Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Bonjour France and Switzerland!

As I write this to you, I'm sitting on a train that is traveling through the French countryside. We just departed from the Gare de Lyon in Paris, and our final destination is Fribourg, Switzerland. We stop in Bourg-en-Bresse, Bellegarde Gare, and then Geneva before arriving in Lausanne. We then catch a smaller train to Fribourg. When I look out the window, there are verdant green hills rolling past us underneath a powder blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds. Every now and again a village appears, the church tower keeping guard over the stone houses and cottages spread beneath its gaze. Lo is next to me, reading a guidebook to Switzerland. We are drinking Sauvignon Blanc from the most adorable little bottles, I'm listening to Gymnopedies by Erik Satie (the most exquisite piano music), and I cannot remember the last time I was this plein de bonheur (full of happiness!). As I finished writing that sentence, Lo looked at me and said "all of this makes me feel so fulfilled." Great minds think alike - especially ours, as we're learning on this trip!

This trip began about 15 years ago. That may perplex you somewhat, but please bear with me. We met our Junior year in high school, and immediately became fast friends. We played soccer and music together, talked about boys together, she showed me the movie The Goonies for the first time, she spent Christmas with my family, and we laughed and dreamed together. Foremost among those dreams was our desire to travel when we were older. We talked of where we would go, what we would see, and how much fun we would have. 

Of course, life has its way of intervening in the best of plans. Due to a variety of reasons, we fell out of touch. Never did any animosity exist, life just took us in different paths. Then, suddenly, due to a series of events both good and bad, we found ourselves living in Denver at the same time. We reconnected, and it was like no time had passed since we had been 17 year old best friends. We've both traveled quite often since our dreaming days, but we still wanted to travel together. So we began talking. Where should we go? We tossed around many ideas, but kept returning to Europe. We have both been to Ireland and love it, so we thought about returning there. While this was all happening, I received a message from my friend Eleonore.

Eleonore is Swiss, and she and I met in Burma two years. Our group in Burma became very close, and we all keep in touch quite often. Last year Eleonore and her friend Delphine came and visited me in Colorado and we had a wonderful time! Even since Eleonore and I met she has been inviting me to visit her in Switzerland. I had vague plans of going to visit her sometime this summer, and when she mentioned June as a possible date I immediately thought "what a wonderful idea!" I mentioned to her that Lo and I were thinking of traveling together in Europe and she said "you must bring her! If I have room for one, I have room for two." The wheels set in motion for planning. We decided to fly in and out of Paris and take the train to Switzerland, as we're both absolutely in love with traveling by train. I have been to Paris once before, when I was 16, but only for a few days and I don't remember much other than seeing the Mona Lisa, going to Versailles, being at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and going into Notre Dame. 

We left Denver early Monday morning, on the 13th of June. When we arrived at Union Station to catch the train to the airport, the sky was sharing with us a beautiful sunrise. I immediately took this as an auspicious sign for our vacation. How could it be anything but?! We flew from Denver to Newark, and then had a four and a half hour layover there. We made the most of the layover by going to the United lounge and having wine and cheese to help pass the time. Before we knew it, it was time to board our flight to Paris. We were in the bulkhead of the Economy Plus section, and we immediately became fast friends with two flight attendants, Cathy and Laura. As the crew finished boarding the plane, we were excited to have a seat next to us left open, giving us three seats in row. As soon as we were about to depart, Brad jumped into the seat next to Lo. 

Oh Brad. Tall and gangly and clearly a teenager, he told us how he saw the seat and went for it to have extra leg room. I told him I liked his style, and Lo told him that we were probably going to be kind of loud. Though we were initially disappointed to not have that extra room, we ended up having a great time with Brad. Poor kid - I'm not sure if he thought we were super cool or that we were ridiculous! Maybe a combination of the two? He was a good sport and a really nice kid. Our flight attendants took great care of us, and we even managed to sleep for an hour or two. 

