Ah! If Amtrak could only have high speed trains like the rest of the world traveling by train in the USA would be heavenly. Speeding through the French countryside at 150 miles an hour was delightful. Everything modern, clean and efficient. Our last morning in Paris was a tourist delight walking in the Tuileries and checking out the beaux arts architecture. Then to the Gare de Lyon and the train and on to Barcelona.
In one of those serendipitous travel karmas that we seem to fall into we have inadvertently arrived during Carnival. The city is teeming with visitors including lots of costumed and face-painted denizens. We arrived late in the evening and our cab driver couldn't find our hotel so he let us off in one of the winding gothic alleys and said it's right down there. OK. We got out and dragging our suitcases set off. A time I was glad we travel with only small carry on bags. Finally we stopped at a restaurant and the extremely nice maitre d walked with us to another alley and explained exactly how to go. Our very lovely hotel appeared a few minutes later. We're right near the Cathedral but as though of you who've been before know, the medieval streets are easy to confuse. After checking in and walking around a bit we retraced our steps to the restaurant La Rioja that had helped us and had a wonderful tapas meal. The anchovies on toast I had were melt in your mouth delicious. The city is, of course, a food lovers delight and wandered through the Boqueria market drooling over all the goodies. Beautiful marzipan candies in dozens and dozens of fanciful designs: traditional fruits but also exotic animals and plants. Sausages and hams in too many varieties to count and beautiful produce.
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