Wow! Wow! Wow! How Lucky am I?

This morning I was cursing myself for my random ideas. Why the hell did I want to go to Perouges?! It is on the other side of France….what was I thinking?! I had to get up at 4.45am, so of course, I didn’t sleep well because I was worried I would sleep through the alarm. I ended up having a late night too, so it was a tough start to the day, but I did get to the airport ok. Flew from Santiago to Madrid and then Madrid to Lyon (France). That was the easy part. I then had to work out how to get to Perouges! Ended up catching a train to the city of Lyon, then just managed to catch the last train to Merimieux (end of the line). BUT whilst sitting on the train, I looked up at the guy opposite me and I could only see half his face! I HAD A MIGRAINE! I dont get the headaches, but i lose my vision, so I was doubly freaked out that I would miss my stop. I couldnt read where I was either. The zig zagging of my peripheral vision started and I felt sick.

Anyway, thankfully it only lasted about half an hour.Got off the train and had no idea where I was so I wandered uphill to a shop and was told that Perouges was another 3 kms away (on a winding road uphill). The girl looked at me with great pity as I had a backpack on and it was about 35 degrees with no shade in sight! No taxis around on a Saturday afternoon in the countryside. I learned that last time. So off I went. Finally staggered up to a drink stand outside the walls of this beautiful medievil city, red faced, sweating like a pig, and utterly exhausted! All of this took 9 hours!!!!

But, what a treat! It turns out that this weekend is their annual festival. All the towns folk are dressed in medievil costume and are re-enacting stuff. I had a go at archery, wandered through their market, ate some of their traditional galette ( a type of pancake made with eggs and buckwheat) looks like a pizza. I watched some jousting and listened to traditional instruments, and also watched the trained hawks. I ate some beautiful coffee ice cream and downed a couple of bottles of water, then finally the hotel owner appeared and let me in to my beautiful old room. I’ve just had a shower and I’m lying almost starkers on the bed trying to cool down. It is so hot today!

What an exciting day, and how lucky am I?! I recommend googling the town of Perouges photos, to truly get a look at what it is like. A real medievil fortified town. It is so beautiful. So worth the effort to get here! Off for dinner now…..