We landed in Paris at 0715 local time, and the day had dawned to charcoal skies and a drizzling rain. Immigration didn't take long at all, and we retrieved our bags which were actually already on the carousel waiting for us! Well done Paris. Then we had the interesting experience of finding our transport into Paris.

I had read about a company called EasyBus. It's an airport transfer service based in the UK and they also have a Paris branch. Very cheap and highly recommended, I went ahead and booked service from the airport and back for us for a total of 17 Euro. We found the place where we would get picked up, and waited for our driver. Once he arrived, we immediately wished he hadn't. In a word, he was - obnoxious. He was flirting outrageously with us, and swearing, and just generally being  unprofessional. The ride couldn't end quickly enough!!! After what seemed an eternity, we arrived at the Palais Royal and we enthusiastically parted ways from him. What a relief! We had purchased SIM cards for our phones at the airport, and we went into a Starbucks (solely because they have wifi) to set those up. A cappuccino and biscotti restored us, and we headed off on foot to find our Air BnB for the night. 

I would like to say that I'm proud of us for packing lightly for this trip! We each have a backpack and a carry on size rolling suitcase. With our gear in tow, we happily navigated the streets of Le Marais until we found our door. After an invigorating climb up four flights of steep curving steps, we found our tiny abode for the evening. A studio perched above the street below, it was small and cosy! We dropped our bags and headed back out to explore. Our initial destination was Notre Dame, so we headed towards the river. We rounded a corner, and right in front of us was the Hotel de Ville. It was absolutely astonishing to stumble upon! It was one of the many times yesterday that I had goosebumps and became choked up gazing upon such an incredible edifice. Currently the Hotel is decked with rainbow and American flags to show solidarity for the tragedy in Orlando. France is showing us such solidarity over the atrocity, just as we did with them when they were under attack. We spent time walking in front of the incredible building before continuing our quest. 

Wandering down the streets we began to see the towers of Notre Dame in front of us. We happened to walk up to it right in front of the main entrance, and it is breath taking lay beautiful! We walked all around the church, spending time in the beautiful gardens at the back of it. Beautifully manicured and filled with flowering rose bushes, it would have been an idyllic place to pass an hour or so, watching the world go by. After that we walked across the Ile de la Cite to the Pont Neuf. Then we decided to meander down the Seine towards the Louvre. We walked down towards the Louvre, and entered the Cour Carree section of it first. As we walked through the entrance passage, we heard the sounds of string music. Ahead of us, playing under an archway, was a cellist and a violinist! It was absolute magic to listen to their music in such a setting. The acoustics were perfect, and I could almost imagine Louis XIV walking through the arch, entourage in tow. We walked across the courtyard and exited onto the Rue de Rivoli. We walked past the Palais Royal, and into the entrance to the main courtyard of the Louvre where the Pyramide is located. Walking into the courtyard was absolutely breathtaking! The sun was shining through the clouds and reflecting off of the Pyramide and the fountains, and both Lo and I had to pause to let the emotions run through us!

We spent time there, taking photos, and then walked towards the Jardin de Tuilieries. We ambled down the dirt paths, and once again I could picture the ladies of the French court in full court dress, strolling and gossiping on the same paths. We checked out some cafes and decided against eating there, instead continuing our walk towards the Place de Concorde where a giant Ferris Wheel is currently set up for the European Cup. All of the carriages on the wheel had a photo of a person wearing the face paint for their country on the sides. We decided to go up in it, and joined a short queue. We ended up in carriage with two Irish guys, who were really nice. Ironically we happened to be in the carriage with the English flag! The men were quick to point out the irony. We had some nice conversation with them, and clearly they were very surprised that we not only followed football and the European Cup, but that we actually loved it as well. The view was amazing! We had a lovely view of the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Tuileries, and all the rest of Paris spread below us. When we finished our ride, we were absolutely famished. We crossed the river and headed down the Boulevard Saint-Germain, in search of a cafe to sit, rest, eat, and enjoy a glass of wine. We found a nice cafe and happily sat down at a table outside. After ordering a half liter of Cotes du Rhone red and food, we settled into some great people watching. Our food arrived and we were so happy! Lo ordered crepes that were flambeed with Grand Marnier and I ordered a Croque Madame. When in Rome, after all! 

