For those of you who have never been on a train, think of it this way. It's like a plane, only no seatbelts and no ladies telling you where the emergency exits are. There is also no lady coming down the aisle offering a beverage. I took a night train to Paris and here is what I documented.
October 1, 2015 8:27 pm I’m on a train. I can’t believe I’m on a train. I’ve never been on a train before, or at least not one I can remember. I’m on a train going to Paris; however, I’m taking the overnight train. A regular train will take only five hours to get from Antibes, where I’m staying, to Paris, where I want to go. I didn’t get to sit in the seat assigned to me because a lady with a lot of stuff and a dog took that seat and I’m not going to fight her for it. From the looks of it, people just choose their own seats instead of going for their assigned one. That works for me, but I don’t know if that is okay. I’m scared because of that; I don’t want to get in trouble. The way they number the seats confuse me. The train made a quick stop in Cannes. I wonder how many more stops are along the way. I hope not too much; the constant stop and go feeling will keep me up all night and I need my energy for my day in Paris. October 2, 2015 5:55 pm The train ride was interesting. They didn’t care where you sat, only the other riders cared, and they only checked to make sure you have a ticket for that train ride. The ride was dark and cold, which made me wish I had brought my sweater or a jacket. I tossed and turned a bit, going in and out of consciousness until dawn. I had enough rest to go through the day. I arrived at the station in Paris, walked across the Seine River to another station that had the metro. Bought a booklet of tickets and hopped on. I got off at a place called Les Halles. Turned out that it was an underground mall. Off course I was there too early since it was about 9:15 and the stores didn’t open until 10, so I went to the surface and walked a few blocks down to Le Louvre. I realized that my laptop case, which I brought to hold my laptop and a few extra things, was too big to allow me access to the museums, so I just walked around the exterior, which is art in itself. I walked along the courtyard and saw a lot of statues and another museum. I tried to go through the Place de la Concorde, but a job fair was going on, so I had to walk around it. Found Champs D’Élysées, and I walked down it. The first half looked like a park, but the second half had all the shops. I found this tourist shop and bought two items; one of which was a miniaturized Eiffel Tower, which I have yet to see, and a key chain of the Eiffel Tower. I got tired of all the walking around, so I found the metro again and went back to Les Halles. Did some shopping. New items are a $100 coat and a $12 top. Don’t I have expensive taste? Then I just went back to the train station. I do have A LOT of time to kill before my 9:22 pm train, but I am just too tired from all the walking around to do anything else just yet. I plan to come back again next month and hopefully there won’t be so much construction going on like it is now. All the building had construction going on. The underground mall has it bad. Next time, I’ll check out all the museums and walk inside the Notre Dame and try to walk up the Eiffel Tower. Wish me luck on that one. I ate at a little café at the train station about an hour and a half ago. The Panini was great (chicken and bacon, yum), the café au lait was delicious, and the tiramisu was divine. Now to charge my computer and my phone. October 3, 2015 9:00 am Seating doesn't matter. I got on the night train back to Antibes around 9:10 pm last night and there was a guy that was assigned to sit next to me. I found some open seats, open as in there were rows of two seats that didn't have anyone sitting in that particular space, so I moved into a seat with no neighbor. No one check or cared, so I sat there for the entire night. The way home was the same as the way to Paris. Lights off and everyone snores. By the way, someone explain this seating arrangement to me. Both numbers are in the exact same row of two seats right next to each other.
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Nicole JohnsonI am a college student studying abroad in France. This is my journal of all that I see and experience on my journey. Archives
December 2015
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