[ladyblue]

Ok, I have got a really miniscule budget, but I want to go somewhere on eurostar for a few days before I start the hard slog of teaching academic English at the university this summer on June 17th.

Any secret knowledge you have of places I can get to easily by train from London, and which have reasonably priced hotels/restos…maybe slightly off the beaten track..in the north. I just want to go and practise my French and have a jolly for 3-4 days. I will be alone. So I might need to go somewhere where there are a few chancer/lotharios who can chat me up of an evening…keep me entertained.

I have thought about Caen/Rouen - I have looked at Lille - but there isn't much available. I am tempted to just go and try and get a hotel when I am there - booking.com and so forth create inflated prices, but obv, being alone, I don't want to be left without anywhere.

Any ideas? I don't really care too much - it is for such a short time that it wouldn't really matter if I hated it. But I want to stay in a hotel or b&b. bises. et je vous remercie d'avance.

 

[DejW]

hi, it's 2 in the morning..........can't sleep!

I know Rouen fairly well, although not the hotels. Certainly worth a visit.....Jeanne d'Arc etc , Norman architecture,cathedral. City centre is vibrant......tourists, business people in a hurry, students etc. There are ok looking hotels in the centre...don't go too far out or you in the suburbs. Avoid rive gauche, lots of concrete and gov buildings. Trains to Paris frequent, easy etc from gare rive droit, but it's not in the centre. Good concert / Opera houses if that's your thing.

When I was teaching at Rouen I was invited to student parties in grotty flats in the centre.....streets seemed safe in the early hours...or perhaps I was too drunk to care!

Recently I've taken friends and family on visits to Rouen centre.....good choice of restos at reasonable prices.....in summer on the terrace.

send me a pm if you want more info, but I suspect google maps and street view know more than I do!

good luck....DejW

Ok, I have got a really miniscule budget, but I want to go somewhere on eurostar for a few days before I start the hard slog of teaching academic English at the university this summer on June 17th.

Any secret knowledge you have of places I can get to easily by train from London, and which have reasonably priced hotels/restos…maybe slightly off the beaten track..in the north. I just want to go and practise my French and have a jolly for 3-4 days. I will be alone. So I might need to go somewhere where there are a few chancer/lotharios who can chat me up of an evening…keep me entertained.

I have thought about Caen/Rouen - I have looked at Lille - but there isn't much available. I am tempted to just go and try and get a hotel when I am there - booking.com and so forth create inflated prices, but obv, being alone, I don't want to be left without anywhere.

Any ideas? I don't really care too much - it is for such a short time that it wouldn't really matter if I hated it. But I want to stay in a hotel or b&b. bises. et je vous remercie d'avance.

 

[ladyblue]

DejW reco

Thanks - I think I might go to Rouen. I went there on a school trip when I was about 13. I remember I liked it. Especially the shopping…so that could be good. I would like to buy some French produce to cheer up my evenings when I am slaving over a hot computer with my marking this summer….

 

[DejW]

oh, leave the marking at home...get a real break! I loved teaching and the preparation for it, but ooooooh, the marking.

You'll find Rouen has changed a bit since your visit at age 13......no horsedrawn carriages, women don't wear bustles anymore! <grin> ....duck and weave for quick exit......

DejW

Thanks - I think I might go to Rouen. I went there on a school trip when I was about 13. I remember I liked it. Especially the shopping…so that could be good. I would like to buy some French produce to cheer up my evenings when I am slaving over a hot computer with my marking this summer….

 

[ladyblue]

Cheeky

Hey - I may be old but I am not that old!!

Biding my time before I can retire in France…

But anyway - I took your advice about sticking to the rive droite, and I am looking for hotels in the centre. A bit annoying I am going to have to cross Paris to get there.. probably won't feel like negotiating with cabbies and I am definitely going to ask for some small change when I get my money - those taxi drivers are so upset when you don't have the right change!

I will report back. Bisou

 

[DejW]

The metro's ok between gare du nord and St Lazare......just need to plan it, it can be complicated.

bises...D

Hey - I may be old but I am not that old!!

Biding my time before I can retire in France…

But anyway - I took your advice about sticking to the rive droite, and I am looking for hotels in the centre. A bit annoying I am going to have to cross Paris to get there.. probably won't feel like negotiating with cabbies and I am definitely going to ask for some small change when I get my money - those taxi drivers are so upset when you don't have the right change!

I will report back. Bisou

 

[512346]

Why not save your train fare, and go as a boat passenger to Le Harvre from Portsmouth then a taxi to Honfleur.

 

[DejW]

ANOTHER really good idea from Smeggie! arty:

Yes, Honfleur is very pretty but a bit too touristy for me. It's not as big as Rouen, but excellent for a weekend.

(Even after 16 years in France I still have difficulty with "je vais au Havre".)

I used Pompie / Le Havre ferry a fair bit in the past. I always took a cabin. Either you get hordes of over excited schoolchildren running amok, or get invaded by Brits making full use of the cheap booze on board.

DejW

Why not save your train fare, and go as a boat passenger to Le Harvre from Portsmouth then a taxi to Honfleur.