Stuck in France
We stayed at an old “authentic” hotel in the farmlands of Normandy and had no way to leave and a train to catch.
We came to Le Havre France for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. The only problem was all the hotels in Le Havre were sold out the night of the game. So, we resorted to staying at the Le Romantica, an old authentic French hotel. When we get there, we noticed that we were not the only Americans there. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who had trouble finding a hotel. We get checked in and the concierge took us to our room, which was in this dark basement. It was a big room the biggest room we have had in all our Europe adventures.
We had booked a car to take us to the game, but it was still very early so we had him take us to the neighboring village instead (which was a mistake). We explored the village and finally decided it was time to start making our way to the stadium. We went to the tourist office to see if they could call us a taxi. There they told us that there is a small chance of getting a taxi, but there is a bus that will take you to Le Havre, and then there is a shuttle that takes you to the stadium from the bus stop. So, they gave us a map and we headed to the bus stop. We purchased our tickets and waited 30 minutes for the bus to arrive. When it finally did arrive, there are only like 4 seats left and probably 50 angry U.S. fans that want to get on. Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the 76th hunger games. Long story short as you probably guessed I’m not as good with a bow and arrow as Katniss, so we did not get on.
So, we went to a hotel across the street to see if they could call for a taxi for us. After what seemed like forever, she finally told us that she could not get a taxi but some group staying at the hotel were being dropped off later and we could go in that taxi with them. This lady is my new best friend. We were about to get in when a family literally runs up to us and is like, “Are you going to the game?” After deep consulting, we let them on with us. We finally got to the game, but that’s another story. The good news is the U.S won 2 to 0 and we had pre-booked a car to take us home. The light in the hallway of our hotel was on a timer, so we came back to a completely dark hallway and relied on our phone flashlights to get us to our room. When we get there, our room was baking and we must open our windows that are ground level and oddly creepy.
I decided to take a shower, because its been a few days (don’t tell my mom). When taking the shower, without noticing, I stepped on the drain thingy and the tub started to fill up. Soon I am about to flood the bathroom when I ask Monica to come help. It was an easy fix but still a close call. Time to sleep.
We got up bright and early, because we have plans and tickets to catch the eight o’clock train. We get ready and all packed up to go. We head upstairs to eat breakfast and ask the concierge if she can call a taxi. It was a total slap in the face when she said taxis don’t come out here. Well of course they don’t. So now we are down to walking, or well, walking. We get food at the buffet and barely sit down before a fellow American comes to see if we have a ride. We are all in the same sinking boat. No one can get out of this place. We eat our breakfast and quickly become friends with this family from Seattle. The mom/wife (Linda) starts to walk around hoping she’ll stumble across some way to save us. And surprisingly enough she does. She meets this incredibly nice elderly British man named Barry. He was willing to give us a ride to the nearest town where we would probably be able to find some type of transportation. Meanwhile Monica texts our driver from last night asking for a ride. Finally, he agrees to give us a ride, but he can’t pick us up until 10:15. By that point we’ll miss our train, and the next one isn’t till noon. But its all we got, so we saw goodbye and thank you to Barry and wait with our new Seattle friends.
Finally, our driver shows up and safely takes to our train station. Then we finally boarded our train and made our way to Paris, where due to the circumstances, I had already missed my own birthday party, but oh well there is always more cake somewhere.
