Caen

Last few photos from France. In one of my most nerve-wracking moments while planning the trip I called a Michelin-recognized restaurant in Caen. I was pleased that they answered me in French, even though they recognized I was American. I was less pleased that they were closed during the week I was in Normandy. Ah, putain. I did, however, find a substitute that they also recommended: AUGIA, a modern-French place where I had this thing called an œuf parfait that I will dream about for many years.

The next morning I had a few hours to explore, so I took a walk around Caen:

Then it was back to the UK via Paris and Gare du Nord:

I have to say, Gare du Nord is really not set up well to handle UK immigration and customs. The French don't queue very well, for starters, and the mass of people pushing through oddly-configured security and immigration barriers made it a frustrating experience, especially compared with the Eurostar departures from Brussels and St Pancras. Ah, that French efficiency!

One last thing. I first visited France in June 1992, and despite shooting only Kodachrome (slow, fiddly, and $2.40 per frame in today's dollars), I did manage to get this snap in Gare de Lyon:

French trains have gotten a lot better since then. Sadly, American trains have not. Ah, putain!