I awoke to cheerings of "It made it! Its here! You can go to Paris with us!" It was clear what had arrived. The Eurail pass, that our mother so graciously overnighted across the world at a considerable cost, that allowed us to travel Europe at our leisure, had arrived on time. And not just on time, but just in time, as we were due to leave for Paris in less than an hour. As I packed my backpack for our weekend stay in Paris, the apartment was a hive of activity. All four people were getting ready. My sister and I for our tourist adventure, and Jennifer and David for the wedding that they were attending on Saturday.
The train was due to leave at 11:40am CEST, and this was Switzerland, it would leave then, no ifs ands or buts. Although it was late enough on Friday morning that we had missed the initial rush hour, we still had to walk to the tram stop, take the tram to the station, activate our Eurail pass, find the platform, and get on the train. All within the course of an hour and a half. Once again, thanks to the accuracy of Swiss timekeeping and transport, we knew we would be at the train station by 11am, but would the next 35 minutes be enough time to wait in line and activate our Eurail passes. Jennifer and David seemed confident that it would. My sister and I were not.
As we took the ticket to secure our place in line, we looked down at the number. 96. It didn't seem that bad, at least until we looked at the "Now Serving:" board, which displayed the number 72. 24 people were in front of us. By the time I worked this out, however, a ding went off and the number switched to 73. At least it went pretty fast, we might just make it after all. The ding went off again, and the number switched to 303. Oh no. There are multiple different groups all for the same area. The number of people in front of us went from 23 to 23 at the minimum. There could very well have been 230 people in front of us, there was no official way to tell. I spent the time trying to hack into the train station's wifi (unsuccessfully), and my sister was reading a book on her phone.
After what seemed like an eternity, our number was called. Five minutes later we had our passes verified and six minutes to find the correct platform and get on the train. Thanks to the many signs hanging from the station ceiling, it was not hard to find the correct platform and get on the train. That all being said, there was no time to spare, as the second we sat down, the train started moving. Que another major problem. Our seat reservation was facing backward from the direction of travel. Although not a problem for me and David, this was a monumental problem for Jennifer and Elizabeth, who are both very prone to motion sickness, and especially when travelling backwards. At first, we hoped that at some point the train would turn around, Basel was the first stop, so we hoped there, but that was still an hour away.
By putting on headphones and closing her eyes, Elizabeth was able to stave off her nausea for now, but that wouldn't last the four-hour duration of the trip. And I don't know about you, but I don't like dealing with that kind of thing in the slightest. So, Jennifer and I went to see if we could find a set of forward-facing seats that were free. We walked up and down the length of the train, but no dice. (As the train was travelling 150km/h I recorded my fastest and only marathon ever as it took 20 minutes to walk from the back of the train and back again. Which means that we walked 30.9 miles. (20min/60min =.33 | .33*93mph = 30.99 miles)) After we informed my sister of this terrible news, Jennifer had an idea: Maybe we could ask the train conductor to switch us seats with one of the other patrons. A fantastic idea. Once again we walked up and down the train (I don't know why people complain about marathons being hard, I did two that day and didn't even break a sweat!) trying to find the elusive conductor. Every assistant we found said he was in a different place.
Eventually, we stumbled upon him in the restaurant car. We explained to him the situation, and he did not look too pleased with the predicament that may befall him if he did not take action. Once again, we walked with him up and down the train. Nothing was said between the three of us during this. When we got back to the dining car, he opened the door marked "Staff Only" (I presume at least as it was in both French and German.) There were two men, in the train uniform, sitting there playing cards. (It looked like a scene Agatha Christie would have described in Murder On the Orient Express to be honest. They were just missing the pipes or cigars.) They spoke for a bit, both in German and French, which made it a very confusing conversation to follow.
Finally, he turned to us, and told us that we could use the business car in the front of the train. However, we were not allowed to traverse the train, as we would be going through first class, and it might annoy the people who paid for first class that someone got an entire train car to themselves. We immediately agreed to these terms. He told us that we would be allowed to be able to change when we reached Basel, the first stop of the train's trip. We relayed this information to Elizabeth and David when we finally got back to our seats.
Basel 12:48pm CEST
We were waiting at the door of the train for it to open as we reached the platform. At the moment, we were the last car of the train, and in a few seconds, we would have to run between the crowded platform, full of people getting both on and off of the train. The train stopped, the conductors whistle sounded, and the door opened. We ran as fast as we could and made it onto the first car with just a few seconds to spare. We opened the door of the car, and were amazed. We had an entire train car, complete with complimentary wifi to ourselves. A few minutes after departure, the train manager came back to the car to check our tickets, and declared "Welcome to the business car. If you need anything, come and find me. Enjoy your trip!" Nothing of note happened for the rest of the journey, except for some of the scenery, which flashed by way to fast to take pictures of.
