August 14, 2006
La Rochelle - Paris: Fini
Our train to Paris departs at 12:30. We spend the morning looking around and taking pictures. La Rochelle is a lovely port - we must come again.
We must change trains twice on our way to Paris. Although we have enough experience with trains and bikes, each time we change trains there are those worrisome unknowns: will there be stairs to contend with to get to the right platform, how long will the train be in the station, will we have enough time to get our bikes and bags on the train, do we put our bikes in the aisles or will there be a baggage compartment and if so, at what end of the train, ...? As always, everything goes well - so why was I nervous? We arrive in Paris at 9:45 p.m. and have only a few blocks from the station to our hotel.
We're in the big city now and we can still go out at 11 at night for a bite to eat and a glass of wine. We say a toast to the completion of a wonderful trip and recall our initial fears. No, it wasn't too far, the mountains weren't too high, we didn't get run over on highways, the heat didn't kill us, we always found a place to sleep and, well ... we're not too old.
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We spend two days in Paris, getting around by metro and on foot which I find quite exhausting. It isn't until the last day when we ride our bikes across town to the Gare de l'Est, where trains for Munich depart, that we discover that in Paris bicycles would often be a preferable means of transportation. Many roads have bicycle lanes or allow bikes on the bus lanes. Ah well, next time. Summer 2007!
A few snapshots of Paris before I say good-bye.
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1 year ago