The train ride to France was interesting to say the least. We went to get our tickets in Milan, and 2nd class was full, so we paid a little extra and got on 1st class; we figured we could deal with that. So we got to the train and went to board in the first car and couldn’t find our seats. 10 and 11 were nowhere to be found. We asked one of the ticket men and he ushered us to a glass door and pressed the button. The door slide open to six large chairs three on one side and three on the other. It was quite exciting for a bit until we got our first two occupants…but still it was ok. Than this old man with a distinct fragrance probably called Au’De Man sat next to John…he was followed by this businessman who was talking on his phone.
John and I decided it was not as cool with other people in it. So, we tried to sleep but the fragrant man started talking rather loudly to the man who was already talking on the phone. This continued for quite a while, until the man on the phone noticed we were trying to sleep and he and the man left the car for a bit. So the direction turned onto the two girls across from us. We couldn’t figure out their relation, but later found out they were sisters. One had an extremely deep voice and when she whispered it was even deeper. John and I talked about it for a minute. John and I carried on making hushed comments about the loud smelly man and the girls as they were rattling off to each other in Italian. It was not until a few hours later that the businessman looked at us and said, “So where are you guys from?” in perfect English. The two girls looked at us for a reply. We were a bit taken back because we assumed they did not know English since they hadn’t addressed us earlier. They were so friendly, so we assumed they didn’t understand our earlier comments...which was nice.
This businessman took to us quickly and told us he was a financier for Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Versace, and others. He was dressed in the heather blue suit and a heather red shirt with a white collar. His long brown hair was tucked behind his ears and rested at his collar. As he was speaking to us he pulled off his leather loafers and pulled out some white flips flops and slide them on his feet. He said that him and the girls were wondering why we were going to Chambery and that we should just stay on the train and go directly to Paris. He strongly advised it saying we would want all the time we could have there. He was Italian but being in the job market he was, he traveled a lot. He was coming to Paris for his brothers wedding but was staying at a cheap hotel because his 3 houses in Paris were being occupied by family…nice.
After a bit of deliberation John and I decided to stay. Our friend even went to find out if we could stay on the train without penalty and he called the hotel he was staying at and reserved a room for us. We chatted for the rest of the way and the girls even started to chime in every so often.
Once off the train, we followed our friend, Nicola, and his loud father to the taxis. Nicola insisted we get in the taxi with them and he took us to the hotel. He paid the taxi man and took care of everything at the front desk. We thanked him to no end and said our goodbyes. John and I got our first experience with the French kiss…Nicola first kissed John on both is cheeks than me. It was an experience.
posted by Michelle @ 1:34 PM
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