The T3 private compartment has 3 bunks shown above. The upper and middle beds fold up against the wall and the lower one gets pushed down inside the wall and the seat pops up, just like a sofa bed. The cost was  $210 per person and the distance from Rome to Paris is 900 miles. With our luggage stacked up on the floor in front of us it was very cozy!

Through the dark of night our train travels on into France. Every now and then one of the high-speed trains would pass along side us. They go up to 200 miles per hour and this one goes about 70-80 mph. But who’s in a hurry in the middle of the night? Not us. We passed through a lot of tunnels too. As the sun came up the first thing I noticed is that the houses look much different than those in Italy. Linda and I both thought these villages looked somehow like fairytale villages, almost magical. The houses in Italy all have the curved red tile roofs and terra cotta stucco, these houses had slate roofs, much more pointed than Italian houses. As we passed these houses of stone I wondered who lived there and guessed that they probably lived there all their lives. At 7:30 in the morning Maximilan gave our door a wake-up knock and said that he’d be serving coffee or hot chocolate and croissants in a few minutes. We dressed and pushed our beds into the wall and took our bench seat where we watched the scenery slowly move by as we enjoyed our light breakfast. At 9am we were pulling into the Bercy Station in Paris. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we’re here!

Saturday, May 1, 2004: It’s awful quiet for a Saturday morning but then again its a big holiday weekend and it appears everyone is out of town. Maximilan bid us a pleasant stay in Paris and au reviour! It was nice to be in a place that wasn’t so crowded and crazy. We followed other travelers out to the front doors of the station and there are taxi cabs waiting to take you to your hotel. A gentleman in a Chevrolet minivan offered us his taxi at the exorbitant cost of 50€ but then again it was a big, comfy American vehicle and that felt nice right then. Add on a few bucks for a tip and 6 minutes later (due to no traffic) we were at the hotel. It was just 9:30 in the morning and the hotel was not ready to have us check in but they allowed us to store our luggage in a hallway. What a quaint, charming little place this is, the Hotel Familia. Not to mention a bit pricey at $190 per night for a double and a twin bed but the view from the balcony was great and the location was very nice.

Paris felt much more sane and comfortable, almost like home, compared to Italy. Even now I’d go back to Paris with a friend and feel we could navigate this city and not be totally stressed out. You could never do that in Roma, not on your own. It was a bit cool when we arrived in Paris but later in the morning the chill wore off and it was very nice. We had a bite of breakfast (petite déjeuner) at the pâtisserie across the street from the hotel. Our hotel was 2 blocks from the Pont de Sully (Sully Bridge) and we took our first photos of ourselves with Notre Dame in the near distance behind us. As we did we heard a husband and wife speaking as they walked past us and its weird how in a foreign country you feel the need to speak with other Americans. They were from Florida and arrived the day before. It struck me funny that first people we spoke to in Paris (besides Edson the hotel clerk) were Americans. Over the next few days, as we would stand in line or browse beside other shoppers, listening to them speak to their companions, we would have to say “sounds like you’re from the Midwest?” “Yes, and you?” “Minneapolis, and you?” We’re so far away from home that we feel the need for this brief familiarity, in a country where we spoke barely a single word of the native language.

We spent a few hours wandering a short distance and located the internet cafe and the laudromat.  OK, we have a plan for the rest of the afternoon - laundry! We check into our room at noon, washed up, changed clothes and took all the dirty clothes to the “laverie.”  Later we had dinner at the corner cafe called the “L’Etoile D’or” (Gold Star) and decided meals in Paris were going to have to be budgeted because this is way too expensive. Back at the hotel we decide on a game plan for tomorrow. The Batobus boat shuttle on the River Seine will be our transportation and we’ll walk the Champs Elysees up to the Arc de Triomphe and then over to the Eiffel Tower. As the sun sets straight down the end of our street, from our balcony we say “bonne nuit Paris!”

Sunday, May 2, 2004: from my travel journal:

“We start the day with a little breakfast in the hotel lounge. Petite déjeuner consists of coffee, orange juice or hot chocolate, a tiny loaf of hard bread and a croissant with jelly. Not much but better than nothing. We head out to the river to catch the Batobus boat to take us up to the stop at the Pont Alexander III (Alexander the Third Bridge.) You can’t miss this bridge, it’s the one with gold winged horses on its corners and beautiful ornamentation across its span. We walked a few blocks north up to the Champs Elysees, passing by the Grand Palais and the Petite Palais which appear to be under renovation. Heading west on the Champs we stopped for a hot banana and chocolate crepe. Mmmmm, that was tasty! The Champs is a wide, grand boulevard full of expensive shops and restaurants spilling out onto the sidewalk.” We stopped into the Sephora store where it was very busy and the music was very loud. Linda and I made a few purchases at the Yves Rocher store just down the block. I could never pass up a 40% off sale on fragrance and beauty products!

