JAPANESEGot up at six thirty and took the 8:44 train from Paris Gare Lyon to Besancon Viotte.
It was a two and a half hours ride by TGV.
TGV was like Japanese Shinkansen, it was fast as a cheetah.
Arrived at Besancon at quater past eleven.
I bought a map of the town at a station shop and tried to ask the shop keeper whether she knew where the youth hostel was.
'Ummm do you speak English?'
'No'
So I took out a memo that Sophie gave me foreseeing these situations, she listed down some of the basic French that she
expected I would need, like 'I am looking for a youth hostel' or 'I would like to hike' etctec.
This paper happened to be my lifeline in this town, since nobody could speak English.
The shop keeper introduced me to a station officer, and this officer introduced me to a bus driver, and this
bus driver drove me to another bus stop, and the new bus driver dropped me infront of the youth hostel.
It was like a tightrope walking from hindsight, like a miracle.
The youth hostel was clean and cozy, had my own room, bath and a toilet, it even had a fridge.
After resting for a while, went to the town centre of Besancon.
I first went to the Tourist centre to gather some information about the region.
The town centre was across the river, in fact, the river was running nearly all the way around the town, creating a natual fort.
I bought a sandwich for lunch and then walked around the town.
It was a beautiful town.
After lunch, I went up the hill to see the Citadelle, or a castle which overlooked the town.
I did not go inside the castle, since it looked too touristic, with zoos and an aquariam inside it.
However I enjoyed the atmosphere.
The sky was as blue as the ocean.
Sometime around four, I decided to take one of the hiking routes that a woman in the tourist centre told me.
It started across the river, south of the town, up the hill.
On top of the hill, they had a fort from the World War II, built by an American infantry division.
I couldn't understand the sign that said 'not open to public' until I was stopped by a guy who seems to be living here.
I explained to him that I want to take a photograph of the town and he most politely guided me to a point with an excellent view.
He said he likes to see the sun rise from here, it sure would be beautiful I thought.
I loved this hill, so decided to forget about the hiking and was reading Hemingway on a bench.
I slept for like an hour and went back to town.
The sun was setting and it was beautiful.
It was an another beautiful day in France.
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