I'm a little behind in my e-mails due to travel. It's May 3 in Rouen, over 20 degrees and sunny, and I'm walking around in shirt sleeves and sandals, which makes up for some crappy weather lately.

Welcome to three more addressees to my list. I didn't think many people would be interested.

April 29 — in  St. Malo, going to Rennes. (This is a pleasure trip, not military history). I make it straight to the gare (the French word I will use for train station) in one try. My train is a TGV, but not a Bombardier. It's an Alsthom, an acronym I suspect for Alcatel-Thomson, and of course made in France. The second-class car on the TGV is as nice as first class on the local Caen-Dol train. We zip along through stations large and small in the rain, with only a few large-radius curves. Given the distance and the time involved, I figure we are doing about 110 km/h, about the same speed as I drive on the main highways. The conductor comes along to see our tickets, and cancels it with a small ink stamp.

There is a loo on board very similar to the ones on planes. I cannot find hand towels, so I use toilet paper to dry my hands. Then I discover the hot-air dryer. I'll definitely prefer to take the TGV whenever I can in the future. Most of my trips by train so far have been short, so I have not used my Eurrail pass, which is for first class.

At Rennes I wait for the English-speaking agent at the SNFC office (they have travel agents who can make all sorts of arrangements for you). The agent, Nelly, arranges my train trip to Tours tomorrow with hotel in Tours, and for my trip from Tours to Rouen the next day. Avis is the exclusive car rental company in the gares, but she cannot arrange a car for me in Tours as there are none available through Avis — it is the May 1st four-day holiday starting tomorrow. May 1st is labour day in Europe.

My hotel is one of the IBIS chain, and it's only about 100 meters from the station. IBIS is a chain of "utility" hotels, only two star, clean, comfortable, and utilitarian, but not plush. Time for a walk and find a bank to liberate some money — I'm being €100'd to death. There are a few interesting things to see here, but I don't see a cathedral on the skyline, and I thought Rennes had a big one. Back to the gare to get my Tours - Rouen ticket, and to arrange for a car in Rouen too. It turns out that the train goes via Paris and I have a train change in Paris, and of course two different gares are involved, with one hour between trains. Won't that be fun during a holiday!

A car for Tours is arranged at National/Citin, and it's a small car, with all insurance coverage, and it’s €103. Ouch! The insurance coverage for car rentals in France is all coverage, or none with a €650 depositon your credit card. So to avoid all hassles I take it all. The insurance cost is about one third of the rental cost.

Just time enough for a walk, and I discover the Temple Protestant, an archway dedicated to the Legion d'Honneur in the Telecom/Poste building, a condo conversion where the facade of the old building is being preserved, and a very strange sculpture in front of the gare. At the public library I get one free hour of internet time. People here are all so obliging and helpful. Then back to the hotel to bring my journal up to date, then lights out.

Cheers, Mike

PS — If you want to see previous travel notes of mine, go to my home page, sponsored by the British Columbia Philatelic Society.