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch and then headed back towards our studio in Le Marais. We settled in and Lo realized that, according to her FitBit watch, we had walked more than 10 miles! That combined with our jet lag and general exhaustion meant that we quickly and happily succumbed to nap time. After a nice hour and a half nap, we showered and got ready to head to the Eiffel Tower. Then we realized that it was 9:45, and that by the time we got to the tower we would not have much time to watch on top. So we scrapped that plan and headed down to the bar below our accommodations to watch the Iceland vs Portugal match. We have been so excited to watch the UEFA Cup while in France and Switzerland! The first night did not disappoint. We grabbed a beer at the bar and settled down in. It was only men in there, and I think they were surprised at how into the match we were! After all, it is Lo and me - so of course we were cheering like crazy people! A Swedish guy sitting next to us began talking with us. He and his mates were visiting from Copenhagen for the group stages. Once he discovered that Lo is a hockey fan he got really excited and started talking to us about Peter Forsberg. We talked for about half an hour until the match finished and he and his friends took off to continue their revelry (they'd definitely started the party quite a while previously!). We decided to go look for a bite to eat, as we'd only eaten our one meal during the day. After a failed attempt at a wine bar (cheap wine, the kitchen had already closed), we discovered a corner stand that sold everything delicious. Panini, crepes, and middle eastern/Greek sandwiches. We ordered quickly, a sandwich each, and started talking with some nice Irish guys in front of us. Lots of Irish in the city for the match! Then we saw the size of the sandwiches. Seriously, ENORMOUS!!!!! So we canceled the order for our two sandwiches and decided to share the falafel sandwich. IT. WAS. SO. DELICIOUS! The cook heated a fresh piece of dough on a dome shaped burner/oven, and then stuffed the fresh bread with all the delicious things. It was still huge! We took our food back up to our room and ate while hanging out of our huge windows, watching the street life below. While watching who did we see appear? Our Swedish friends, chanting and singing at the top of their lungs! It was wonderful to see the football culture that is so strong in the rest of the world in full action. 

Being exhausted, we headed straight to bed, as in the morning we would have to be at the Gare de Lyon train station at 11:30 or so and we knew we would need lots of sleep. We also planned to stop at H&M to look for some long sleeved shirts, as the temperatures here are quite chilly! 

We slept like the dead and woke feeling pretty good, considering the time change and how exhausted we were to begin with, even before leaving Denver. We packed up and cleaned our cute little studio, then headed out for a quick shop. So, I hate shopping. Always have and most likely always will. However I have two friends that I enjoy shopping with. Lo, and my good friend Rachel. So Lo and my quick excursion turned into an hour and then we had to hustle back to the apartment to collect our bags and head to the train station. We weren't sure how successful we would be at hailing a taxi, so decided to get an Uber instead. Yeah, really bad idea! In the area of Le Marais where we were staying it is not allowed to drive on the smaller streets. So the first Uber I ordered basically gave up. I watched him on the map, and he drove towards us, then around us, then headed the opposite direction. So I ordered a second one. This one didn't even try to come towards us, so we hailed a taxi so quickly and easily. Lesson learned!!

Our driver was really nice, and he helped us put our luggage (including new H&M bags) in the trunk of the car. I asked him how he was, and he said "In France, no one asks taxi drivers how they are!" This led to a lively discussion of cultural differences and courtesy in general. He delivered us to the Gare de Lyon in no time, and we easily made our train. Ahhhh I love traveling by train! It is so relaxing and I love watching the countryside fly by. Next stop, Fribourg and my dear friend Eleonore! 


A side note - this app HATES my photos and always makes them blurry. Instead of posting photos in the blog, I'll be creating a Facebook album and posting as many as I can in there.