





Lyon to Arles - Train from Lyon to Arles took 2 hours or more, stopped at every little town, had no air conditioning on one of the two days that a heat wave swept through Europe. But, no problem just showing our three-day travel in a month Eurorail pass to the ticket taker on board the train.
Arles to Chalon sur Soane – Should have taken one of the two earlier trains at noon, but waited till the 1:00 train because it seemed faster. When we got to the station, the ticket agent told us that the train was full, because it was a TGV, the fast train and we did not have a reservation. Had we taken one of the earlier trains, regular TER, no problem. Our fatal mistake was not talking with a ticket agent earlier that day to straighten out the difference of the types of trains.
To complicated matters more, we had to call Dey and tell here that we would be 3 hours late. I had already tried to navigate the no-coin-option pay phones in Belgium with no luck. The international phone card that I bought at the airport for 10 Euros and used only once and that worked at the Belgium airport to call Jackson has never worked since, even though I keep trying.
My bank debit and credit cards don’t work because they do not have the European chip in them. They only work when the card can be swiped, not inserted.
Charge for the English operator assisted phone call where we left a 60 second message- $31.26. I’ll be disputing that charge once I get back to the states.
Anyway, we finally got there. Dey had a taxi waiting for us since they were at a choral concert. 30 Euros, but worth being swept away to our destination.
Chalon sur Saone to Paris – I had made a reservation on the TGV for an extra $33.00. No problem, or maybe not. I guess I did not truly understand that this email confirmation was not the actual ticket. Somewhere in the small print I missed that I needed to exchange it for a real ticket at the ticket counter or a kiosk (where my credit card would not work.) I think the wording said "validate the ticket." Well, on the train I had to buy another set of reservations that cost 45 Euros or about $70.00. Really ticked me off. I guess I just paid the “stupid American tax” on that one. Fatal mistake #2, not talking to a ticket agent, AGAIN.
Paris to Brusells on the Thalys- Purchased 30 Euro tickets online 90 days in advance. Correction of Fatal Mistake #1 and #2, a day before our departure, we take the email confirmation to the ticket window at Gare du Noord where the agent could swipe my credit card and print out the actual tickets for the train.
Voila. No stupid tax. We are now on the train headed north to Belgium racing across the beautiful French countryside.
The lesson learned is that if I am going to be inconvenienced by not understanding the idiosyncrasies of a country’s transportation system I would rather spend the money in the country at the time and not have the false sense of a security with an advance purchase of a special pass. Therefore, I will NEVER BUY A EURORAIL PASS again.
...and always ask at the ticket counter!
Bought the 2-day Museum pass for 35 Euros. That means in 2 days you can visit approximately 40 sites. Or you can buy a 4-day or 6-day pass and visit the same 40 or so sites in as many days. We decided to see as many as possible and picked the top eight or so.
Here are a few details about the pass that might help you.
1. Some museums are closed on Monday and others on Tuesday. Plan accordingly if you are there on Monday and Tuesday like we were.
2. Buying the pass lets you skip the lines or at least be in a shorter line for entry into all sites, except Saint Chappelle and Notre Dame Tower. This is a really good thing and worth the price of the pass.
3. Kids under 16 get in for free. All European students get in free too, the catch is that they have to stand in the line to show their ID and get a free ticket. I decided to buy Jackson a museum pass, despite the fact that he had an ID and could have gotten in for free, so we could all just skip the line. I spent an extra $50, but it was worth our time.
Our first stop was The Lourve. Using Rick Steve’s guide, we found out to NOT stand in the super long line that not only wraped around the main entrance, but continued out past the farthest plaza entrance. Crazy to wait in that line because there are other entrances. The line is so long because they only have one metal detector machine. Once you are inside, you have to go downstairs into the underground mall to buy your ticket anyway!
Instead, go to 99 rue de Tivoli, one of the streets that boarders the plaza, to Le Carrousel du Louvre entrance. This is the underground mall. Down the escalator to about the center of the mall there is a Tabac that sells the Museum Pass. Have cash and buy it from the friendly English-speaking girl behind the counter. Viola. After that we were in. Then you have to figure out how to navigate one of the world’s biggest museums.
