JC's Diary: Saturday June 19th to June 25

Now well into the centre of France where  JC experiences motor sports first hand.  At this point the next 7 pieces of paper are stained with water and ink-blotted. This is partial obscurity for 14 pages from the top and then 5 pages are stained on the bottom left and right corner with mostly lower obscurity. I've substituted words where I can reasonably guess the missing content without annotation otherwise I have noted where things are obscured. 

I get a little lost on the route here due to the obscurations -- JC mentions heading towards Normandy but the town they mention is in the opposite direction.

If I'm a little slow posting this it's because I'm really pushing to understand the route stuck between grandparenting duties and spring cleaning -- you all should see my office!  Nice weather as well means the boys and I are getting outside a little more. 

Hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I did editing it. 

Ken

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Saturday, June 19/65

This is the day of the big race. I woke up and found people around me where there were none before. As I only had my underwear on it was a tricky job getting my pants and dressing. There are two French fellows about our own ages across from us. Tony and Francois, and we talked with them. About noon, the five of us went in to get seats. We played cards and drank wine for four hours until the race began at 400 pm. 

51 cars started. Of course, the famous Le Mans start was used where all cars are lined up perpendicular to the track and the drivers opposite their cars on the other side of the track. The start is a most dramatic point as all of the spectators become silent and then all the drivers race for their cars at once. We left the race to go to our car shortly afterward as the cars just around the track is rather boring and the heat was murder. Supper again was cheese, meat and bread as we didn't want to have to buy food at the track because of the high price. The rest of the day and night was spent in walking around some of the midway exhibits and watching the race.

Sunday June 20/65 

Again I slept outside and was wakened by some French kids at [obscured by ink run] there was only [obscured] cars in the race. Of course, [obscured] wasn't. A couple English guys next to us gave me a cup of hot tea for breakfast. More walking around and early lunch of meat, cheese and bread. How I am sick of meat, cheese and bread. By mutual consent we agreed to leave about 11:00 am instead of waiting for the end at 4:00 pm. I was so hot and the crowds so big that we wouldn't have been able to get a good view of the finish line. We had seen what we wanted to. 

Drove for about an hour in the direction of Normandy  and stopped in Malicorne [ This isn't really in the direction of Normandy -- so I'm a little confused. The town name is in the blotted out portion so I am going from pen impressions and his comments on the 25th.] where there was a nice stream. We could wash ourselves and get cool. We met two french kids aged about 13 and 16 and a bunch of others. The younger one showed us where we could watch the Le Mans race finish on T.V.  We to go into the people's rooms as the hotel did not have one in the dining room (cafe). After the race we had cold chicken, peas, tomatoes, etc. which was the best meal in a few days. We walked around and had another swim and went over to the hotel for a beer. The town only has 1700 people so it is easy to get to know them. The young kid came over and we bought him a Pepsi. Slept under stars again. All of us did but then it started to rain so the other guys went in the bus and I pulled the poncho over me. I was alright except that my pillow (I bought a small one) got a bit wet.

Monday, June 21/65

Got up about 9:00 am and had a swim and washed and went to the hotel for breakfast. An old man brought a little girl whose mother works at the hotel a dead sparrow or something. She played with it, then finally cut its head off and took it outside. 

After breakfast we walked around and bought some things for washing clothes and gas. Then we proceeded to wash [obscured]. With swimming and fooling around and getting things back in order, the day was spent. About 7:00 pm we went back to the hotel for dinner of tomatoes, onions, omelette, beefsteak and green beans, cheese, french bread, and fruit. Previous to this, the young fellow whom we met and has come over to our camp every day brought us a shoe box full of freshly picked strawberries. They were dispatched with great haste. 

Gile's parents ( the young fellow previously mentioned) invited us over to his place after dinner. They are both artists and make ceramics (birds, little figurines, etc) (like Lotte). They opened a bottle of 10 yr old Anjou wine then some [obscured] and finally a drink that he makes himself which is similar to Cointreau.

