Normandy (again)

We were sad to leave Italy, but the means by which we left was a lot of fun. It turns out that night trains often take longer and are more expensive than the discount airlines in Europe, but there's definitely something to be said for experiencing a night train, especially if you get a sleeper car. I don't have any pictures to show you, but I would recommend trying it sometime. Say what you say about Amtrak, but I've also heard it's fun to take a sleeper with them too.

Our night train took us from Florence to Paris. From there we caught a train to Normandy. I was delighted to be able to show Marisa the farm I lived at for two months. The same cast of characters was there.

Here we have Marisa all ready for a day of work. Note the well appointed boots and raincoat.

It's hard not to fall in love with the mommy goats and Marisa could not resist. They more than returned her affection.

Now for some scenery. Here we have the cows grazing on the hill in front of the Chateau.

And here're the pigs, as comical as ever.

Here's Emeric, tending to the young'uns in the herd. There is plenty of energy and curiosity to go around.

Emeric was kind enough to loan us his car and we got a chance to explore a little bit of Normandy and Brittany. We tasted the best crepes of our lives with the best caramel of our lives. We also went for a lovely hike along the coast. Here's a photo well worthy of a Christmas picture. As you can see, we were enjoying ourselves.

Emeric had another guest staying at the farm with him while we were there. He was a french guy who had formally been working in IT and had saved up enough money to quit his job and go hitchhiking-camping around France. We got along with him well. He ended up hitchhiking to Mount Saint Michel the same day we went to visit. We found him on the side of the road pretty close to the entrance and gave him a ride the rest of the way. We decided to explore Mount Saint Michel together. Here we are standing in front of the abbey.