Everything Happens for a Reason

After spending the first day at our timeshare lounging and recharging our batteries, we tried also to find out the best way to get to the train station so we can go places. The woman at the front desk told us that there was really no way of getting to the train station besides hiring a taxi, but you have to reserve it a whole day in advance. So by the time we asked, it was too late for us to reserve one for the morning. The woman also made many snide remarks about us not renting a car as the timeshare is literally in the middle of nowhere. So Sarah and I went back to our room to see if we could figure anything out. The front desk lady told us that the closest train station was over 8 miles away. I found that there is a small train station only 4 miles away!! The only tricky thing is that since it was a tiny train station, it only had one train going out in the morning (@ 7:00am) and one coming in from Val de Reuil (@ 5:15 pm). So if we wanted to do that, Sarah and I had to get up at 5:00 am and walk to the train station. After walking so much on the Camino, we thought nothing of the four miles. So Sarah and I went to bed and woke up at 5:00 am to walk to the train station. We decided that we were going to a little seaside city named Dieppe. Dieppe is nestled between cliffs on both sides and is the site of a failed invasion attempt at the beginning of WW2 by the Canadians and the British. The cliffs are so steep and the Germans had to defend only a little portion of the beach and it makes me wonder why they would choose that section? The city itself is very old and full of seafood restaurants. Sarah and I made our way toward the pier and walked all the way out to catch a glimpse of the whole coast. 

It was pretty cold and windy outside so we made our way down the beach toward the memorial for all those who lost their lives in the failed attempt. It was a small memorial but still crazy to think about the men who died as we will also be going to the D-Day beaches on its 69-year anniversary.

Along the beach something caught Sarah's eye among the gray rocks, little rocks that were clear green! We thought they were very cool so we looked for awhile and kept a decent collection. When we finally got back to the timeshare we researched and found out that it is sea glass. Still think they are pretty cool. 

After seeing the memorial, Sarah and I made our way back to the train station, but stopped at a grocery store to pick up food for the week. In the end, our bag was incredibly heavy. We made it to our train back to Rouen, where we were going to connect to Val de Reuil. From there, we had planned to take a taxi back to our timeshare. We got to Val de Reuil to find a deserted train station. There weren't any people, let alone any taxis. The woman at the information desk tried calling a couple taxis for us but none of them answered. At that point, Sarah and I began to worry about how we were going to get back to the timeshare. Luckily, there was a public bus outside the train station and the bus driver directed us to the closest bus station from our timeshare, which was still 2.5 miles away. And remember, we still had our giant bag of groceries. But 2.5 is still better than 8! So we took the bus, only 1 euro each!!! We each took a handle of the grocery bag and started walking....

And then something amazing happened!!! The previous day we went for a walk and said hello to a few families that were out in front of their homes. We had not walked more than a hundred yards from when the bus dropped us off, when a van pulled over in front of us. A man came out from the drivers seat and he was one of the people we said hello to! He asked if we had to walk all the way back to the timeshare and then he offered us a ride the rest of the way! That could not have come at a better time! We thanked him so many times and it still wasn't enough. 

I say that everything happens for a reason because we were told that there was no way to get to the train station besides taking a taxi. If there would have been a taxi at the train station, we would have taken it and spent around €30. Instead, we found that we can take a bus for €1 each. Then the ride was just icing on the top!!!