À votre santé!

The first glass..

Last night at 23:00, my plane touched down in Trondheim. "wait" you might say, "you were supposed to sunbathe until Thursday!" Yes I was supposed to, and as I wrote in my last entry, I was on my way to a camping-spot in Arcachon where I was to spend two nights of sunbathing and swimming in the sea. What happened however, is the most frustrating part of the trip: When I arrived at the station, I knew I had to take one of the smaller shuttle-busses that took people to and from the various camping-spots and beaches for free. I waited maybe 30minutes for the first one, and was disappointed to learn that the bus was not adapted for wheelchair-users, and though it was no problem for me to climb inside by my own, the driver would not let me.
"Oh well" I thought, "there will always be difficult people" and waited for the next bus. To put it shortly; Two and a half hours later, I had been waiting for all kinds of different busses that were supposed to be the ones to take me, and the attendants in the train station even tried calling the main office of the transport-company, who said "there's no problem, go straight in". But the bus drivers refused, saying that if something happened, it would cost them their job. They are right of course, but it is frustrating to be told, after hitch-hiking across the continent to get to the beach, that you just have to turn back. At this point I was annoyed: I'd already spent a big part of the money I had on me on the train ticket, that would be in vain. I decided to use the return-ticket right then and there, and contacted Berg-Hansen travel agency straight away to arrange for the flight back home. The reason for this is that I had planned to get to Bordeaux, and I did. I also wanted to disengage a couple of days on the beach, which I couldn't. I didn't want to spend two days aimlessly wandering around another city centre, so I decided that it was time to pull the plug.

I took the train back to Bordeaux, and took into a hotel close to the train station, kindly paid for by my parents. My train to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport would depart at 06:21 in the morning. I decided to salvage certain goals of the trip though, and set out to taste good Bordeaux wines in Bordeaux.

When I eventually woke up the next morning, I made my way to the train station, where I would have my last French meal consisting of bread, croissant, and a cup of espresso. I think my stomach and cholesterol levels will thank me for getting back home. The train ride to the airport and the ensuing waiting times to get back home is really nothing to write about. What matters now is the fact that I'm back home, relaxing, and preparing to restart normal life of work, university, and cold nights.

Am I disappointed I didn't get to experience the seaside? In one word: Yes. The plan all along was like I said, to unwind after the trip. The fact that a stupid thing like administrative regulations should stop me after a week on the road is annoying me. The reasoning is the fact that I was tired, running out of time, and in no position to argue.
I WILL swim on the south-west coast of France, just not today.

I will say however, that getting from Trondheim to Bordeaux in a week is something I am happy with. And the people I have had the pleasure to meet during has made this an unforgettable experience. I'm sure I'll do something like this again, though I'm not sure when, where, or whether I'll be alone.

For now, I'd like to include the few photos I did manage to take that weren't ruined by the slow shutter in my mobile camera. Taking pictures out of the windows of a car is a challenge at the best of times.

Amsterdam. I'm OK.

This is the picture of me in Amsterdam, which for some reason wasn't included in the Pictures-post earlier.

The Norwegian-flagged hat was mainly to attract attention along the road, but also to inform drivers that I do not speak their language. Also, it signifies to people how far I've gotten along the road.

Hungry for an omelette. They would not oblige.

Right here we have a family of poultry out for a stroll on a grassy field between a petrol station and a Pizza Hut. What were they doing there, you ask? I have no idea. I was following them around for about an hour trying to figure out where they were coming from and where they were going.

Side-street in Sarlat.

This is unfortunately the only good picture I could manage out of Sarlat. The place is really nice! What I'd love to though, is to go to Beynac and have a closer look at Château de Beynac. We drove right underneath the sheer cliff face, where the castle is situated on top. The wall was actually that steep and tall, I wasn't able to take a picture in time. It looked amazing from below. Much like the rest of that surrounding region. Medieval France at it's best.

The Regent Grand Hotel Bordeaux

 

 

Be advised: These guys do not serve alcohol at 09:30 in the morning. They do however have freshly baked pastries, a good espresso, and prices that will make you feel like you're helping the French economy back on track. Awesome location in the middle of Place de la Comédie.

Across the street from the Regent lies the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux. This is what I was looking at while having my breakfast. As you can see, Bordeaux clearly boasts some awesome architecture. and impressive buildings.

 

 

 

These  pictures are of a statue in the middle of the Bordeaux city centre. They have a huge open space there, with this impressive thing in the middle. See if you can figure out who the characters are supposed to be! 

So close..

 Here's a picture of a beach in Arcachon, close to the place where I waited for the bus for so long. If it wasn't for the fact that it was getting so late by the time I decided to give it up, I would have gone here in stead. The chance of sleeping on a beach like this undetected is slim though: Police were patroling the area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUPLEX!

 This is the TGV Duplex train that would take me from Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean to the Paris CDG train station in under 3 hours.

Comfortable trainride. I was sleeping most of the way though. Thank you Bordeaux.

That's it for the photos in fact. I will update the blog a bit later with the complete map of my travel route, and the amount of kilometers I've traveled by hitch-hiking.