31 | Milano Italy to Brest France

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13 June (Thursday)

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Overview:

14-hour train journey from Milano to the French coast at Brest. Pity to travel through Europe so fast, but I have visited Europe many times. Rolling Italian farmland ascends into the Italian Alps and then the French Alps, and descends into the French countryside. Changed trains in Paris – arriving at Gare de Lyon and departing at Montparnasse station. This magnificent journey is coming to an end...

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Pity to rush across most of Europe in a single day. I love this region - its history and multiple cultures - but don't feel compelled to do a tour of Europe on this journey. If I had had more time - and I do not - I would spend it in Central Asia, the Balkans, and the Caucasus region.

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View from my Train Window

 

Not much happened during my 14-hour train ride from Milano to Brest except that the countryside is so brilliantly beautiful.

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Rolling Italian farmland drifted into the Italian Alps that flowed into the French Alps that rolled into French farmland - see pictures.

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There was a break in the middle, as I arrived at Paris Gare de Lyon at 13.19 and departed from Paris Montparnasse at 14.52. That gave me 1 hour and 33 minutes to complete a 30-minute subway ride between these two major railway stations. Had to change from line 8 to line 3 - or something like that - along the way. All this was too easy.

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I've Been to Paris Before...

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But I did recall - with consternation - that I was pickpocketed on a Paris subway, the night prior to my departure home, 10 years ago. Lost everything: Australian and US passports, credit cards, $1,000 in travellers checks and my airplane ticket (before E-tickets). Cost me nothing but embarrassment and inconvenience, as my University’s insurance paid for all losses, which was actually very small. Sure, someone in France charged $5,000 on my credit card - including two traceable telephone call - these guys (and it was a pair) were not so smart. I had to pay that $5,000 bill but was reimbursed in full by my credit card company the following month.

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The only identification not stolen was my Australian driver's license, which saved me as the Paris police wrote a safe-passage letter - after calling Australia to confirm my identity. The French did not want me hanging around - this must happen a thousand times a day in Paris. French, Singapore and Australian Immigration officials honoured that letter, as did Singapore Airlines by flying me home. My first E-ticket … apparently.

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Anyway, an experience never forgotten and it was front-and-centre in my mind as I travelled the Paris subway system once more. Fortunately, this journey has presented no crime, no accidents, no ill health – only adventure in a very large dose.

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Had time to have a tuna baguette and a raspberry tart at Paul's - a French institution - at Montparnasse before my very last train.

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Last Train toward the Atlantic

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How many trains on this journey?

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I will count when I find the time. Actually, I'd like to calculate the entire transport cost (trains, buses, taxis and one car rental) from Pacific to Atlantic Oceans.

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The only really complication while shooting across Europe occurred an hour out of Brest. The train stopped at a station and did not move. Suddenly there are lots of announcements in French - no English translation, of course - and a bit of a buzz in the car. At first, I pay no attention but we don't move and some people are leaving - apparently for taxis - including my seat partner.

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Finally, I learn that there is some kind of security complication with a bag. It was in another car. Perhaps someone got off and left it behind. I don't know, but a couple of days later at the Brest Airport they announce in English that unattended bags will be immediately destroyed. So now I wonder if the local bomb squad was called to dispose of a bag full of personal item, as I heard no explosion.

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Arrived safely in Brest, an hour late, and took a tour of the city by walking a couple km to my hotel. First impression: Charming, cold-windy city.

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