When I got to the train station in Strasbourg, I saw on the screen that my train was running 10 minutes late. Ok, no big deal. When I got to the platform, it was 20 minutes late and then there was an announcement that the train had to stop because it was having an electrical problem. Great. I waited on the platform as the temperature dropped and 5:15 (original departure time) crept closer and then crawled by. More people arrived and expressed their frustration at the train's tardiness. As I stood on the platform waiting for the train, the delay of the train increased: 20 minutes, 30 minutes, then 40 minutes. ...Seriously!??! At one point, a train pulled up! Thank goodness! Unfortunately, it was only half of the train to Paris and it was NOT the half where I was to be seated. Finally, an announcement: "The train will arrive with a delay of 50 minutes." A lady turned to me and said, "They should be giving us a free ticket, that's what they normally do." Free train ticket? Sweet. A few minutes later, a frantic woman approached me and asked me what was going on, where was the train, and why it was so late. I think she had been there as long as I had, but I explained to her the situation. She agreed with me that it was annoying but then went and complained to an old man farther down the platform about how unorganized the SNCF (train company in France) is.
When did the train finally arrive at the Strasbourg station? 6:15, an hour after the train was supposed to leave for Paris. The train left the station around 6:25. Did I get a reimbursement/free ticket? Nope. I get a "reduction" of 30% on my next ticket, as long as it costs the same as the ticket I paid to go to Paris from Strasbourg. Thanks, SNCF.
When I arrived in Paris (at 8:50), Cecile picked me up at the station and then we went to meet our other friends (Brice, JB, and Francois) at a different train station. I didn't know they were coming so it was a surprise to see them. We ate dinner and then hung out. Saturday it was raining and cold so there wasn't much to do besides sort of shopping, which is difficult (nigh impossible) to do when with males. We ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant and walked around Paris in the rain. The Japanese food was good. The rain was not. Saturday afternoon JB and Francois went back to Nantes so after they left, Cecile and I headed back to her house to get ready for a party at her sister's fiance's house. When the metro pulled up, there was absolutely NO room. There was a demonstration/protest going on for I have no idea what cause. It was a bunch of angry black people yelling, stomping, and pounding the walls/doors of the metro car. I don't know how/why Cecile and I got on that metro. It was a mistake. The windows were fogged up with the heat of so many warm bodies crammed together. It smelled. It was loud. There may have been a fight in the car but I'm not sure, I couldn't see. Either way, it was horrifying. We were only on the metro for one stop. Unfortunately, our stop was the same one as all of the enraged protesters. I got lost in the sea of screaming bodies and could barely find Cecile when we both got off the metro. We stood off to the side until they passed by and then we were able to continue in peace.
The party that night was a lot of fun. I met some of Cecile's and her sister's friends and I had a good time. This morning we slept in. When we woke up, it was raining again (surprise, surprise) so we couldn't really go out. We had a lazy Sunday afternoon. I had a delicious lunch with Cecile's family and we all talked together afterwards until we realized that I had to leave to catch my train back to Strasbourg. Cecile went with me to the train station. Luckily, my train was on time. When I got back to Strasbourg, it was sleeting and extremely cold. Typical.
Tomorrow I am back at the train station early to go to Germany for four days! I can't wait!
Lastly, here is the most important picture of my trip to Paris.
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| 5 kg/11 lbs of Nutella |
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