Two train anecdotes

That time the train took off in the opposite direction without telling anyone

I had the idea that when Adam arrived early in the afternoon, he could take the train straight to Lyon instead of Oyonnax and we could spend the afternoon sightseeing, as of course I was going to bring him there anyway! So there I was, waiting at the Lyon Perrache train station, seeing that his train would arrive any minute, when he called me and said that he thought his train was leaving Lyon. (There are 2 train stations, TGV passes through Part Dieu to get to Perrache where the tourist sites are).

“Um, what? Are you sure? What do you see?”

“Trees, Nathalie. I’m not in the city anymore.”

From Montpellier to Venice in 9 steps

My first time traveling by myself- besides getting on a bus- was when I got on the plane in Montreal to head to Montpellier and start my study abroad adventure. The second time I traveled alone was during my year abroad when I spent a weekend in Italy with a high school friend. We were coming from different places so I went to Venice alone…and it was so so different from the calm trip I had experienced from Montpellier to Paris and Paris to Montpellier, basically because I had to use 9 different modes of transportation to get from Point A- my host family’s house in Montpellier- to Point B- the hostel in Venice.

Step One: Venture out at O dark 30

My dad always liked to use the military expression 0 dark 30 when we were leaving early on family trips when I was a kid, and that thought was running through my mind. I had to leave my host family’s house before the sun even rose. Since my train left before the first bus started running, I had to walk the 25 minutes from my apartment to the train station in pitch black. It was super fun. (I kid. Although there is something about walking in the wicked early morning that is more soothing than walking alone super late at night. )