Chenonoceau and Xynthia

I'm going to first add in a "blog entry" I wrote yesterday which I think pretty much describes how I spent all day Sunday.

"I find myself writing this much earlier than posting it because there is no Wi-fi in Chenonceau unless you’re staying in certain hotels.

I have learned that when a Frenchman warns of an oncoming tempête, he isn’t necessarily being charmingly dramatic as usual.

This tempête is what apparently happened last night while I couldn’t get sleep at 5AM. Every other year it seems according today’s local paper, France’s west coast gets a nasty cyclone from the sea and the wind sweeps into the inland and does major damage….like during the weekend I chose to visit Chenonceau and Amboise.

So to explain why I’m sitting in a Chenonceau bar, bored out of my mind, not in Amboise, with only half a battery life, and over 3 hours (or the whole night) to wait for a train to Tours on a Sunday is because of Xynthia. That’s right. They name the nasty things. That is how bad they are. On a very sad note, it was reported that three men died because of la tempête.

I feel particularly stupid because Monsieur mentioned it the other day that I should be careful. I though he was just talking about the wind in general which he ALWAYS refers to as tempêtes for that dramatic and fun attitude he and I share when we talk together. Well, apparently he wasn’t being dramatic this time.

Just lovely.

Normally, I’d say, “Well, let’s just visit the chateau again! I can do just the basic tour this time and easily spend the whole day just carefully soaking in each and every room. But that didn’t work thanks to Xynthia (dear lord, I hate that name now). The chateau was closed almost all day due to blown down trees. I’m not talking about the wimpy ones. Chenonceau doesn’t have those. I’m talking about the trees that are several decades, if not, then centuries, old having been blown down.

The French security guy was super nice to me. We ended up in small talk as many French people like to do and that is how I learned about this tree business and that he had also noticed no trains from either direction all morning.

“That means it was bad everywhere, “ he explained. He felt sorry about my bad luck and said that certainly I wasn’t the only one. Indeed, the bar has a couple of other students, French and foreign, who seem to also be bidding their time not being at the Chateau until the next train…at 17:58. It is only 14:30.

This battery better hold."

Well, about three hours later I went back to the train station and found the sign had that next rain canceled, too. As Chenonceau is such a tiny town, there is no proper train station with a proper person to ask about these things so I went to the chateau instead which was open by then.

The same French security guy I mentioned earlier recognized me (not too many French-speaking Americans to be found he later told me) and so did the ticket lady from my visit on Saturday. We all started talking and since they had the Internet connection I had been lacking for about two days, they found out that only very select cities in this part of France over to the ocean coast actually had trains running and even then about half of those trains were incredibly late or canceled as the French train system for the most part works on electricity and the vast majority of wires were down. I was about to have no choice but stay in Chenonceau another night.

However, a young woman who was a souvenir shop worker and who lived in Tours said that Tours was one of the train stations with working trains and that it would be no problem to drop me off. I was immensly grateful and told everyone this over and over. I wanted to pay the woman something for her kindness but she wouldn't take anything, saying that she just wanted to make sure on her part that my stay in France wasn't a complete disaster. "It is important that you understand the French people are far more kind than their weather," she said and I was more than touched.

So I got to the Tours train station and , oh goodness, was it a mad house. Hundreds of people ran in and out of the chaos. I can say at this point I have been at la gare at numerous moments and know the French train system better than I do the American one by now and believe me when I say that it had never been like it was last night ever before. Trains were half and hour late at minimum. Truly half of the trains I saw were empty as they have no where to go and the ticket office was exploding with anxious and desperate people. It was very clear no one had anticipated the level of damage from the storm.

I found a TGV destined for Nantes which would be passing by Angers at least and I asked the first conductor I say and asked, "Does this train ACTUALLY STOP in Angers?" When he replied yes but it is rather crowded, I replied with, "Thanks, sir, but I don't care. Good enough."

Indeed it had to have been over capacity. For TGV it is highly recommended that one gets a reservation before bordering which is only 8 euro with a rail pass like mine but 25 euro on the train if you don't. I couldn't have gotten thought he ticket office in time and I was just ready to pay the stupid 25 euro if the conductor actually bothered to check everyone's ticket (they didn't and I don't blame them). I ended up having to stand most of the way because of the lack of seats but I got to Angers, darn it!

I caught up with Monsieur in his car in the middle of the car traffic that rivaled the people traffic. I jumped in like lightening and we were off. He was actually in a good mood and said, "You sure can get out of some crazy situations can't you?" I sighed and replied, "I don't know Monsieur. Someone up there must like me because I think I operate on luck half the time." He was pleased I met so many wonderful French people working at the chateau and told me that the death toll from la tempête had climbed to over 50 and that every working train station except in the southeast part of France was backed up and overcrowded. I was incredibly lucky to have gotten back that night.

They had dinner ready for me and I realized how hungry I was. It was after 9PM but I had spent the last several hours thinking of things that were more important to me than eating. I ended up talking with Monsieur, Madame about the weather's after affects and laughed when they described to me J.B.'s reaction to la tempête when they called him to make sure he was okay. "Une Tempête? What? Did you get a bit of wind? It is sunny over here!" As he studies all the way down in Arles, he had no clue what had been going on and truly this storm was exceptional for French weather.

I must tell you though that Saturday was an ideal chateau visiting day and I'll come back with that. As Amboise was a no-go this time, I at least now know what I'm doing this weekend for my birthday!