Amsterdam to Paris

Day 52 Saturday 6 November – Thalys Train to Paris

Weather was pretty much as it has been and should be expected, it would have been nice to leave Amsterdam in sunshine. As some wag observed “There's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.” Fair enough but it hard to have all possible conditions covered.
Joined a fair sized crowd on platform 14a and as advertised the Thalys Train pulled in some minutes before the departure time. This train appears faster and more plush than the one that carried us from Frankfurt. With hardly a murmur we were dashed down the track heading South. The car was largely unoccupied.

Our second stop was Rotterdam and there the sparse occupancy was dramatically changed. A large number of tall thin Hollanders overflowed most of the empty seats. Jenny and I speculated that they may have been a basket-ball team.

The guy who occupied the seat across the aisle from me was seated next to a young Asian lass and was soon explaining various features to her. Their common language being English I benefited as well. Some time later the ticket lady came along to check tickets and the Asian girl couldn't produce the required codes or evidence. The Dutchman helped as best he could and asked additional question of the the staff member to ensure that the Asian girl was aware of what her options were. The end result was that she had to pay for a ticket but he confirmed that if she could find proof of her original purchase she should be able to get a refund. A totally unselfish and friendly gesture on his part.

I later chatted with him and found that the group were on a company outing to Paris for the weekend. They are an IT consulting company www.2e2.nl.

We arrived in Paris and received directions from a helpful Tourist Information person who showed us how to get to the required address. Just a 20 minute walk – well, that's as may be but the rain was quite heavy, the footpaths narrow and strewn with garbage bins. There were also frequent street crossings and we weren't confident with the Paris traffic.

Found our hotel in a narrow lane and were told that check-in would be not before 3 pm. We were given directions to a cafe and it was suggested we could have a meal. Interesting menu and serious prices, 11,00 € for a Club Sandwich seemed a bit steep. Returned about 3:40 and checked in. The room is adequate and recently modernised.

Sorry for the limited photos, there just wasn't the opportunity.