On to Paris

Sun 21 March: I went down to breakfast before Sheila to write in my journal. I knew I'd have a lot to say. When Sheila joined me, I put it aside, and we had a nice breakfast. We are both looking forward to traveling to Paris on a high speed train arguably the most luxurious one in the world. I paid our bill with our ATM the first time we've done that in our travels. I went across the street to buy a souvenir beer mug for Michael Sander. It has a picture of a British soldier, and it says Ypres Salient 1914-1918. He'll enjoy it for two reasons: it's historic, and it holds beer. We had spent all of our available cash, so we stopped at a nearby ATM to get some. My card was rejected then rejected again. Sheila tried her card same result. Ok, now what? what if we can't get cash? What happened? Did paying our hotel bill in US currency trigger some stop mechanism? We didn't know, but it was nerve wracking. We got our stuff from the hotel, said good bye to Philip, the host, and started out for the train station in a grey drizzling rain. We stopped at another bank to try our card again-no luck. We caught our train. Using our Eurail pass, we made it to Brussels with no problem. Once there, we checked on our train, a very sleek, modern , spiffy looking thing painted maroon and metallic silver. We got on and settled into a very luxurious ride. Uniformed attendants served us unlimited food and wine. We might be broke as hell, but we were sure going to enjoy the ride to the poor house. We were traveling 300 km/hr. We were passing power poles faster than a car passes pickets on a fence. We got to Paris in 1 hour and 15 min not nearly long enough for me. We found another ATM. No problem this time. Whatever it was, it was no longer a problem. We left the station and walked for about ten minutes. We soon discovered that we'd taken a wrong turn. We congratulated ourselves on our fitness and on our ability to roll with mistakes. Neither of us get to excited about things like that. After a while, we found the right street and our hotel, L' Ocean. It's a funny thing, but some hotels make a big deal out of seeing your passport and dutifully writing down the number. This hotel manager couldn't have cared less even after I offered thinking he'd want it. Maybe it's just the French. They really don't like to be told they have to do something. I liked it. Anyway, we checked in, settled into our room, opened the window, and put our feet up on the window sill to watch this little slice of Paris roll by. It was a beautiful evening- blue sky and warm. After awhile, Sheila and I walked to the Seine about 2km from where we were staying. We saw, I for the first time, the Louvre, The Tuilleries Garden, the Orsay Museum, and the Eiffel Tower. It was really magical. Here I was: another pinch me moment seeing many of Paris's major attractions. I was very excited. We walked back, and by this time, I was a little leg weary. We'd been walking for three hours. More later. Love to all.