Paris_2026

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Paris, France 2026

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This was an early alarm day. Evelyn and I leave for Paris today. Ok, if you don't wish to read the saga of our travel to get to Paris, then skip the next paragraph.

I woke up well before my alarm, pulled my things together, and walked the 15 minutes to one of the train stops, Les Pelerins. It was very dark as the moon had set behind Mont Blanc. I could see what initially looked like a start but quickly realized it was a climber very high on the mountain; bravo to them! I noticed with a little concern that the electron sign didn't show any train arriving. Well, it's early I thought. The arrival time came and went and no train. But less than two minutes late, a bus passed on the nearby road. The only vehicle on the roads save for a contractor van of some sort. The lightbulb went off in my head. Evelyn and I had made train reservations, but sometimes a train is actually a bus. I checked my ticket. Yes, there went the bus I needed to make it to the Saint-Gervais train station. Uh-oh. I'd had a little nagging concern about leaving from this train stop and sure enough there went the red tail lights of my trip to Paris with Evelyn. I quickly texted her to let her know our transport was a bus not a train. She moved from the track in Les Houches to the bus stop and managed to board - that was awesome news! At least she'd get to Paris! Me, I can't print the language spewing from my mouth. Evelyn the optimist encouraged me to call a taxi; there was time. I went to work and so did she. I left messages with a couple of local taxi services. Then I started on Uber. My Uber app has been collected dust in the junk yard of apps. Miraculously an option to order a taxi popped up in a browser window. Frustratingly, it would only accept ApplePay which has been collecting dust in the app graveyard. Then Evelyn asked me if I had ApplePay as she was simultaneously trying to order an Uber. I managed to reactivate ApplePay then return to the browser and order an Uber. By this time about 25 minutes had passed and my hands were cold in the chill morning air of Chamonix because of all the texting and browsing on the iphone. I told Evelyn to get on the train no matter what. I knew I'd get there eventually, but I didn't want her to miss anything we'd planned. In the pendulum of traveling, the Uber was only 4 minutes away. I liked the backseat of his car - very comfy. He spoke English. I said I needed to catch the train leaving at 5:49AM. He looked at the time and said, "ok, I'll speed." We arrived with 6 minutes to spare. Evelyn greeted me with a big enthusiastic smile from the train door. Wow! We'd recovered from that oversite. We made it to Bellegard without incident as the sun set the sky to a gentle blue glow. The train from Bellegard to Lyon arrived and we boarded it. The train made it as far as Cüloz when the conductor announced (only in French) a one hour delay. I didn't understand and Evelyn only picked up bits and pieces. There was something about catching a bus. However, it would involve a 25 minute walk and who knows what other unknowns. So like most of the passengers, we stayed on the train. It seems there was a problem with the track that the train would normally run on. So our train was re-routed south through Aix-les-Bains. I would have gotten off the train here and explored alternatives, but the doors wouldn't open. We stayed on the train as the minutes ticked away. We were going to miss our train from Lyon to Paris. So we over compensated by immediately booking on another train leaving an hour later. Our diversion took us past a beautiful lake, small cottages, and countryside with green grass but bare trees. The train was slow. It stopped a couple of times in the middle of the pre-spring countryside. We rolled into the outskirts of Lyon. Yes, it looked like we'd make the 11:04 train. The train moved slowly through merging and diverging tracks but no train station. It finally stopped at about 11:10. We'd missed two trains to Paris from Lyon. But the pendulum swung and we saw a train leaving in 20 minutes! Evelyn bought another ticket for that train. And just as she finished I discovered that train wasn't in the Eurail system! That's ok, there is another train leaving within minutes that is. So Evelyn and I would travel on separate trains from Lyon to Paris within minutes of each other. And then the pendulum swung back for me. It was too close to departure for me to purchase a reservation! And reservations on this leg is required. They stopped checking tickets to gain access to the platform so I just went. Evelyn was leaving from platform C and me D which put us on the same platform. We chatted, laughed, and hugged. I decided to get on the Eurail in-pass train without a reservation and accept whatever punishment was required. Both trains pulled up to the platform at the same time. My train ended up leaving before Evelyn's. The first empty seat I found was soon sought after by someone who'd reserved it so I found another empty seat. I was in first class so I hoped it wouldn't fill up. I nervously watched people walking the isle looking for their seats as I hoped they wouldn't look to the seat I was in. And yes I didn't have to move. When the conductor asked about my reservation I explained I hadn't had time and I had reservations on two earlier trains. He looked at one of the earlier ones and said all was good. First class seats on the InOui TGV trains are nice. Evelyn's train arrived at Hall 1 and mine in Hall 2 in Paris Gare de Lyon. We found each other by standing under the 'Hall 2' sign hanging from the ceiling. Paris here we are!

Our only organized stop today was the L'Orangerie with the large room sized murals by Monet of Giverny and then the collection of impressionist artists. We walked through the Tulleries Garden toward the Louvre before turning and walking over the river Seine. We grabbed a snack at a Japanese cafe endorsed by an older lady that only spoke French. Then we walked through a small section of the Luxembourg Gardens that has a small replica of the Statue of Liberty. Evelyn shared an interesting tidbit that the real Statue of Liberty was delivered with a chain on her ankles symbolizing breaking free from slavery and oppression; the chain was never installed but it is on the small statue in the garden. We're staying at a boutique hotel near the Montparnasse train station.

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The primary purpose of our visit to Paris was the visit to the Versailles Palace. Evelyn and I enjoyed a scrumptious pastry at the only place open near our hotel. Then we boarded the Metro followed by an RER train to arrive near the Versailles Palace. Fortuitously, we arrived as the rising sun lit the gold on the gates and building to a dazzling sparkle. The square was almost void of people. Our timed entry started at 9AM. We spent the morning weaving our way through the palace dripping with drowning wealth. We ventured into the garden but had to cut this a tad short for our next museum visit back in Paris.

A thirty minute train ride dropped us right in front of the Musée D'Orsay on the left bank of the Seine river. Evelyn had timed it perfectly for a timed entry to this place and we walked in. We spent the next two+ hours exploring the statues and pictures of this museum repurposed from an old train station. We both felt we needed another 2 hours to explore the exhibits - something to look forward to on the next visit to Paris!

I took up the charge to find some pastries. The first place we stopped at had delicious ones, but not quite what would satiate my palate. We walked barely a block to Tomo. There we found the key. Two Japanese/French inspired pastries and a special tea. It was all delicious! So with dessert finished we found a simple but distinctly French restaurant for dinner to complete the day.

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Up early, Evelyn and I headed across the street in the heavy drizzling rain to the open patisserie. It was the same one we visited yesterday. We branched out and ordered not just croissants, but yogurt and formage cups. Then we made our way to the Gare de Lyon (train station). Our trip back on the trains went very smoothly. I believe Evelyn appreciated first class on the InOui high speed train.

Evelyn and Ned were able to collect the car from the mechanic today after repairs to the alternator and a new serpintine belt. That made them happy.

I hung around with them working on a puzzle until later in the evening when they graciously dropped me off at my place using the car.