Paris 3:58pm CEST
Paris Gare de Lyon station is one of the three major train stations in Paris, and the one we arrived in. It also happened to be on the opposite side of the city from where our AirBnB was. Luckily for us, there was a Metro station at this station. Unluckily for us, it went nowhere near the stop that we needed. Luckily for us, David and Jennifer have lived a combined 8 years in Paris, and knew the city quite well. Three different trains later, we arrived at the station we needed. (The Metro that serviced this stop went to many of the major stops in Paris which proved to be quite useful, and will prevent the subsequent mentionings of the Metro in this series, except for later, but we'll get to that in due time.)
After some difficulty, and arguing over the map, (which was a phone map that almost walked you there step by step) we found the address for the AirBnB. We put in the password for the building, and made our way to the apartment. It was a very quaint two bedroom 1 bath apartment, with a small kitchen and living room. It was very nice, and very clearly someone's house, so we made extra care not to break anything. (AKA snoop too much into their personal lives from the pictures on the mantel and bedroom walls.) After settling in, we decided that Jennifer, Elizabeth, and I would go see the Louvre while David stayed back and did work for his upcoming conference.
When we got to the Louvre, we found it very crowded. More crowded than we figured it would be for a Friday evening. We later found out that it was because the first Fridays of the month are free admission for anyone under 26. Which two of us were able to capitalize on. The three of us also picked up the audio guide for five euro. (I highly recommend it, its a Nintendo 3DS that provides a live map of the museum, and offers multiple different tour options.)
We decided to go on the "Masters and Greatest Works" Tour, which showcased the greatest works in the Louvre, culminating in the greatest disappointment in art, the Mona Lisa. During the tour, we saw, well, the greatest works in the museum. All very pretty and very nice paintings and sculptures. And then we made it. The greatest painting of all time, supposedly, the Mona Lisa. (Let it be known that I despise the Mona Lisa. It is barely bigger than a 9x11 sheet of paper, and really is not that impressive.) However, if you really want to be impressed by art, go to the Louvre, walk to the Mona Lisa, Look at it for the half a second it takes you to turn 180 degrees, and appreciate the most beautiful painting in the entire museum. "The Wedding at Cana" by Paolo Veronese is a gorgeous painting that is absolutely giant. The attention to detail, and the execution of the scene is absolutely amazing. It is nice, however, that this painting is not the most famous one in the museum, because it allows you to walk right up to it, and see every brush stroke, and every detail.
My favorite part of the museum, however, is the outside of the Louvre. It is completely free to walk around the courtyard, and is easily more beautiful than even "The Wedding at Cana." The outside is an architectural masterpiece, and the showpiece is the beautiful glass pyramid in the center of the courtyard. If you want to enjoy the Louvre, but you don't have the time to go and deal with the lines or the people, just go to walk through the courtyard, and take in the beauty that is all around you.
After leaving the Louvre, we walked through the center of the city to Ile Saint-Louis. This is where we were scheduled to meet up with David, and one of David's friends from school. He took us on a tour of the island, and then we met up with his wife before walking down the river Sienne toward the restaurant for tonight's dinner. At some point during this walk, mother nature decided that we were having too much of a nice time in Paris, and let the skies open. Within ten minutes all of us, well, those of us without umbrellas, were soaked.
The quarter of the city the restaurant was in Le Marais, which used to be a marsh. Most of the land underneath the quarter is still very swampy, and because of this, they cannot build metro lines underneath this quarter of the city. Which means you have to walk everywhere. Very nice I presume on a beautiful evening, but not so much in the rain. When we got to the restaurant, because we missed our reservation, we had to wait until a table large enough was available. (Wow really? That's how restaurants work. Huh.) As we were waiting, Jennifer and David's other two friends arrived. As David and two of his friends were French, we crossed the street and watched the France-Italy friendly game at the bar.
Eventually, our table was called, so we were retrieved by Jennifer. The restaurant specialized in crepes, both sweet and savory. Personally, I preferred the sweet crepe to the savory, but they were both delicious. We ended up staying and talking amongst ourselves until almost 1am the next morning, however, I will end the story for today here, and pick back up tomorrow when we wake up. All there is to know is that I had some difficulty pulling the bed out of the couch, and then very quickly fell asleep.
Finally, he turned to us, and told us that we could use the business car in the front of the train. However, we were not allowed to traverse the train, as we would be going through first class, and it might annoy the people who paid for first class that someone got an entire train car to themselves. We immediately agreed to these terms. He told us that we would be allowed to be able to change when we reached Basel, the first stop of the train's trip. We relayed this information to Elizabeth and David when we finally got back to our seats.
