The next day didn’t look very promising as all places were reserved and we would have had to stand up or sit in the aisle all the way to Paris. As it turned out they put on an extra train and we managed to get a seat. We were pleased about this because our hotel was beside the freeway and we didn’t get much sleep because of all the noise from cars and trucks all night. The joys of travelling!
We’ve met a very nice law student from New York so that has broken up the trip. A poor woman beside me is in great pain and is about to give birth to a child. I hope she can hang on to the next stop.
This is a very modern train except you can’t get anything to eat or drink...not even water. We luckily brought a few things with us but 12 hours is a long time and we’re beginning to get hungry and thirstly. The train only stops for a few minutes so you can’t really get off to buy anything. The countryside is very pretty. It’s always been night time when we’ve passed through this area before so it’s quite interesting.
Well, not much else to say. This time I have an excuse for my handwriting...the movement of the train!
Give my love to Craig.
Love,
Jim and Janice
P.S.
We’re now in Paris and had a very busy week getting started with our course and finding an apartment. Also, we had quite a few problems because for some reason our money didn’t arrive as we expected. We can’t figure out what went wrong. Hopefully things will get better. We had to call Jim’s father in the middle of the night your time to wire us some money. We don’t have a phone so had to make the call from the post office.
We’re very pleased with the course and our apartment is cool and quiet although very small.
Love to all,
Jim and Janice
* Now back to 2005...
I have almost no pictures from Paris in 1976. I guess since we had been to Paris a few other times before I didn't take any pictures this time. I took loads of pictures when we were in Paris this past April so will post some of these with the letters from Paris.
This is the metro station we walked out of our first time in Paris in 1972. We had come from Canterbury that day on the train/hovercraft. It was rainy and miserable when we left and the trains and hovercraft were very late. We arrived in Paris around midnight and figured our room would probably have been given to someone else (days before reserving on MC) and it was the peak of summer so we were worrying about where we were going to sleep.
Of course it was dark for our arrival to Paris on the train and then we caught the metro so hadn't been above ground. We climbed out of the metro and our first view of Paris was like stepping into the most amazing fantasy world. It was a warm, balmy Saturday night and we were in the heart of the Latin Quarter. We were completely dazed by the beauty of the buildings, Notre Dame, the Seine...and of course all the liveliness of the city.
Our hotel room was still available but it wouldn't have mattered...we could have stayed up all night wandering the city. In fact we did stay out until around 3am that night even though we had been completely exhausted. It was such a wondrous introduction to Paris that I always feel I just might be disappointed the next time I visit but Paris has continued to work its magic every time.
The Seine, Notre Dame, the bouquinistes...this is where we go first whenever we're in Paris.
I think Notre Dame de Paris is my favourite building in the world...perhaps because I "bonded" to it in the my first 10 minutes in Paris.
These skaters put on quite a show very close to Notre Dame...they didn't even seem to be collecting money.
The only way to see the Eiffel Tower, for the first time especially, is walking up the grand boulevard towards it from Les Invalides.
Along the Champs-Elysées
I must say the Louis Vuitton people have class...the store was being renovated and this was the temporary construction wall.