At the end of the Champs is the Arc de Triomphe where 8 streets come together.We used the underground public toilets at the cost of 41 cents, which have a 1930’s decor style to them and pink toilet paper. The thing about most of the public restrooms is that they aren’t simple stalls like back in the states. These are fully enclosed private little rooms many with the sink and hand air dyer in the room. You pay the fee to the cleaning girl before you enter and you are assured a comfortable and hygenic visit!

Eight streets come together at the Arc de Triomphe which is on the end of the avenue des Champs Elysees. Do you see the people on the very top?

From the Arc we walked down the rue d’Iena towards the river and cross to the Eiffel Tower.Wow! this structure is amazing! The only slightly disturbing thing were the military police with submachine guns guarding the area, but these are the times we live in. The line to go up to the top was long but moved quite quickly, ticket price is $11.00. The sky was overcast by the time we arrived at the top observation deck but the view was still amazing. I couldn’t believe it, I’m actually here at the Eiffel Tower! We spent a few hours there and mailed a few postcards from the towers own post office. As we descended the tower it began to rain very lightly and fortunately there was a Batobus stop right there. We boarded the boat for the ride back to the Notre Dame stop and when we arrived there it had stopped raining.

It was now early evening.We went into a small market for a few groceries to take back to the hotel for our dinner. A pack of deli ham, cheese, buns, cherry tomatoes, a can of Pringles chips, a box of Lu chocolate cookies and fresh strawberries made for a simple meal. The little grocery stores all sell wine which is very inexpensive. After a day of walking and site seeing on our own, our little picnic in the hotel room with a bottle of red wine was the perfect ending to this day I had dreamed of for many years. C’est magnifique!

(below) On Sunday morning as we were waiting for the Batobus, the choir was singing from the Cathedral and it was like eavesdropping on heaven!

click the book to see my altered travel journal

Monday, May 3, 2004: After a quick breakfast I wanted to mail a few post cards and buy some stamps at the corner “La Poste” across the street. A handwritten sign taped to the door said it was closed due to electrical problems.

Today will be our most leisure day, our last full day in Paris. At 10am we began walking toward the River Seine where Linda and Deb will take the Batobus up to the Eiffel Tower stop to see the replica of the Statue of Liberty. I’ll stay on the left bank river road (Quai de la Tournelle/Quai de Montebello) to do some street vendor shopping for old books and postcards. We will keep in touch via the walkie-talkies. I found that most of the vendors along the river bank didn’t open up their kiosks until later in the afternoon. I strayed a block from the Quai browsing the souvenir shops. I bought a brightly colored silk scarf at a shop where the elderly Asian lady insisted I buy something. Everything I touched or looked at she showed me a lower price on her hand held calculator. One is this price, two are even cheaper and three are an incredible deal but I don’t need that many!

I walked up to the Pont des Arts which appeared to be aptly named “the Artists Bridge” and checked out the artisians painting or drawing pictures of Notre Dame and various local street scenes. I found a bench to sit on and watch the people and enjoy the Paris sunshine. Deb beeped me on the walkie-talkie to say they were on their way back and to meet them at the St. Germain boat bus stop which was right underneath this bridge.  I boarded the shuttle and we traveled down to the Notre Dame stop where the boat turns around to head the other direction.We got off at the Eiffel Tower stop and walked almost the same route we did the day before. Heading up the rue d’Iena to the Arc de Triomphe we knew it would be time for a “comfort stop.” Linda wanted to go back to a souvenir shop we had stopped at the day before and on that corner of the Champs Elysees was Cartier. Hold it.......I want to look into the shop windows for just a moment.....I am on the Champs Elysees gazing into the windows of Cartier Paris. Another “I can’t believe it” moment. A few blocks down we stopped at the McDonalds for a bite to eat. This is probably the fanciest Mickey D’s in the world! Here they “maxi-size” instead of “super-size.” And yes, you had to pay 50 cents to use the bathroom there too. Another stop for some Mother’s Day fragrance items at Yves Rocher and we finish our walk down the Champs and head over to the Pont Alexander bridge to catch the boat back to the hotel. There is so much I wanted to see during the few days we had here but the time went by so quickly. I guess I’ll have to come back real soon!

At 7pm we stopped at a little market for ham and buns and a bottle of wine. Strawberries, orange slices and a chocolate Lu cookie for dessert finishes off our last meal in our hotel room. We hoped to take the city bus up to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up at night but the buses didn’t run any later than 8pm and we’d have to take a taxi home and some people didn’t want to have to pay money for a cab. As the sun set we walked a few blocks from the hotel to a full service grocery store (Champion) and got a few more bottles of wine and snacks for tomorrows plane ride home. Good night Paris!  

