The trip from Vernazza Italy to Paris was probably the low point of the trip thus far. It was sort of a culmination of several poor decisions that ended up with us having a rather sleepless night, but at least we got here.
To sum it up, we took the train from Vernazza to Milan around 3PM to get there to help resolve some issues with the Eurail Pass we have because I noticed that the night train from Milan to Paris MIGHT be going through Switzerland which would be a problem since it was not part of our pass. I discovered in Milan that they had no idea how it worked and it would end up being up to the conductor on the train to bill us the extra if needed. The initial booking for the night train had us transferring in Dijon France, which was nice as it was to a high speed train, but it didn't make sense as the night train was going to Paris anyhow. I decided to ask about staying on as it in theory didn't anymore cost difference to the train company.
After waiting for 4 hours for our train to show up at 1130PM we get on and discover that the couchette I had booked was full with 6 people (including us) and that makes for a very tight space. I also asked the conductor if the Switzerland thing would be OK and in broken English he said no problem. In regards to the staying on instead of transferring in Dijon, he said we could stay on (at least I thought he did). The conductor then took our passports (standard operating procedure) for safe keeping and then left.
We had the bottom bunks, which are actually just chairs that fold over. In hind site I would book the middle or upper bunks as they were a lot less claustrophobic. The cabin at least was well air conditioned so we were not suffering with sweat. It was very tight though with my face literally 1 foot away from the bunk above me and no room to move my arms or legs. I was almost too tall as well. Rea was pinned the other way, but she seemed to fit a bit better then me. I would highly recommend to anyone NOT to book a night train on a couchette if you want to get a good nights rest. As well, make sure you have ear plugs and eye covers out as well as it is very difficult to find them in the dark and not wake everyone else up. I suffered with just covering my eyes with the blanket and listening to Jack Johnson music until I fell asleep (the most mellow thing on my iPod).
At 4AM the conductor came to wake us up for the Dijon transfer. My reaction was “WTF???”. We managed to get a bunk mate to translate for us and he then said “no problem” once again.
At 8AM he came back to give us our passports back and said that he needed 25 Euro. I am not sure why he wanted the money but I paid him as I really liked the idea of getting my documents back and I couldn't negotiate in Italian with him. I think it ended up being a bribe for staying on the train and us being not Italian. Our fellow bunk mates said that it was actually fairly common. Really really a piss off though. We did get a bogus looking receipt from him for the money that I will have to check the name on to see if he put his name as a baseball player or something. If I ever see him in Calgary looking for directions to Lake Louise I will point him in the way of Regina as revenge.
We did arrive in Paris in the morning however, and did manage to find and check into our place at the Perfect Hotel near Sacre Coeur. While it is indeed not perfect, it is cheap, does not seem to have bed bugs and has a private bath. It is close to the red light district as well as some nice shopping areas. I would recommend it if you are OK with peeling wallpaper, bare light bulbs and a view of a wall. Which we are perfectly fine with. Maybe that is where they got the name from...
First day in Paris involved wearily trudging up the hill to visit Sacre Coeur and Montmartre which was really nice. The church was very pretty and cool as it looked old but was really very modern (in comparison to the other churches we have been in). There was a wine festival going on so we got to wander around and watch the people of Paris having a good time. There were the String Men trying to be pushy with the “friendship bracelet” scam, but if you ignore them and walk quickly away they tell you to f*ck off and you get to leave with your money still in your pockets. Overall, not a bad arrangement in my opinion.
After Montmarte we went for a nap to recover from the night before on the train and woke up and went and visted the Arc De Triomphe and walk down the Champs-Elysees. We stopped in a few stores and decided dinner would be too expensive there and headed down to Rue Cler as per Rick Steves recommendation for food and then checked out the Eiffel tower at night. Dinner was very good and under 50 Euro and the tower was stunning. We still have to get to go up to the top but will likely do that sometime before weeks end.
Today consisted of actually going to the top of the Arc De Triomphe with our museum pass (30 Euro each, a very good deal). With the pass we then visited The Louvre's Italian wing and saw the Mona Lisa (very small and kind of dark) and other famous pictures. Better then the Louvre (in my opinion) was the Orangerier and Orsay museums with the impressionists' paintings in them. I really enjoyed those and it was awesome to walk around the corner and see “yet another famous painting”. After killing our feet all day we took the train back to our neighborhood and walked around the red light district and had dinner at a Chinese place. I think we are taking the rest of the evening off and will plan what to see tomorrow. Possibly on the agenda is Versaille or maybe some other museums and attractions in the city. It all depends how busy of a day we want...
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