Starting in Paris

Finally I am off of the plane and my adventure in France begins.  The flight here was long and I am very tired but at the same time I’m excited to see this magnificent city.  Paris is not only the capital, but also the most popular city in France.  I step out of the airport and hail a taxi, asking to be taken to the Eiffel Tower; it is easy to find and a great place to start my tourist adventures.  After paying the Taxi, which is not cheap I might add, I took the time to see the tower.  Wow, what a view.

I am not into heights, but with all of the metal around I felt safe enough to get up high and take a look.  Spectacular!

Painting of the Eiffel Tower

Tour complete I walked for awhile, soon enough finding myself just off of the River Seine in the north of town.  I was getting hungry, but that was easy enough to remedy.  Paris has over 2 million people so their are plenty of great places to eat.  I took a seat at a little cafe that looked over the city to have some food.  Right away the guy serving me noticed that I do not speak French, I was nervous because I have heard that the french treat English speaking people, specifically Americans like crap.  This is not the case, luckily, and my server even brought out the chef to introduce him to me.

I said hello and then he asked what I would like to eat.  I know a great trick that almost always works well for me so I decided to try it.  I said “You are the chef I will eat what ever is your favorite item to make.  Surprise me”.   The server smiles and the chef gets a great big grin and turns to go prepare something tasty for me.  I relax with a drink in my hand and sit back to watch as the people stroll by, there is no hustle and it really seems like a stress free world with lots of time to get everything done.

My food arrived and all I can say about it is that it was fabulous.  I cannot even relate the wonderful textures that explode in my mouth.  ‘Chef John’ told me the name of the dish as he presented what I would have to call a work of art, but I cannot even reproduce it’s name.  Wish I could speak French, I do speak Portuguese, but it does not help me much in France.  I look forward to the part of this trip that gets me to Portugal!  I thanked the chef and server for the meal and walked away thinking I could have gone to a very expensive restaurant back in the states and paid  six times the money for food that would not have tasted as good as that meal!

Outside the cafe’ and down the road a bit I pulled out the map and GPS since I am using a combination of a paperback booklet I bought online ahead of my trip and a hand held GPS.  I knew I wanted to get to Portugal and after deciphering my instruments I determined that I needed to start going south.  I turn to find a train that will take me to Orleans.

The station is a couple of hours walk from where I was, but to walk through one of the most treasured cities, Paris France, is well worth it to me so I set out on foot.  Paris is so loved that its boundaries have not changed since 1860.

My backpack began getting heavy and I was really starting to feel each little hill and bump in the road, then I finally made it to the train station.  It is a good thing I found it because it was getting dark and I was just in time to catch the last train to Orle’ans.  The train I am on actually stops at Saran first.  It was interesting to see the country side.  Oh wait, I am doing it in the dark!

Getting hungry again I visited the food car to fill up my water jug that I carry on my pack and got some bread that had melted cheese on it.  I then headed for my cabin.  I had a small room that is normally shared with three other passengers but it seems like I lucked out because my cabin was empty.  I throw my pack in the seat next to me and take a seat by the window.  The room reminded me of a old western stage coach, I wonder if that is why they call it coach class?  About that time the Jet lag really kicked in and I am out to the world.  With an hours nap under my belt I get off of the train in Saran.  Now to find a place to sleep.

Saran is only a few miles from Orle’ans and so I decided to walk it after I got up in the morning and had the free breakfast from the bed and breakfast I was staying in.  The lady cooked some toast with egg in the center on it it was great.  The walk was longer than I thought but very peaceful.  Passing old farm houses and beautiful countryside I come to Orle’ans.  This small commune is a gathering of people that have come to live together, why it is not a city at 250,000 inhabitants I do not know.  I had to use my French dictionary a lot in this small city as I did not find very many people that spoke English.  I got some odd looks as I walk through Orleans but less than I expected.  The Loire River is wide and slow moving with a lazy feel to it like it had all the time in the world to get where it was going.

Once I had seen just about all of Orleans and I was ready to get on to my next location.  Luckily I was able to get some rest in Saran at a small bed and breakfast, old looking farm house, really cool.  So I headed for the Fleury-les-Aubrais at least I think that is what they called the train station here.  There was some confusion while I was talking to a gentleman that I bumped into while staring at my map.  He said something about the Nazis using the train station as a hub during the war, if I understood correctly.

So now I am off to Bordeaux and I am really liking the train.  Probably a good thing to like the train as I have several hours ride ahead of me.  Look for my next post for my continued trip through Bordeaux and beyond.

To read about one of ProMapTraveler’s most popular posts about the Eiffel Tower visit the post ‘1,665 Steps and Some Flashing Search Lights’

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