French misadventures - Part 1

Q) What do you get when you cross 6 semi-crazy IITians with a misleading train time table having 'petit miniscules', a beautiful french city and 2 overcareful french people?

A) A night to remember.

So, the story goes like this-the 6 semi-crazy IITians, referred hereon as TheSorryGuy, TheFundaeGuy, TheCompletelyNormalGuy, TheNearlyNormalGuy, ThePsychoGal and TheRain, accompanied by the 2 supercareful Frenchies and many-many nearly identical Chinese went on a visit to a place called La Rochelle. (For some weird reason, French people add an article before the names of cities-THE Rochelle.) So, this was the plan - We go to La Rochelle after a 2 hour train ride, we spend 3 hours there and we come back - a plan that certainly (and obviously) did not appeal to the 6 people this story covers. And hence, Mr. TSG, the person who is normally leading the group, asked one of the 2 supercareful Frenchies about other trains between the two stations and got 7 and 9 pm as answers. 

After much deliberation, the 6 people decided on the 9 pm train (TCNG and TFG being music fans just had to watch the FREE jazz concert and the decision was made..) Skipping the part where the 6 were mis-guided by the staff at the tourism office and the uninformative leaflet and the first appearance of the word "Sorry" (A word that was going to change how the night was going to be), we arrive at the scene of the insane laughter and where the screw was being bolted in. 

Time : 9 PM

Place : Gare SNCF, La Rochelle

And as we switch scenes, we see TSG beating his arms, his legs and his head on the ground and rolling around in laughter. 

And the cause : The 'petit miniscules'. The spark : "The screw has been bolted in." The explanation : A little tired and after having seen a small tussle between TFG and TR, the 6 people reach the station and check the train schedule and, lo and behold, don't find their train there. The feeling of being screwed starts to arrive. Then, the not-quite-as-careful-as-the-extracareful-Frenchies TSG revealed his carelessness. On the top of the the time for the train was written in 'petit miniscules' a number : 20. That was the 'conditions apply' number and the condition - The train doesn't work on 15th August (which, coincidentally, was also the scene of these happenings.) So, the feeling wasn't out of place. Even then, not deterred, TCNG goes to the enquiry counter to find out other options and learns that the next train is at 7am the next morning. He walks back with these news and says a sentence which triggers TSG's laughing mechanism (a very weird and possibly, unique one at that.) And then come the rolls, the flaps, the shrieks and the slaps (everything, surprisingly, related to just laughter.) 

Time : 10 pm

Place : Gare SNCF, La Rochelle

And we still find the 6 people where we left them racking their brains trying to come up with a solution to where and how THE NIGHT should be spent. 

(The developments in the meanwhile:

i - all hostels are booked

ii - the station can't be used as a refuge since, now this is weird, it is closed at night.)

Hence, they divide themselves into two teams and go to explore options. Here follows the tale of the teams

Team 1 : TPG, TFG, TSG

This team went to find TPG's lost jacket (she lost it sometime during the day) and by sheer serendipity, discovered that nearly every Frenchie is extra-careful. (Someone actually took care of her jacket all the time..wow!! ) And then followed some shrieks (of relief and delight) : TPG - "I love French people" which, of course, attracted weird looks from the people being talked about. Then, the 3 went to get cheap potable water (Don't be alarmed - There have been instances when mineral water has been found to be costlier than WINE.) They ended up at a beautiful beach and forgot all about the fact that they had to meet the other 3 at a fixed time. After realising their mistake, they start making their way back to the meeting point - The Gare, what else? But, they start enjoying the performers on the street and make the same mistake again. So, we leave them here and shift our attention to Team 2, which, at that moment, is at The Gare - Where else?

Team 2 : TNNG, TCNG, TR

This team was handed the task of trying to arrange some lodging for the night and explore possibilities of camping sites too. (Not much important, but mentioned here 'cuz the author thinks it is a very interesting idea.)  Hence, they arrange the number of a youth hostel (Attention: it is not interesting - Mentioned here 'cuz the author thinks it is important) and, just before calling, find their conscience reminding them that that would have been a killjoy. Hence, they confirm from the other group whether they seriously want to sleep, and on receiving a complementary reply, start thinking about how to spend the night. A little tour of the city later, they buy 2 bottles of beer to help them through the night (Author's disclaimer : the people covered in this story are not habitual-drinkers. These people drink only when its necessary. Clarification : The French people consider it necessary to drink wine with every meal.) And some more time later, they stumble upon a bar open all through the night and form a plan of how to spend the night in their heads. Hence, they return to the Gare.

Here, they decide to wait for the other group, and while they wait, here's their plan:

Till 1 am - At the gare

1 am - 5 am - At the bar

5 am - 7am - At the gare again

After having waited for an additional hour, having sent a message, having tried calling the other group and being completely frustrated, they finally catch a sight of team 1  jumping, dancing and singing their way back, which augments their frustration and hence follows a heated discussion. (Not exactly heated, but important : Hence, exaggerated to make it interesting.)

Summarising their discussion, we learn that there is another plan to spend the night and the plan that has been chosen is an amalgamation of the 2. 

(The author leaves this post here and vows to complete it soon and explain all the unexplained things - like the word 'Sorry', for instance. 

Key:

Gare : Station

SNCF : French National Railway)