It was about 5.30 am, when I handed over the keys of my room and checked out of Novotel hotel in Nice. My manager stood next to the cab we had summoned and after we both got in, the cabbie sped his Renault towards the Nice Railway Station. After a 20 minute drive, we reached the station. I was startled at the exorbitant fare that was charged. It was a ripping 35 Euros (roughly 2240 INR). Anyway our train was to depart in about 15 minutes hence we didn’t bother too much. I was bubbling with joy at the prospect of reaching Paris, which was our destination. The announcement was made and we boarded our train. This was a double-decker TGV. Train Grande Vitesse is what the French call it.
We had window seats on the top deck. After settling into our seats, I just looked around. Tell you what; the interiors were magnificent. I was compelled to take some snaps of them. I got up to take a stroll along the gangway. I walked a few paces and turned back. The seats were really good and on one of them sat a cute girl. She had a beautiful smile and was talking something in French to her mother. I just could not take my eyes off her, and she looked at me and smiled. I asked her mother if I could take a picture of her daughter. She readily agreed. The moment I focused my camera on her, this little SIX YEAR OLD held the back of her left hand under her chin, rested the right hand horizontally and smiled straight into the lens. What a pose! I thanked her and her mom, patted her head and walked back to my seat.
I bought some refreshments as we approached Marseille. The TGV seemed just like our desi express trains until now. I was later told that from Nice to Marseille the tracks don’t handle high speeds. After a 5 min halt in Marseille the train started again. I hoped and prayed for the train to pick up some speed. Slowly, the train gathered momentum and after about 5 minutes, the TGV was hurtling at a speed which I had never traveled before. 300 plus kmph; I was told later. The amazing thing about this was near zero turbulence. A cup of coke kept on the foldable tray next to my seat, stayed undisturbed. 900 kms and five and a half hours later we alighted at the Paris railway station. The little 6 year old girl smiled again as she disappeared into the Parisian crowd.
We stopped at the nearest enquiry counter. It was really pleasing to see the lady over there, help us although her English was broken. She guided us to the Metro station, handed us the Paris tour map and wished us a pleasant stay in Paris. We then reached the metro station and boarded the train to reach Voluntaires, where we had done our reservation in a youth hostel. A ten minute walk from the metro station took us to Aloha hostel. After making the payment, we dumped our luggage into the luggage room. After resting for a while we started our tour of Paris on foot.
We had window seats on the top deck. After settling into our seats, I just looked around. Tell you what; the interiors were magnificent. I was compelled to take some snaps of them. I got up to take a stroll along the gangway. I walked a few paces and turned back. The seats were really good and on one of them sat a cute girl. She had a beautiful smile and was talking something in French to her mother. I just could not take my eyes off her, and she looked at me and smiled. I asked her mother if I could take a picture of her daughter. She readily agreed. The moment I focused my camera on her, this little SIX YEAR OLD held the back of her left hand under her chin, rested the right hand horizontally and smiled straight into the lens. What a pose! I thanked her and her mom, patted her head and walked back to my seat.
I bought some refreshments as we approached Marseille. The TGV seemed just like our desi express trains until now. I was later told that from Nice to Marseille the tracks don’t handle high speeds. After a 5 min halt in Marseille the train started again. I hoped and prayed for the train to pick up some speed. Slowly, the train gathered momentum and after about 5 minutes, the TGV was hurtling at a speed which I had never traveled before. 300 plus kmph; I was told later. The amazing thing about this was near zero turbulence. A cup of coke kept on the foldable tray next to my seat, stayed undisturbed. 900 kms and five and a half hours later we alighted at the Paris railway station. The little 6 year old girl smiled again as she disappeared into the Parisian crowd.
We stopped at the nearest enquiry counter. It was really pleasing to see the lady over there, help us although her English was broken. She guided us to the Metro station, handed us the Paris tour map and wished us a pleasant stay in Paris. We then reached the metro station and boarded the train to reach Voluntaires, where we had done our reservation in a youth hostel. A ten minute walk from the metro station took us to Aloha hostel. After making the payment, we dumped our luggage into the luggage room. After resting for a while we started our tour of Paris on foot.
The little 6 year old. :-)
8 comments:
Ah! Just the exact length that a post should be. neither too long nor short. :)
Thanks Gunjan :-)
Bon Jour Monsieur!!!
Well written, as always,....precise and up to the mark.
Write more about your visit to the Louvre.....
Merci and Bon jour Hemu! :-)
Yep, will write more about Paris. Louvre will definitely feature!
Nice experience train to paris - actually made me feel as if I was a copassenger witnessing the whole journey, however the end could have been slightly different.
Thanks Durga..:-)
I agree with you, that the ending could have been slightly different.
Hi,
Beautifully composed. I enjoyed every bit of it, specially loved the simplicity with which it is written.
Thanks Alka. I'm honored to receive such a comment from a tech writer. :-)
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