You have to get there first...

I arrived at the airport in Paris early on Thursday morning. Usually I sleep well while travelling, but I was so nervous about arriving in France and my language skills being insufficient that I didn't sleep at all. After I found my way through customs, I had a brief moment of panic at the luggage carousel. There was a crowd of people and bags when I got there, but mine wasn't among them! I took only a few things in my small carry-on backpack, and everything else was in my suitcase. After the crowd dispersed, I went to speak to the luggage agents, and they found my bag in the computer. It had gotten diverted elsewhere, so I waited a while longer and it showed up. The luggage agents were very kind, and I would say that my first real interaction in French went as well as I could have hoped. Afterwards, I found the bus to take me to the center of the city where my contact told me to find her.

Diane de Rocquette-Buisson works for the French Heritage Society in Paris, and she took me to her flat for a brief breakfast and a quick tour by car around Paris. If there is one thing that I have learned already in France, it is that I will never attempt to drive in Paris. Ever. At noon, we needed to be at the train station to send me to my first placement, Le Chateau de Brecy. I knew that I needed to get off at the second stop at the city of Bayeaux. I knew the time that the train was supposed to arrive, but I didn't have a watch. I kept an eye out for the first stop, and I thought we had. So when the train slowed down again, I got off at the stop. Thankfully, I looked at the station sign first thing, because it was the wrong place! I needed the next stop, so I quickly hopped back on the train to continue on my way. When I got off in Bayeaux, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I didn't have the name of who I was meeting, and I had nothing to identify me other than a large suitcase and a confused look on my face. But Michel found me very quickly at the station and brought me to Chateau de Brecy while showing me photos of his dogs on his phone.

Brecy is located about 15 minutes by car outside of Bayeaux and is surrounded by fields of wheat, flax, and linseed.  As I hadn't slept at all during my travels, I was exhausted and headed promptly to bed, after seeing this amazing view out of my window.