We spent about two hours running around and looking for the Mona Lisa, of course, Vermeer’s The Lacemaker. Durer’s Self-Portrait, the Venus de Milo and so much more. I took over 300 pictures that day and got some great ideas for student art projects.
Next, we walked the length of the park to the other side to the Musee de L’Orangerie that houses, on Level -1, a wonderful, extensive collection of impressionist art once owned by two wealthy collectors, known as the Walter-Guillaume Collection. On the upper two levels, Monet’s massive water lily and weeping willow paintings are displayed in two separate oval shaped galleries. A smaller museum with an impressive collection that was really thrilling to see.
But, onward down the Champs Elysees toward the Arche de Triomphe. And yes, there was a line to enter the all new Abercrombie and Fitch store that has recently opened on this famed street. Kinda pathetic.
At the arch, we climbed the 284 stairs to the top for a spectacular view of the city. Notable was “new” Paris with its modern skyscrapers, looking like any US city that I have seen.
So now it is about 5:00, but we are not done yet! Oh no no. Down to the metro and off to the Pompidou Center, which houses the National Museum of Modern Art, all 60,000 pieces of it. I gotta tell you, by this time, my feet are pretty tired. We rest outside a bit, listening to one of the many bands that perform on the plaza around the center and eat a crepe. Violet’s is stuffed with chocolate and bananas, certainly the most delicious of the three.
Inside we wander through hallways and galleries of many large-scale paintings and installations until the museum closes at 9:00. Only then are we ready to go back to our apartment, my camera battery dead, the SD card full and my feet definitely aching and ready to rest.
Tomorrow…day 2 on the Museum Pass.
We arrived at Gare de Lyon in Paris and caught a taxi to our Paris apartment. I booked through Vacation Rental By Owner or http://www.vbro.com. The apartment sits on the road that leads directly to the Sacre Coeur or the Sacred Heart of Paris. Little did we know that hoards of people use this street daily and on that Sunday barriers blocked it off. The taxi dropped us off at the bottom of the hill, not a big deal. Walking up the hill past the tacky tourist t-shirt shops the crowds thickened around a makeshift box table.
A Moroccan man is moving 3 black discs quickly between his hands barking out at the crowd in French. I don’t need to know the language to recognize the familiar “pea and shell” game.
Of course the kids are fascinated, and should be. Winning money…it looks so easy. When we get to the-cutest-little-apartment-yet, I have to explain to them that the person winning the money is a plant.
Watching from the window, Jackson and Violet are still convinced that they know where the disc with the white circle underneath has landed. I know if they try that they will loose their money and it is only when they realize that it takes 50 Euro to play, they decide that the stakes are too high and loose interest.
About this time a French police car rolls by. The tables disappear and the crowds beginning moving up and down the hill. Guess the stakes just got too high for the scammers too.
Today as we are preparing to leave, I counted eight boxes and men set up to take the tourists money. Earlier in the morning the police came and gave someone a ticket, so I guess they figured the cops had already been out today. Game on.
We finally arrived in Mercurey after a 3-hour train delay (didn’t check before hand and could not get on a train) and a taxi ride from Chalon. The taxi dropped us off at a school for a choral recital. Dey and Pierre and a small group began singing “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” as well walked in.
A perfect moment.
I realize now after leaving Dey and her family that spending time with family takes more time than sight seeing in some great foreign city and that I short changed myself on both my visit with Michael and now my visit with Dey and Pierre.
I guess the lesson learned is that I have to come back and take time, real time to just be and not do.
The next day, Michael drove us to the Alps, to a special spot called Golzern. We rode a cable car up to a spot in the mountains and when we walked off and I looked up. It was so beautiful and breathtaking, I cried. The hills truly were alive. Taking a path along to a thermal, not glacier filled lake; we were able to mange the 68 degrees water for a quick dip. Continuing on through the hills, beauty surrounded us, except for the clanging of the cowbells, it had the silence of trees and mountains that have stood since the beginning of time. My heart swelled. Having a sense of timelessness, turning it over to the endless wisdom and the source of my soul, I cried again. Letting go and leaving behind all that no longer resembles the “me” that I am today. I am blessed to have the tender kindness of friends whose friendship is deep and lasting to allow me to be me.