A rebel without a clue.

Day three and day two undid me. Two days of struggling to find accommodation which is a reasonable cost(€126.04 for two nights works out as tres expensif). The night was hot in the hotel bed. The covers were too warm for me, but the tiny window and thick curtains kept it quiet in the space and I don't think there were bedbugs... Back in the centre. Actually Mantes-la-Jolie is a bit disappointing as a city, but it was largely destroyed in 1944 as Patton crossed the Seine here. It's as average as Bastogne... Today I revert to backpacking and try to find a more reasonable option: there appears to be an Auberge du Jeunesse in Rouen, but I can't get an answer from them. Caught the 8:49am to Rouen. Mantes-la-Jolie was nothing that I expected it could be. The mix of middle eastern, north African, west African, etc, made me feel uncomfortable. Really I saw only a couple of folks who appeared 'French'. The gentleman from the Amis Saint Jacques back in Beauvais didn't kno...

A truly mammoth day. At least 45 kilometres by the time I'd paid for one night in Hotel de la Val(€76.04 - ouch) because the lady who welcomes pilgrims is on her holidays and an Abbey was at first willing and then not (but very far from the route I am supposed to take for one more day tomorrow). On the route it's impossible to find anywhere in the various ville and court I have passed (there wasn't a shop at all) and in Magny-en-Vexin the suggested Hotel was complete... It is Friday and it is mid July. If I can't find a reasonable place to sleep tomorrow: a much shorter etape, I will walk north towards Rouen and an Auberge du Jeunesse. On Monday/ Tuesday, when the heatwave returns, I really need an Airbnb somewhere. I want to head to Amiens, Somme etc... The guy on reception gave me a discount and a room with a bath so I soaked me, socks and pants. But I don't want to talk about the colour of the water! One days dust... Some wind is picking up as I sit below the Col...

It is not yet 7 and I am sat opposite the grande eglise here in Gisors. Auto-stop from Trie-Château as Le Bar/Tabac is closed and so too the Boulanger, but not coming to the main centre is definitely something overlooked by those planned the route from Beauvais. It's not a Cathedral but it is definitely a Collegiale standing proud on the horizon with the streams passing around it heading towards the River Seine. Eating pizza was not good for falling asleep. It's too rich a food, especially the old fashioned, high in phoney Mozzarella...but once I finally conked out that was it until 6am. No toilet break. The weather looks less extreme this morning and, indeed I am wearing a long sleeved midlayer: the only one I have from the lost luggage... ...and I have to walk to get back on The Way? So silly. Where am I going? There is no way of knowing, but I love the haphazardness of the end of the day yesterday - traipsing everywhere for cash, beer and food - and today hitching into Gisor...

End of the day. The final section, without tree cover, was hard going. A farmer in  Énencourt-Léage gave me a lift in his electric buggy - a golf buggy for working the Noix trees behind the Ferme - back to the farm, took me to the office,  in an old dovecote, where he gave me water, then brought me to Chez Robins - but they're full. Now I am in a Chambre d'Hotes, but she has retired and only accepts cash for the room. I think she's going to run me to Gisors to get money... But I could probably hitch there and back. Running low on energy I ate all the nuts I had since the UK - one of the only items to escape the wrath of airport logistics. Now I am heading for a shower and repose. It was a lot of nuts and I feel gassy. The gentleman of the house runs me around, but I struggle to make myself understood. It's another area of France: Vexin, but am now cradling a Rebelle Pale Ale in Villiers-sur-Trie and will walk to find a pizzeria later. The wasps are active an...

It's more expensive to sit outside than at the bar for coffee. I thought it was for the fine view of the carpark which is where the Marché was yesterday... Slept wonderfully and overslept too. I was hoping to get to the centre just on seven. But I was a couple of minutes late. No toilet visits in the evening and no outside disturbances: staying in the centre would've been slightly more difficult? Bastille Day - to celebrate the end of a regime - is marked by military parades. Ha ha ha ha. It's so phoney! One lot of individuals controlling the populace - the Ancien Regime - and now another lot Macron's cronies? Time to count the bites and deposit last night in the usual manner before Day One of several gets underway? The early human escapes the plague of Bastille Day.  The overthrow of one set of tyranny for another set: Ancien Regime to Bourgeois. Divine right to enlightened might. Off I go again. Vets Beauvais Compostelle!

Off with the facial hair and also the little head hair which sprouts from my BB bonce - €20 behind the Marché Square - there doesn't appear to be a Halles. Too many wines last night on a very empty stomach. All I can do today is stay away from all forms of café/bar this evening. I will walk tomorrow early. But where am I going? And can I be bothered to head to an out of town sportswear shop? One of the hosts (Christian) is willing to take me a little later, but I need to speak to the insurance company and find out what I can do to get funds asap? The shop offers pèlerin 20% discount. There is a department store around the corner and I've seen a shop which sells backpacks near the Marché. Perhaps losing my baggage puts into perspective what items I really need and will miss: Victorinox  Swiss army knife, the Karrimor vintage ruckpack and a nylon brush I've used for years too. And the sleeping bag... ... Back in the Grand Place (know locally as Place Jeanne Hachet...

A glass of Saint-Veran in the Saltire lounge: £12.99... what was I thinking? It's French and will be less than €12.99 a bottle, but I struggle to connect with anything at all in Leeds Bradford Airport. In several minutes I can attend the gate queue, but I thought, because it's quiet in the airport, I'd have a fashionably expensive drink. Only one. It aids digestion. And is high in antioxidants. And it's helping the economy (in France)! ... There has to be another way? Yes there is and from Tillé to the Gîtes on Rue Paris that's The Way. *** Losing my baggage. Lost in transit. Not on the airplane and not in Beauvais. Back in Leeds or on a beach in Tenerife, as that was the other flight leaving LBA. *** What a day! It's not as warm this evening as most of the evenings I witnessed in Tarragona/Costa Dorada, but it is still a bit silly. Oh and it's Bastille Day on Thursday! During the decadent 4th Republic they still pretend 1794 has any meaningful existence in ...