Day 109, 21 October 2012. Paris to Normandy - We left Gare Saint Lazare this morning (pictured) and experienced yet more of France's excellent public transport system. It took just 2 hours to zoom north through lush green countryside, past gorgeous stone farmhouses and into the town of Caen - population 100,000. We came to visit (and to meet for the first time) my accidental penpal and American/French 'other' dad - Lee and his gorgeous wife Annie. Having been penpals from opposite sides of the world for around 15 years and only seen a few photos of each other, I know I was nervous and I think James was along for the ride. We took a chance at Gare de Caen.... We had wrongly assumed it was a tiny wee railway station with one platform and a big sign saying "Lee and Annie - This Way!" - As it was we went in the direction marked Parking and ended up on the wrong side of the tracks (literally... some very dodgy looking youths around). Just as I was leaving a message on Lee's cell, we heard his American accent and thankfully he had found us - Voila! We made our way through the sprawling outskirts of Caen and to the much smaller town of Saint Lo - during WWII it was completely destroyed - apart from one building which survived unscathed. So much of the town is new - except for the German tunnels under the ramparts which were used as bomb shelters and now make a super location for the local gun club's firing ranges (no neighbours to complain when you're under a hill!). Coming to Lee and Annie's place on the outskirts of Saint Lo felt like coming home... a wood fire, a fabulous Persian called Sheba with a lot of love to spare and a keen eye for a vacant lap. We enjoyed a local speciality for dinner, a French dish from the Alps which was huge fun to put together - Basically boiled potatoes, cold meats and a plate of assorted cheeses, sliced. We obviously needed a demonstration, but a Raclette device is plugged in and heated on the table and the cheese slices melt in little individual trays for each person, then you open up your potato ad put in some meat and pour on the melted cheese. Ahhhh.... now we know what all the massive dairy cows are for in Normandy - this is the land where Camembert comes from. Originally. We slept like happy, sleepy babies in the softest, comfiest bed on the trip so far (that's 109 days!) and couldn't wait to see Normandy and get to know our new friends.