September 1st - Paris - Brussels

Paris, France – Brussels, Belgium

Last night Peter and I drank some cheap French wine with other members of our hostel. Our group included people from Ireland (Galway county), Australia, Los Angeles, and Canada. We wondered along a canal for a while and then ended up a gay bar. Peter and I left a bit earlier than everyone else so that we would be able to get up early and head out of town.

This morning we woke up at around 9:00. We quickly packed our things and headed out of our hostel. It was kind of sad because I really enjoyed the Absolute Hostel – Paris. We met people from different parts of the world and had very nice rooms (for a hostel).

We decided to get the most out of our Eurail Pass and go to Versailles (just 15 minutes out of Paris) before heading to Amsterdam. The only tough part was that we had to haul our heavy packs with us the entire way. Upon arriving at the Versailles train station we learned that we had a 10-minute walk to the château. It left us all with sore shoulders. On the way we picked up some lunch materials: bread, fromage (cheese), salami, chocolate croissants, and cheese.

We ate lunch just inside the gates of the chateau. The building is massive and the grounds are unbelievably large. Not wanting to carry our large packs with us, we decided to explore the area in shifts. B and I went first. We attempted to enter the chateau but were turned away by the steep price. We opted to head to the backyard, which is probably the largest stretch of lawns, gardens, and waterfalls that I have ever seen. We walked around the area for 45 minutes and barely saw any of it. It was then time to nap while Peter took his turn exploring.



September 1st
We returned to the train station and headed back to Paris to catch a train to Amsterdam. Unfortunately, we made the mistake of jumping on the metro and it took us through the city before arriving at the major train station. Still, we arrived at Gare de Nord at around 3:30.

The first thing we did upon arriving at the station was to go to the ticket office. Our attendant informed us that all of the trains to Amsterdam were full! Our only option was to take a train at 9:55 to Brussels and connect with the night train to Amsterdam (he was not a nice man and told us this information in a rather mean way). Having no other options, we decided to hang out at the airport for more than 5 hours and wait for our train. We learned a valuable new lesson: reserve a spot on popular trains in advance!

We used our down time to plan the rest of our trip and take into account days of travel and train times for those days. It was a long process that we used to occupy our time. I also did some little things like clean my camera and organize some of the things in my bag. I also want to note that I think it is very strange that you have to pay for the bathrooms at the train station.

Our train to Brussels was surprisingly full. Luckily, we had seats together. It was only a 2.5-hour ride and I fell asleep for most of it. Once we got off the train we hustled to the nearest ticket office to book a spot on the night train. We were shocked to hear that a night train to Amsterdam does not exist from Brussels. Another lessoned learned: always double check what you are told by the low paid Eurostar attendants.

There is not a train to Amsterdam until 6:30 tomorrow morning. The Brussels train station is nice but it is almost completely empty. Security just came by and removed a man with 2 German Sheppard’s. They also forced a drunken man, who was giving us a hard time, to leave. It feels kind of sketchy and is, at times, uncomfortable. Luckily, we have found some fellow Americans (from the OC) to huddle up with while we try to get some sleep. For now I must go find a bathroom to use (all we have tried so far are closed) before trying to sleep.

This is the first major snag we have encountered on our trip. While it is scary and strange, it is also kind of fun and exciting. We are sleeping at a train station in Brussels, Belgium!

I hope that we can get some waffles in the morning!

PS - I just posted for yesterday too so check that out!