) on my extreme directness. Dinner was lovely, good food, lots of laughter, and of course plenty of wine.
After their friends left, the four of us stayed up until almost 12:30 and then finally forced ourselves to go to bed. I think I could have stayed up talking for a couple more hours!
At breakfast, we continued chatting and laughing, and then I went online for the first time since leaving California. A bit later, Francis, my husband, and I went for a walk to get some bread, and ended up dropping in at Marie's parents, who are absolutely delightful. Her mom repeatedly chastized Francis for not calling ahead of time while simultaneously ushering us in to the house and out into the garden, where we were offered refreshments and more pleasant French hospitality. We then returned to Marie's house for lunch in the garden.
Although we had a wonderful visit with Marie et famille, my husband and I decided to leave after lunch so as not to overstay our welcome. Marie and her husband had us follow them out to the main road, and then we were off to the Loire Valley.
Next stop: Chartres/Tours Vacation Index
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