Basel 12:48pm CEST
We were waiting at the door of the train for it to open as we reached the platform. At the moment, we were the last car of the train, and in a few seconds, we would have to run between the crowded platform, full of people getting both on and off of the train. The train stopped, the conductors whistle sounded, and the door opened. We ran as fast as we could and made it onto the first car with just a few seconds to spare. We opened the door of the car, and were amazed. We had an entire train car, complete with complimentary wifi to ourselves. A few minutes after departure, the train manager came back to the car to check our tickets, and declared "Welcome to the business car. If you need anything, come and find me. Enjoy your trip!" Nothing of note happened for the rest of the journey, except for some of the scenery, which flashed by way to fast to take pictures of.
Paris 3:58pm CEST
Paris Gare de Lyon station is one of the three major train stations in Paris, and the one we arrived in. It also happened to be on the opposite side of the city from where our AirBnB was. Luckily for us, there was a Metro station at this station. Unluckily for us, it went nowhere near the stop that we needed. Luckily for us, David and Jennifer have lived a combined 8 years in Paris, and knew the city quite well. Three different trains later, we arrived at the station we needed. (The Metro that serviced this stop went to many of the major stops in Paris which proved to be quite useful, and will prevent the subsequent mentionings of the Metro in this series, except for later, but we'll get to that in due time.)
After some difficulty, and arguing over the map, (which was a phone map that almost walked you there step by step) we found the address for the AirBnB. We put in the password for the building, and made our way to the apartment. It was a very quaint two bedroom 1 bath apartment, with a small kitchen and living room. It was very nice, and very clearly someone's house, so we made extra care not to break anything. (AKA snoop too much into their personal lives from the pictures on the mantel and bedroom walls.) After settling in, we decided that Jennifer, Elizabeth, and I would go see the Louvre while David stayed back and did work for his upcoming conference.
When we got to the Louvre, we found it very crowded. More crowded than we figured it would be for a Friday evening. We later found out that it was because the first Fridays of the month are free admission for anyone under 26. Which two of us were able to capitalize on. The three of us also picked up the audio guide for five euro. (I highly recommend it, its a Nintendo 3DS that provides a live map of the museum, and offers multiple different tour options.)
We decided to go on the "Masters and Greatest Works" Tour, which showcased the greatest works in the Louvre, culminating in the greatest disappointment in art, the Mona Lisa. During the tour, we saw, well, the greatest works in the museum. All very pretty and very nice paintings and sculptures. And then we made it. The greatest painting of all time, supposedly, the Mona Lisa. (Let it be known that I despise the Mona Lisa. It is barely bigger than a 9x11 sheet of paper, and really is not that impressive.) However, if you really want to be impressed by art, go to the Louvre, walk to the Mona Lisa, Look at it for the half a second it takes you to turn 180 degrees, and appreciate the most beautiful painting in the entire museum. "The Wedding at Cana" by Paolo Veronese is a gorgeous painting that is absolutely giant. The attention to detail, and the execution of the scene is absolutely amazing. It is nice, however, that this painting is not the most famous one in the museum, because it allows you to walk right up to it, and see every brush stroke, and every detail.
The Venus de Milo in the Louvre
An artsy picture looking from the underground section of
the Louvre to the top of the glass Pyramid.
My favorite part of the museum, however, is the outside of the Louvre. It is completely free to walk around the courtyard, and is easily more beautiful than even "The Wedding at Cana." The outside is an architectural masterpiece, and the showpiece is the beautiful glass pyramid in the center of the courtyard. If you want to enjoy the Louvre, but you don't have the time to go and deal with the lines or the people, just go to walk through the courtyard, and take in the beauty that is all around you.
After leaving the Louvre, we walked through the center of the city to Ile Saint-Louis. This is where we were scheduled to meet up with David, and one of David's friends from school. He took us on a tour of the island, and then we met up with his wife before walking down the river Sienne toward the restaurant for tonight's dinner. At some point during this walk, mother nature decided that we were having too much of a nice time in Paris, and let the skies open. Within ten minutes all of us, well, those of us without umbrellas, were soaked.
The clock tower on the Ile Saint-Louis that showcases the two shields
that would later be combined to create the current French flag.
The quarter of the city the restaurant was in Le Marais, which used to be a marsh. Most of the land underneath the quarter is still very swampy, and because of this, they cannot build metro lines underneath this quarter of the city. Which means you have to walk everywhere. Very nice I presume on a beautiful evening, but not so much in the rain. When we got to the restaurant, because we missed our reservation, we had to wait until a table large enough was available. (Wow really? That's how restaurants work. Huh.) As we were waiting, Jennifer and David's other two friends arrived. As David and two of his friends were French, we crossed the street and watched the France-Italy friendly game at the bar.
Eventually, our table was called, so we were retrieved by Jennifer. The restaurant specialized in crepes, both sweet and savory. Personally, I preferred the sweet crepe to the savory, but they were both delicious. We ended up staying and talking amongst ourselves until almost 1am the next morning, however, I will end the story for today here, and pick back up tomorrow when we wake up. All there is to know is that I had some difficulty pulling the bed out of the couch, and then very quickly fell asleep.
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