We are on the slowest train ever to run in Europe. We left Paris last night at 11:00 took our first overnight train to Irun, just inside the Spanish border. There we switched to this train to take us to Madrid. Never in my life could I believe trains would run this slowly. It�s not like we�re even stopping anywhere, we�re just crawling through the countryside. We won�t make it to Madrid until 3:00 this afternoon, so we�re only about halfway. Maddening.
We spent our last day in Paris leisurely walking through Montmarte and taking in the scenery. We had a wonderful lunch amid numerous artists plying their wares to the crowd surging around them. Not the cheapest meal we have eaten, but the food was good and the service was friendly (and the atmosphere was relaxing), so we didn�t mind spending a little extra for the break.
After a little stopover at an Internet caf� (one that finally let me update the web site), we decided we had better see some sights so as not to waste the day away. We headed down toward Notre Dame cathedral and went underground to the Crypts underneath the city. We had purchased a museum pass (a great deal if you plan on seeing a few different things every day), so the admission was free. Anyone without a museum pass, however, shouldn�t bother going down there. The crypt is essentially the foundations of old buildings, some Gallo-Roman, some much more recent. Signs, with only the barest English explanations, show what some of the foundations were. In all, the exhibit is pretty abstract, and even we, who love rooting around old ruins, didn�t really get a whole lot out of it.
We then went to the Concergerie, the prison that held the future headless during the Revolution. The building is partially under renovation (like the rest of Europe, it seems at times), so some of the exhibit is obstructed or inaccessible. What remains tells the story of the prisoners of the Revolution, showing typical �accommodations� for different classes of people, including an interesting recreation of the cell of Marie Antoinette. Wax figures inhabit the cells looking less than excited about their coming fate. Good, interesting, but probably not worth the money unless seen as part of the museum pass.
We decided to get our final French dinner before catching our train, so we headed to the Latin Quarter just south of the Seine. The food was good, aside from an extremely distasteful appetizer that had us wondering why we didn�t just go back to a restaurant we knew. We ate outside, talking of the wonderful time we had in Paris. Only the sagging backside of a girl�s jeans seated at the next restaurant dampened our spirits.
The train was our first experience with European couchettes. We were in a first-class compartment, which meant two sets of bunk beds were in our compartment. We hoped against hope that the other two beds were unoccupied, but soon our roommates came in. Luckily, they proved to be a couple of very nice men who may as well not have been in the compartment, as quiet as they were. At our age, though, it�s kind of strange sleeping in the same small room with people we don�t even know and could barely communicate with. Other passengers on the train, one of whom we met outside the bathroom and reeked of alcohol while smoking a cigarette under the �no smoking� sign, were less desirable, leading us to wonder if we will ever tempt fate and book passage in a couchette again. Seriously, sleeping in the same compartment with this guy and all his odors would have been virtually impossible.
Colleen is feeling the baby all the time now. Her kicks are still too small for me to really feel, but it warms my heart to see Colleen enjoying another pregnancy. I�ll admit, I get a warm feeling inside every time I think about the adventures to come with our daughter. I don�t think either one of us can wait to meet her.
Well, they just started showing a movie called �Bulletproof Monk� on the video screens on the train. It doesn�t matter much, though, as the movie is dubbed into Spanish, leaving me completely bewildered. Still, it might be something to take my mind off the fact that we�ve probably traveled a whole three miles since I started typing.
Wish us luck.
Paul and Colleen
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