You put oranges which have been pierced in quart sealer, add alcohol (LCBO) and leave for four weeks. The liqueur is strong and the oranges themselves are most refreshing (gasp, gasp). The man is about 45 years old and bald but has a very athletic figure. His wife has a tan which makes her look almost negro. They are a most charming couple and the conversation went along not too badly in French ranging from Corsica to communism (which he says he is). We finally left at 12:30 and wended our way to the [obscured] moon and the [obscured] street lights so it was completely black. You couldn't see 3 feet in front of you.

Tuesday June 22/65 

I got up about 9:00 am and had a swim, dressed and talked to another young fellow who is a friend of Giles and has come over to our camp. I'm at the hotel finishing breakfast and writing this. We are going to the Normandy beaches today and to Paris on Thursday where we will be shown around by some girls, one of whom we met yesterday. She is an interior decorator and looks very nice in a bathing suit. We drove to Mont Saint Michel which is a [obscured but it is a massive abbey on an island/isthmus off the coast of Normandy accessible at low tide only.] and is now a gigantic tourist trap. There are more postcard and souvenir shops winding up the street to the top. It is quite an impressive sight as it sits on what is practically an island at high tide. After leaving St. Michel we had dinner in a small hotel and pitched our camp close to the Normandy beaches. It was one of the worst nights I passed as it was cold and I had to get up twice. The next day I had to go more often.

Wednesday June 23/65

It was about 11:00 am before we finally got underway after having several cups of coffee. We drove [obscured] Normandy beaches [obscured] German bunkers at Pointe de Hoc where Col. Rudder's scouts raided; the American cemetery at St. Laurent; a museum and film display of the wartime harbour at Arromanches. We then drove to the Canadian Cemetery at Beny sur Mer which is quite small but filled with flowers at all the graves. 

We got to Caen about 7:30 pm and had dinner. I was determined to have a good sleep so went to look for a room. I eventually got a student place where a university student walked with me up to the university city to see if I would get in [obscured] rather late and after [obscured] we gave up. We all slept in the bus and I set up my cot and the other two guys slept on either side. It was more comfortable than all three of us sleeping on the same level.

Thursday June 24/65 

It is Rod's birthday today and we are going to Paris. Right now I'm having breakfast at a small student cafe near the university and across from the student place which had a parking lot where we slept. 

We got to Paris about 1:00 pm and found a place for $2.00 a day which includes service and breakfast. we exchanged traveller's cheques and did a few errands before going to a self service [obscured cafe?] to have dinner. After we saw a money "Yellow Rolls Royce" which was kind of fun.

Friday June 25/65 

It's Mother's birthday today. Sorry I have not gotten a card off but my birthday wishes go with this letter. 

The three of us went out to see Notre Dame. Although I had seen it before it was still quite a thrill to stand n such an old place. It was begun in 1163. The rose windows which must be 60 feet in diameter are on either side of the main part of the church. The colours and design of [obscured] spectacular [obscured] sat in a little park [obscured] and about 20 minutes later a woman came to collect 35 centimes. She didn't come when we had just sat down so we could get up and leave. She may be on the level but then she may just be hustling touristes. In any event we simply picked up and left without paying her. 

That evening we had dates with three girls. Chantal was one which we had met in Malicorne. They had not arrived by 10:00 pm (an hour late) so we left and went to the Place Pigalle. It certainly has changed as even touring buses ply the streets. Most of the gang had given up and gone elsewhere when I met a Canadian engineer from Edmonton while we were having a hamburger. He had been in Iran for 1 1/2 years building a micro-wave outfit.

We took a taxi to Les Halles, the huge market place, and took in the sights for a while before having onion soup -- delicious. The taxi raid home at 3:30 am (Les Halles was really getting going then) was wild. He had a brush with a truck and narrowly missed several pedestrians. We were quite happy to arrive home safely even though we did pay a few francs more than we should have.