Tuesday, May 3, 2004: We are packed and ready to leave after our little breakfast. Edson, the hotel clerk called a shuttle taxi for us which was a flat fee of 45€. As we were waiting outside for the van to pick us up the hotel staff noticed that 2 large potted topiary trees that flanked the hotel entrance had been stolen in the night. The trip to the airport was on the freeway and our driver was quite aggressive and we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. It’s about 11am and our 1:40pm departing flight from Charles de Gaulle airport is USAirways flight #27 to Philadelphia. This is a very busy international airport that you can so easily get lost in. A customer service person helped us get to the right location to check in. Remember, I’ve never been on a flight until we came to Rome and they sure have some intimidating people working security here. We were asked questions like “who packed your bags? have they been out of your sight at any time? has any stranger given you something? what airport are you going to? how long have you been here?” With our bags checked and Deb having some issues with her jewelry tax rebate we headed to the “satellite” or concourse. I’ve read this airport has undergone some major renovations but apparently not in the areas we were in. It was difficult locating the restrooms and the chairs in our gate seating area (circa 1977) were torn and gunked up with food. There were signs indicating shopping areas that Linda and I didn’t find. This place looks like a 1950’s artist conception of “futuristic” and it looks “Jetson-y” to us. However, on a moving walkway to the concourse we struck up a conversation with a woman who lives in south Minneapolis. Talk about a small world. Her original flight on a different airline had been cancelled and she had been there waiting since early in the morning. It was so nice to speak to someone from back home!

There weren’t a lot of people on the flight to Philadelphia. The cool thing was it was always a sunny afternoon, hour after hour as we headed west.We could see the ocean below, icebergs, sometimes little islands and freighters as they parted the icy ocean in front of them. When we arrived at Philadelphia we were terribly rushed to get through customs and security to board the next plane with just a few minutes to spare. It was a plane no larger than a city bus with 1 attendant. We arrived in Minneapolis at 8pm, my sister Janice was waiting for us down in baggage claim and it was so nice to be back home. Familiar words, familiar signs, familiar roads. As we were driving up 35W I thought just 1 day ago we were walking the Champs Elysees. How weird. We dropped off Deb and Linda at their houses and it was 9:30pm when I arrived at my house. I didn’t bother to unpack anything as it was 4am Europe time (10pm here) when I went to sleep. This is the end of this adventure but I know there will be more in the future. I am hoping to go back to Paris for a week next spring. I’ll never be rich or famous or do anything of great importance but I hope I can share my life stories with others. I hope you’ve enjoyed this one.

Thank you for reading.    

  ~ Jody

 La Dolce Vita

 I have walked the streets of Rome. I have thrown my coins into the Trevi Fountain.  I have been awed by the Colosseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum. I have seen the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the statues of David and the Pieta by Michelangelo. I have walked the Ponte Vecchio of Florence. I have seen the olive groves and the flowers of the wayside. I have drank the wine of Tuscany. I have seen the sun rise in Rome and the sun set in Paris. I have strolled the Champs  Elysees. I have laughed with good friends.

 I think this is what they call the sweet life.

Would I go back again? Absolutely! I would visit Tuscany and spend much more time wandering and shopping the villages like Siena and Lucca. I hoped to get to Montmarte (the artists quarter) and the Marche aux Puces (Paris Flea Market) but just didn’t have the time to. Paris was much more expensive than Italy, however the Romans greatly lacked customer service. Although we were in Paris on a 3 day major holiday weekend, as tourists we found the Parisians much easier to deal with. The city streets in Paris were very clean. The trash was picked up each morning and the streets were cleaned by a street sweeper machine and even swept with a broom. In both Rome and Paris people do not pick up after their dogs. Yuck. Watch your step.

What would I have done differently, on this my first flight and vacation to Europe? Left 3 skirts at home, brought another pair of jeans and another pair of walking shoes or sandals. Ingenious idea: bring the walkie-talkies from home so you can communicate if you are separated, intentionally or not. Ours had about a half mile range, the packaging said 2 miles. Bring your own headphones to listen to music or watch the movies on the airplane. No need buying a pair when you have them already. Don’t bring travelers cheques, you’ll regret you did. Use your ATM card to get euros from the BancoMat.

What things will I try to incorporate into my daily life? I’d like to enjoy a bottle of wine much more often, walk my neighborhood and people watch, spend more leisure time al fresco and surround myself with images that keep this trip fresh in my mind. Hanging my laundry out to dry from the windows of my house is one practical thing I probably won’t be doing!     

ON TO PARIS 2006... CLICK HERE