Je suis arrivée!
It's a long time since I was last in Europe, I realise when I look at my last post from Holland. But here I am again - this time in La Belle France. And it is so belle!
Travelling to Uzes in one hit was quite full-on but Singapore Air are very attentive and the food is great. Lots of movies on board, including Testament of Youth - terribly sad about WW1 but starring the gorgeous Kit Harington. That and a Bloody Mary - who could ask for more!
Arriving at the CDG airport in Paris I wasn't sure where the TGV station was and asked an airport man for directions. Instead of directions, he carried my bag up two floors and down two elevators to the station making jokes all the way about Vegemite and Men at Work. He seemed to know a lot about Australian culture. He was about 65 and tres charmant. He found me a seat at the Gare and showed me where the train screen was then off he went. What!
The journey through the French countryside on the TGV was quite mind blowing. So many beautiful villages and some of them with castles. Avignon was a bit of a reality check though. I knew in advance, but hoped I was wrong, that there was nowhere to leave your luggage in the whole of the town and I had a 3 hour wait for my bus and a big bag. Instead of being sensible and taking a taxi to a nice restaurant by the river I decided to set off down a side road in search of a cafe where I could stop with my bags and get my bearings. (I had been travelling for about 2 days non-stop by then.) But it was not a sensible plan. Here is what I emailed to Rosie who was going to be in Avignon the next day on the same timetable as me:
"NOW the worst part of the whole journey was getting off at Avignon Centre and sure enough there is AUCUN de left luggage anywhere in Avignon at all. I decided to check at the gare routier but no! You have to keep your luggage with you until the bus departs at 4.30. So I then had the bright idea of going down a road beside the gare routier with my big bags thinking there will be a café here where I can sit but there were only nasty little pizza snack bars with dodgy young men standing round outside and it was very hot, so it soon became the road to hell. In the end I went into a brasserie which had a few old codgers in it and ordered a beer and some food. The beer arrived but no food. The proprietor said the food was coming but it never did! At least it was cool in there and the beer was nice. Only 2 euros. I asked if there was a tabac nearby and one of the old codgers offered to take me there. So I left my bags with the owner of the bar and wandered off down the road with ‘Claude’ who was very kind and chatty (all in French). Then we returned to the bar where he bought me another beer. In the end he walked me back to the Gare Routiere to help me with my bags and minded them while I went (two beers) to the bathroom (how trusting is that!), then he popped me on the bus and told the driver to look after me. Gave me his phone number, (but I don't think I will call him). It was a very funny introduction to France but I wouldn’t recommend it!”
Travelling to Uzes in one hit was quite full-on but Singapore Air are very attentive and the food is great. Lots of movies on board, including Testament of Youth - terribly sad about WW1 but starring the gorgeous Kit Harington. That and a Bloody Mary - who could ask for more!
Arriving at the CDG airport in Paris I wasn't sure where the TGV station was and asked an airport man for directions. Instead of directions, he carried my bag up two floors and down two elevators to the station making jokes all the way about Vegemite and Men at Work. He seemed to know a lot about Australian culture. He was about 65 and tres charmant. He found me a seat at the Gare and showed me where the train screen was then off he went. What!
The journey through the French countryside on the TGV was quite mind blowing. So many beautiful villages and some of them with castles. Avignon was a bit of a reality check though. I knew in advance, but hoped I was wrong, that there was nowhere to leave your luggage in the whole of the town and I had a 3 hour wait for my bus and a big bag. Instead of being sensible and taking a taxi to a nice restaurant by the river I decided to set off down a side road in search of a cafe where I could stop with my bags and get my bearings. (I had been travelling for about 2 days non-stop by then.) But it was not a sensible plan. Here is what I emailed to Rosie who was going to be in Avignon the next day on the same timetable as me:
"NOW the worst part of the whole journey was getting off at Avignon Centre and sure enough there is AUCUN de left luggage anywhere in Avignon at all. I decided to check at the gare routier but no! You have to keep your luggage with you until the bus departs at 4.30. So I then had the bright idea of going down a road beside the gare routier with my big bags thinking there will be a café here where I can sit but there were only nasty little pizza snack bars with dodgy young men standing round outside and it was very hot, so it soon became the road to hell. In the end I went into a brasserie which had a few old codgers in it and ordered a beer and some food. The beer arrived but no food. The proprietor said the food was coming but it never did! At least it was cool in there and the beer was nice. Only 2 euros. I asked if there was a tabac nearby and one of the old codgers offered to take me there. So I left my bags with the owner of the bar and wandered off down the road with ‘Claude’ who was very kind and chatty (all in French). Then we returned to the bar where he bought me another beer. In the end he walked me back to the Gare Routiere to help me with my bags and minded them while I went (two beers) to the bathroom (how trusting is that!), then he popped me on the bus and told the driver to look after me. Gave me his phone number, (but I don't think I will call him). It was a very funny introduction to France but I wouldn’t recommend it!”
posted by nelly bloggs at 2:33 AM
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