22nd April 2009

We got up and showered – I’m not having one tomorrow as there was nowhere to go and dry my feet. There are separate sink cubicles, but the floor in there, is wetter than the shower cubicles and muddy too! I had to put my t-shirt on and walk back to the van with my towel round my lower half as it was too wet to get dressed. There’s no dry area in the shower room to put your clothes and towels either.  So, although the campsite is lovely, the showers are bloody awful.  Who designs these places? I bet they’ve never used them, grrr!

I watered my flowers on Animal Crossing then we walked - yes walked - into the old town but took the scenic route along the River Seine, which was really pretty.  We should have taken the camera but didn’t want to carry it.  We came back and had lunch in the little restaurant on site. Mushroom omelette and frites – it was simple but really good.  The owner brought us a complimentary drink which he explained – in French – was his grandfather's recipe.  It was a sort of apple whiskey. Paul though it was Marc – a French spirit distilled from grapes more usually found in the Rhone Valley.  I didn’t like it as it was very strong so Paul drank mine as well.  The man said his father was Spanish and his mother Italian.  He and his wife don’t speak English at all but we managed to converse okay. Their children saw a huge beetle on the wall and got really excited about it.  I went to have a look and the man picked it up and showed it to me before putting it in the grass.  He explained that it was a type of Scarab beetle.  It was quite big and had a nasty looking point at its bottom end.  Paul paid for lunch – it was only €11, so we gave them €15.  We don’t often tip, but they were really friendly and the service was good too.

We came back to the van and sat in the sun for a while but it’s not as warm as it was yesterday so I thought I would go and play Animal Crossing for a bit.  I played for a while and then Paul came in and said he would have a lie down for half an hour – I expect due to the affects of the Marc he had for lunch! – so I went and sat in the sun as he said it was warmer now.  It wasn’t, so I went and had a sleep too. I got up later and decided to walk back along the river and take the camera with me this time.  Paul didn’t want to come.  I got the camera out and set off.  It was nice wandering along in the evening sun.  I took some good photos I think, I’ve not seen them yet.

On the way back, it was deserted, which was okay until I got to a small park.  Just after it, up a few wide steps was an empty, derelict looking building, with a man standing in the doorway.  His van was parked on the path I had to walk along. He stopped what he was doing and watched me walk towards his van. He was creepy looking with greasy black hair, and he had this look on his face – it wasn’t pleasant. It was a look that made me stop. So I stood still and pretended to do something to my camera and glanced up, to see him still watching me.  Then he came down, and leaned against the back of his van, and just stared at me. I wanted to be brave and just walk past him, but all my instincts told me not to.  Then he turned into the back of his van and got out this big hammer thing about the size of a baseball bat.  He turned back to look at me again, whilst holding the tool in one hand and tapping it into the other, and by now I was absolutely s****** myself. I didn’t know what to do, so just stood there playing with the camera. He walked back up into the building, so I started walking again but he looked out of the doorway, and came down towards me again.  There was nobody else around and my writer's imagination was working overtime.  It would have been so easy for him to hit me with the hammer thing, put me in the back of his van and drive off somewhere. I was absolutely terrified.  Back in the park there was a man playing football with a young boy and I thought about going back and asking him to walk with me past the van because I was so frightened, but my French isn’t great and he may not have spoken English. Then I saw a path leading up to the main road so I went that way. I didn’t have a clue how to get from there to the campsite, and was crying by now. I just turned right and walked all along the main road and eventually got to the campsite in a bit of a state. I don’t think I’ll go for a walk on my own again! I really do believe that man had bad intentions, and if I had walked towards him, I may not be here now.

Food Food Quack Quack!

Back at the van, we sat outside and ate dinner – quiche, couscous and salad - and as we finished, a female duck and three drakes swooped down looking for food.  I went inside and got a couple of Danish pastries.  Paul ate one and I fed the other to the ducks, much to his annoyance ha ha.

I then went off and did the washing up but had the sense this time to take the washing up bowl so it didn’t matter that there was no plug.
While standing there doing the dishes I thought, how lovely is this, doing the dishes at the side of the River Seine with a beautiful view of the river and the bridge. So I finished the dishes, went back and got the camera and took some pictures to show what it was like.

The washing up area - just the place to socialise