November
11
Breakfast
at the B&B was fresh preserves with brioche. I also had a big cup of Lipton
hot tea. I didn't understand at first that the bowls on the table were for
drinking coffee and tea from, but caught on when I saw the Belgian woman drink
coffee from hers. They were the size and shape of cereal bowls.
Check-out
did come with one surprise - cash only! You cannot imagine my relief that I had
enough money with me to pay the bill. I don't know what I would have done if I
was short - leave my stuff there and go in search of an ATM, I suppose. But
that meant I had very little cash for the rest of my day.
I left
Saint Antonin Noble Val around 10 AM and had to be at the train station by
12:48 for my train to Nice. I couldn't get the GPS to understand Gare Matabiau,
so I pushed the "home" button and hoped for the best. At least it got
me to Toulouse - where I drove around and around and around. The
"home" button on the GPS was actually programmed to take me to
someone's home, not the car's "home." I got to the mystery house and
then just started driving around the city. There were some signs pointing to
the train station which I passed on my way to the mystery house, so I tried to
backtrack and find a sign. But before I could return the car, I had to fill the
tank.
Finding a
gas station was much more difficult than I anticipated. I passed the train
station once while looking for a gas station, so I had some relief that it, at
least, could be found. The only gas stations I had seen were when I first
exiting the highway. I found the highway again, but no gas stations. I'm so
used to LA where there is a gas station just about every few blocks. Time was ticking
down. Despite giving myself about 1.5 hours of "getting lost" time,
it was quickly running out on me. I was sure I was going to miss my train.
There were some tears. But I figured, worst case would be that I rented the car
another day and drove to Nice instead of taking the train.
I finally
found a gas station and filled the car, 1/2 tank for 40 Euros, and by then I
had lost my bearings on the train station. I drove around and around and around
with no sign of the train station. Worried I would need to fill the tank again
if I just kept driving around, I finally hit the "home" button on the
GPS again, knowing at least it got me near a sign for the train station. Turns
out I had wandered nearly 20 kilometers away from the train station on my
search for petrol. I saw a sign and followed it, finally driving toward the
station with only 10 minutes left to catch my train. It was there. I could see
it. I needed to just turn left and go about 100 yards and I could return the
car. Unfortunately, I could only turn right. I had to go around the block
again, which wasn't really just a block and was not a fast trip, and keep my
fingers crossed that if I went up one block from where I tried to enter the
parking before, I would be able to.
Every red
light, every car changing lanes without signaling, every pedestrian trying to
sneak through against a light, they were all working against me. I kept going
over the car return process in my head. "Just bill me! I can't stop and
talk about this. Here are the keys!" I finally got to the garage entrance,
at the same time as another car. I cut the other car off just past the entry
gates - I didn't have time to be polite or worry about irritating a driver I
would absolutely never encounter again in my life. I went as fast as I could up
the ramp to the third floor and found the Enterprise parking. I didn't do the
best job of parking and hurried out of my car. Naturally, the Enterprise spots
were the farthest from the station and the elevator.
With
luggage in tow, I got to the elevators and one of the two elevators was out of
service. Time was ticking down. I rode the one working elevator down, dreading
that someone would call the elevator to another floor. Finally I made it to
ground level and I couldn't find the entrance to the building. Another wrong
turn, this time on foot. I finally got inside and found the Enterprise desk and
they were closed for a bank holiday today - Armistice Day. I dropped my key
through the slot for returning keys and hurried to the platforms. I needed
platform 6, but where was it? With the bank holiday and my keys in the
overnight slot, switching to a rental car was no longer an option. I had to
find my train. Down an escalator. Platform 2, 3, 4, 5... 6! Up a flight of
stairs - with a suitcase. There's the train. Get on board. I couldn't lift my
suitcase onto the train, but a young woman trying to have last goodbye kisses with
her boyfriend on the platform helped me so I would get out of her way. I
stepped into the car, the closest one I could find, and almost immediately the
car door closed. I had made it by seconds. I then asked other people near the
door if I was, in fact, on the train to Nice. Good news, I was.
On the way
to Nice, the train stopped for about 40 minutes, on the tracks, in the
countryside, requiring some maintenance. In Montpellier the train stopped at
the station and I swear the conductor announced we would be there for another
50 minutes, but then the doors were closed and we...just sat there. But not for
long. After all I went through to catch this train, it was running very late at
all the subsequent stops. Just not at my stop. At least I had spent the extra 8
Euros for a first class ticket, so I was comfortable. And thank goodness for
the Evian I bought in Andorra and the granola I packed for the plane.
The train
arrived at the station in Nice at around 9 PM. I headed to the information desk…where
they were out of maps. The reluctant man who worked there gave me a map and
apparently didn't have maps for the other ten people asking for them. I was
just lucky, and perhaps looked the most desperate. I figured out the general
direction I needed to head, and set out. On foot.
I must
have looked pretty rough, because a girl who was biking (at night) saw me and offered
her assistance in finding my hotel. She walked
her bike, leading me all the way to my hotel. Elodie. She was the highlight of
my day and started me off having a friendly experience in Nice.
My hotel,
however, was not exactly up to par. The room was small and warm, which I like,
but there was a terrible smell in the hallways and elevator. They didn't have
room service, or night food service at the restaurant, so I went without food.
They also didn't allow food in the rooms, so I was forced to only eat things
which I could finish while walking, or eat at a restaurant. The TV wasn't
adjusted properly and the English channels were all news - BBC, CNN, Bloomberg.
At least they had some English channels. There was no bath, but there was a
shower and the water was hot.
That's the whole room.
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