If only my beloved Negros Island could give me First World public transport, what a wonderful world that could be. Obviously, it’s a long way to go from Third World to First, so I’ll just share with you what I experience.
Mamá would always tell me that even if she and Papá could no longer travel like I do, “I’ll see it all through your eyes! Just keep on writing everything you experience in your letters. Your eyes are our eyes.”
Today, I’m off to Avignon. Waking up at 9:30 to finish my packing, Pål went to fetch his tuxedo at a small Left Bank boutique catering to all sorts of formal wear from judge’s robes to military trimmings.
Excited at taking the train, I was all dressed up when he arrived, toting a signature garment bag with his tux tucked inside. The Italian pizzas and the paninis were in a paper bag with our bottled water rations since we’re taking a regular classed bullet train from Gare de Lyon – no Business Class this time, but it’s just as fast!
And it’s a 3 hour ride with speeds that reach 320km/hr while I calmly write this article as the world’s loveliest panoramic views whizz by my window seat, small villages composed of maybe 15 homes, hills covered with yellow mimosas and plains with fluffy sheep grazing.
Travelers are beginning to shy away from flying, not only because trains are more comfortable and punctual, but often cheaper and asker to catch. Travel search engine Omio ( known as GoEuro before) declares, trains are actually faster.
I only had to walk five minutes from my place to the nearest metro stop and the Gare de Lyon train station was only 2 stops away. If I took a taxi, that would have taken me a good half hour in the cab not counting the wait on the sidewalk for it to arrive.
And since traffic in Paris Center is getting worse due to the division of the streets to accommodate bus and taxi lanes, bicycle and standing scooter lanes plus the roller blades in the middle of it all, sacré bleu! And with smartphone apps telling me how to find my way through Paris, which train (front, middle or back) to take so that when I leave my seat, my exit is right before me… what exit to take which leads me straight to my expected destination; what a wonderful world it really is!
Meanwhile, I’ll be showing you some more VIP guests who attended Patrick Cuna’s successful vernissage of his art works at five star Prince de Galles Hotel in Paris’ fashionable Avenue George V. It was a wonderfully successful and classy event, you see.
MY PRAYER
And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:15b-17, NIV*
