This morning the tour stopped in Chartes, a town of forty thousand with a grand cathedral. I am used to the American idea of city growth; that a town of that size is a remnant, a fraction of the population and trade it had during the fourteenth century, is difficult to grasp.

For writing on the bus I'm doing o.k..

I did find how the French deal with the fundamental problem. They take pride in their ability to and history of destroying nature and rebuilding it. The gardens are carefully manicured patterns. The food is often simple but delicious: the ham sandwhich I had yesterday was a long roll, buttered thickly, with ham only one slice thick. Now it makes sense they use more nuclear power than any other country.